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Ariel Cohen brings firsthand knowledge of the former Soviet Union and the Middle East through a wide range of studies, covering issues such as economic development and political reform in the former Soviet republics, U.S. energy security, the global War on Terrorism and the continuing conflict in the Middle East. His analyses are often incisive. For example, he warned repeatedly that multi-billion dollar financial aid to the corrupt Russian government would end up in the wrong pockets – which indeed happened after the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Cohen also predicted the Russian financial collapse in a Heritage Foundation analysis published nine months before the event actually took place. And he warned about Iranian nuclear and missile ambitions and called for restrictions on Russian nuclear and missile technology transfer to Iran as early in 1997. U.S. concerns over the sale or other transfer of such technology, Cohen said, “should be raised repeatedly at the highest levels of the Russian government.”His work on Middle East issues is also just as incisive. In July 2001, just two months before Osama bin Laden’s terror network struck the United States, Cohen testified before Congress, encouraging the U.S. government to “…counter the efforts of radical Islamic groups in Central Asia, including the Taliban and the Osama bin Laden organization.” He also published pioneering work on the “War of Ideas” (strategic information operations) as a key battlefield in the global War on Terrorism against radical Islam, and on counter-insurgency strategy. His expertise in is in demand by the Army and other branches of the federal government.Cohen joined Heritage in 1992 and is now a Senior Research Fellow. He earned his doctorate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He has served as a consultant to both the executive branch and the private sector on policy toward Russia, Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He participated in a long-term study known as Russia 2025 conducted by the World Economic Forum and in Multilateral Deterrence Study for Office of Secretary of Defense and in other projects. He is often called upon to testify on Russian and Eurasian politics, economics, and law before the U.S. Congress, and regularly provides commentary on Russian, Eurasian, and Middle Eastern affairs for ABC, BBC, CNN, FOX, and all three national TV channels in Russia. He was a weekly contributor to the Voice of America radio and TV programs for eight years.A former member of the Board of Directors of the California-Russia Trade Association, from 1985-1992 Cohen has managed media research projects for Radio Liberty's then-Soviet audience. His book, Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis, was published in 1996 and in 1998 by Greenwood/Praeger. He also co-authored and edited Eurasia in Balance (Ashgate Publishing, 2005), which focuses on the power shift in the region after the Sept. 11 attacks. In addition, he has written nearly 500 articles and 25 book chapters. Cohen is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, and Association for the Study of Nationalities. ...
James Phillips is the Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern issues and international terrorism since 1978. Although his prime research interests are Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf security issues, and Middle Eastern terrorism, Phillips also has written numerous articles on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamic radicalism, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Turkey. He has testified numerous times before congressional committees on these issues. Phillips wrote papers that predicted the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the Soviet defeat there, and the dangers arising from U.S. withdrawal from engagement in that country, which contributed to the rise of the Taliban and the export of terrorism and Islamic radicalism. In 2000, he called for a comprehensive U.S. policy to support the Afghan opposition and overthrow the ultra-radical Taliban regime, rather than narrowly focusing on Osama bin Laden, who was then based in Afghanistan . Since the Sept. 11 attacks, he has written extensively on the global war against terrorism and its implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East . Phillips has frequently been interviewed on a broad range of subjects by U.S. and foreign media, including ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, FOX News, CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC, Sky News, Al Arabiya, Al Hurra, BBC Television, BBC World Service Radio, National Public Radio, and the Voice of America. He also has published numerous articles in American newspapers, including The New York Times, Washington Times, Newsday , New York Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today . Phillips is a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, a prestigious bipartisan group dedicated to winning the war on terrorism. He also is a member of the Board of Editors of Middle East Quarterly , the leading conservative journal of Middle Eastern policy studies. Before joining Heritage in 1979, Phillips was a Research Fellow at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress and a former Joint Doctoral Research Fellow at the East-West Center . He received a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from Brown University as well as a Master's Degree and a M.A.L.D. in International Security Studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University . ...
