ICSR Future Action Series Presentation by Richard Barrett, Head of U.N. Al Qaeda Monitoring Unit
Aug. 21, 2008 - The International Center for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR, for which ISTAR is one of its founding organizations) recently held one of its Future Action Series Seminar at the Penn Club in New York. We had the pleasure of hosting guest speaker Richard Barrett, Coordinator of the United Nations' Al-Qaida/Taliban Monitoring Team, and he presented his views on the current status of Al Qaeda. Barrett outlined the conclusions of his paper 'Seven Years After 9/11: Al-Qaida's Strengths and Vulnerabilities,' published as part of the seminar series, presenting a nuanced evaluation of the organization's current ability to assert itself in the international arena. He concluded that Al-Qaida is severely weakened internationally since 2001 but increasingly assertive in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, offering several suggestions for further curtailing the organization's strength. The event is part of our efforts at engaging strategic threat issues academically and attracting representatives from diverse fields in their discussions. Barrett's report represents his personal views and is not necessarily shared by the United Nations.
Richard Barrett's paper is available for download or purchase at ICSR's website. For more information on upcoming events of the Future Action Series please visit ICSR's seminar infopage. We provide a link to the Reuters news coverage of the event.
Below are some thumbnail pictures from the event (please click for enlarged photos):
First International Conference on Radicalization and Political Violence
Jan. 17, 2008 -- The International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) is a unique partnership between the University of Pennsylvania, King's College (London, England), the Regional Center on Conflict Prevention (Amman, Jordan), and the Interdisciplinary Center (Herzliya, Israel). ICSR's objective is to combine scholarly insight and political foresight in addressing the challenges and threats we face today from political and religious extremists. Interestingly, ICSR is the first collaboration between Arab and Israeli academic institutions.
ICSR held the First International Conference on Radicalization and Political Violence in London on 17-18 January 2008. Close to 100 senior senior policy makers, scholars, journalists and practitioners from five continents and more than 20 countries took part in the conference. Keynote speeches were given by: Rt Hon Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary, UK ; Senator Chuck Hagel, United States Senate; Vice-President Francisco Santos Calderon, Vice-President of Colombia; H