Curtis Dubay is a Senior Policy Analyst at The Heritage Foundation, where he specializes in tax issues. Before coming to Heritage in November 2008, Dubay was a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Atlanta, where he structured international transactions as part of the accounting firm's Transfer Pricing Group. Dubay previously served as a Senior Economist for the Tax Foundation, where he authored three widely recognized and cited reports: "Tax Freedom Day," "State-Local Tax Burdens" and "The State Business Tax Climate Index." (Tax Freedom Day refers to the date on which Americans at last have earned enough income to pay the nation's total income tax bill for the year.) Dubay has done research on the details of a wide range of taxes, among them income, sales, capital gains, dividends, corporate, excise and international. He has testified to state legislatures about how to improve their tax climates. Such newspapers and periodicals as The Wall Street Journal and Forbes have quoted his views. Dubay received his master's degree in economics from the University of Connecticut in 2004. He also has a bachelor's degree in economics and leadership studies from the University of Richmond. He lives in Washington, D.C....
Dean Cheng brings detailed knowledge of China's military and space capabilities to bear as The Heritage Foundation's research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs. He specializes in China's military and foreign policy, in particular its relationship with the rest of Asia and with the United States. Cheng has written extensively on China's military doctrine, technological implications of its space program and "dual use" issues associated with the communist nation's industrial and scientific infrastructure. He previously worked for 13 years as a senior analyst, first with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), the Fortune 500 specialist in defense and homeland security, and then with the China Studies division of the Center for Naval Analyses, the federally funded research institute. Before entering the private sector, Cheng studied China's defense-industrial complex for a congressional agency, the Office of Technology Assessment, as an analyst in the International Security and Space Program. Cheng has appeared on public affairs shows such as John McLaughlin's One on One and programs on National Public Radio, CNN International, BBC World Service and International Television News (ITN). He has been interviewed by or provided commentary for publications such as Time magazine, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, Jane's Defense Weekly, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. Cheng has spoken at the National Space Symposium, National Defense University, the Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies. Cheng earned a bachelor's degree in politics from Princeton University in 1986 and studied for a doctorate at MIT. He and his wife reside in Vienna, Va....
James Carafano, one of the nation's leading experts in defense and homeland security, directs Heritage's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies. Carafano is an accomplished historian and teacher as well as a prolific writer and researcher on a fundamental constitutional duty of the federal government: to provide for the common defense. His research focuses on developing the national security required to secure the long-term interests of the United States -- protecting the public, providing for economic growth and preserving civil liberties. In this capacity, Carafano is one of the principal policy experts who appear in Heritage's gripping documentary on the case for missile defense, 33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age. In August 2009, Carafano was promoted to director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies as well as to deputy director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. Carafano, a 25-year veteran of the Army, manages day-to-day research and program activities of the Allison Center. He also serves as deputy to Kim R. Holmes, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies, in overseeing the centers and projects of Davis Institute, where Carafano had been assistant director since 2006. He is a weekly columnist on national security affairs for the Washington Examiner newspapers. Carafano's most recent book is Private Sector/Public Wars: Contracting in Combat-Iraq, Afghanistan and Future Conflicts (Praeger, 2008), a rigorous study of contractors' role on the battlefield and their impact on military effectiveness and civil society. Carafano's current book project is a history of the modern military. He is editing a new book series, The Changing Face of War, which examines how emerging political, social, economic and cultural trends will affect the nature of armed conflict. Carafano joined Heritage as a senior research fellow in 2003. He had been a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington policy institute dedicated to defense issues. In his Army career, Carafano rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served in Europe, Korea and the United States. His assignments included head speechwriter for the Army Chief of Staff, the service's highest-ranking officer. Before retiring, Carafano was executive editor of Joint Force Quarterly, the Defense Department's premiere professional military journal. A graduate of West Point, Carafano holds a master's degree and a doctorate from Georgetown University as well as a master's degree in strategy from the U.S. Army War College. He is a visiting professor at National Defense University and Georgetown University. He previously served as an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and as director of military studies at the Army's Center of Military History. He taught at Mount Saint Mary College in New York and was a fleet professor at the U.S. Naval War College. Carafano is the co-author with Paul Rosenzweig of Winning the Long War: Lessons from the Cold War for Defeating Terrorism and Preserving Freedom (2005). The authors, first to coin the term "the long war," argued that a successful strategy requires a balance of prudent military and security measures, continued economic growth, zealous protection of civil liberties and prevailing in the "war of ideas" against terrorist ideologies. Carafano also co-authored a textbook, Homeland Security (McGraw-Hill), designed as a practical introduction to everyday life in the era of terrorism. The textbook addresses such key details as the roles of first responders and volunteers, family preparedness techniques and in-depth looks at weapons of mass destruction. His other works include G.I. Ingenuity: Improvisation, Technology and Winning World War II (2006); Waltzing Into the Cold War (2002); and After D-Day (2000), a Military Book Club main selection. As an expert on defense, intelligence and homeland security issues, Carafano has testified many times before Congress. He is a regular guest analyst for all the major U.S. network and cable television news organizations, from ABC to FOX to MSNBC to PBS, as well as such outlets as National Public Radio, Pajamas TV, Voice of America and the History Channel. From SkyNews to Al Jazeera, he also has appeared on TV news programs originating in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iran, Japan, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Carafano's op-ed columns and commentary are published widely, including the Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, New York Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, USA Today and Washington Times in addition to the Washington Examiner. He is a member of the National Academy's Board on Army Science and Technology and the Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee. He is a senior fellow at George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute. In 2005, Carafano received Heritage's prestigious W. Glenn and Rita Ricardo Campbell Award. The honor goes to the staff member determined to have made "an outstanding contribution to the analysis and promotion of the free society."...
Robert Alt is a Senior Legal Fellow and Deputy Director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Alt has written and lectured extensively on issues of constitutional law, with particular emphasis on civil rights law, election law, separation of powers, antiterrorism law, and the law of war. He also has extensive first-hand experience in scrutinizing the legal implications of the War on Terror after spending five months in Iraq in 2004. During this time, he observed and wrote about the shift to the Transitional Administrative Law and the transfer of governmental control. Prior to joining Heritage for a second time in 2008, Alt taught national security law, criminal law, and legislation at Case Western University School of Law in Cleveland. He first served at Heritage as Deputy Congressional Liaison from 1997 to 1999. In addition to his Heritage duties, Alt is also a Fellow in Legal and International Affairs at the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University in Ohio, where he has taught constitutional law and political parties and interest groups. Alt has testified before Congress on the legality of the Terrorist Surveillance Program and proposed revisions to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and before the Federal Election Commission concerning issues of constitutional and administrative law. He has published articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Daily Standard, The San Diego Union -Tribune and is a regular contributor to National Review Online, where he has published more than 60 articles. He also has provided commentary on CNN, Fox News, and on numerous syndicated radio programs. Alt graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 2002, after which he clerked for Judge Alice Batchelder on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. In 1998, he also received a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from Azusa Pacific University in California. ...
Hans von Spakovsky examines how civil justice is administered in state and federal courts as senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. As manager of the think tank’s Civil Justice Reform Initiative, von Spakovsky is particularly interested in the ways that plaintiffs’ attorneys and activists try to manipulate the courts for their own ends -- at the expense of the public. The project studies not only how the civil justice system can be protected but improved and made more efficient, resulting in greater fairness and predictability for all. “This is an issue vital to the economy of the country as well as the health and well-being of Americans,” von Spakovsky says. Among other responsibilities, von Spakovsky researches and writes about aspects of election law such as campaign finance, voter fraud and voter identification as well as registration and equipment issues. These have emerged as important topics in an era of razor-thin victory margins for national candidates. Before joining Heritage in 2008, he served two years as a member of the Federal Election Commission, the authority charged with enforcing campaign finance laws for congressional and presidential elections, including public funding. Previously, von Spakovsky worked at the Justice Department as counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, providing expertise in enforcing the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. A former litigator, in-house counsel and senior corporate officer in the insurance industry, von Spakovsky worked on tort reform and civil justice issues there for more than a decade. He also has served on the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and on the Fulton County (Ga.) Board of Registrations and Elections. He is a member of the Fairfax County (Va.) Electoral Board and the Virginia Advisory Board to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. His analysis and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Politico and Human Events, as well as such outlets as National Review Online and Townhall. He has testified before state and congressional committees and made presentations to, among other organizations, the National Association of Secretaries of State, the Federalist Society, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Legislative Exchange Council. A 1984 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law, von Spakovsky received a bachelor's degree in 1981 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently resides in Vienna, Va. ...
Robert E. Moffit, a seasoned veteran of more than three decades in Washington policymaking, is The Heritage Foundation’s senior fellow in domestic and economic policy studies. Moffit long has specialized in health care and entitlement programs, including Medicare. He brings to the reform effort his government experience as a senior official of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the Reagan administration. To achieve affordable health care, Moffit has argued consistently, policymakers should ensure consumers gain more access to the private insurance of their choice and more control over personal medical decisions. At the same time, policymakers should limit government intervention in a free and competitive market. Moffit, a senior member of Heritage’s pace-setting health care team, directed the think tank’s Center for Health Policy Studies from 2003 until June 2010. He was one of only a few conservatives to make Modern Healthcare magazine’s August 2010 list of “The 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.” At the request of leading conservatives in Congress, Moffit and Heritage colleagues provided technical assistance for a variety of amendments and alternative bills in 2009 and 2010. He continues to work closely with federal and state lawmakers to help design practical, consumer-centered health care reforms. Moffit’s research also involves him in continuing debates over how to reform Medicare. For his own generation of future retirees, Moffit advocates a new approach: He recommends that Congress adopt a program similar to the consumer-driven Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. He knows FEHBP well from his tenure at the Office of Personnel Management, the agency that runs it. The program allows members of Congress and federal workers and retirees to select coverage from a broad range of competing benefit options and private plans. During the Reagan years, Moffit served as assistant director of congressional relations at OPM and then as deputy assistant secretary for legislation at HHS. He later was a senior associate at Capitol Resources Group International, where he helped clients on matters involving federal health care policy. Upon joining Heritage in 1991, Moffit’s first task was to frame the think tank’s response to President Clinton’s plan to nationalize the health care system. He started by isolating himself in a room with nothing but the 1,342-page proposal and a few yellow legal pads. After five days of reading and taking notes, Moffit had drafted Heritage’s analysis of the mammoth Clinton plan. His efforts paid off in 1993: The Washington Post ran a feature story detailing Moffit’s criticisms of the Clinton plan, and newspapers around the country praised Heritage’s proposal for a consumer-driven approach. It would provide individual tax credits to help Americans keep existing health coverage or buy insurance and take it with them from job to job. Ever since, Moffit has been one of the media’s go-to experts on health care. He has appeared on the major cable news channels as well as the broadcast networks, and is quoted regularly by USA Today and other leading newspapers. His analysis and commentary have been cited or published by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and The Washington Post, among scores of newspapers large and small. Moffit also has published in many professional journals, among them Health Affairs, Health Systems Review, Harvard Health Policy Review, Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy, Postgraduate Medicine and Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. He was a contributor to Controversial Issues in Social Policy (Allyn and Bacon, 2003), a university textbook on public policy. Health care isn’t Moffit’s only concern, however. He was the first major American policy analyst to cite Great Britain’s partially privatized social security system as a starting point for a similar, but better, system for the United States. Then there’s crime. Moffit, who comes from a well-known family of Philadelphia police officers, co-wrote the book Making America Safer, a how-to guide for local governments to support their police departments. His co-author? Edwin Meese III, the former U.S. attorney general who is now Heritage’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and chairman of its Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Moffit also was co-editor of the Heritage publication School Choice 2001: What's Happening in the States. He is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Buckley Foundation for Communications. Recognition for his work includes public service awards from such diverse organizations as the American College of Eye Surgery, the Great Lakes Association of Clinical Medicine and the National Hispanic Family Against Drug Abuse. Moffit holds both a master’s degree and a doctorate in political science from the University of Arizona. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from LaSalle University in Philadelphia....
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Congress has many options regarding the debt limit, and it should not unduly rush into a decision as if there is some imminent crisis pending. Instead, Members should promptly have a full discussion of the level of debt they want to set and begin immediate, substantial spending cuts to demonstrate the seriousness with which they take the nation’s fiscal problems. Read more
After two decades of negligence, the U.S. nuclear infrastructure needs comprehensive overhaul. This is a critical problem demanding urgent attention. Read more
Of the major nuclear arms control treaties between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation, none has been voted on in the U.S. Senate during a “lame duck” session. It is unprecedented for the U.S. Senate to vote on a treaty of this importance and magnitude during a lame duck session of Congress. Read more
President Hosni Mubarak continues facing enormous pressure to step down from power. As rioting continues, a host of...
It’s been only a month since the Senate gave its nod to ratifying New START, a strategic arms control treaty with...
As a rising international power, Brazil under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva outlined a comprehensive national...
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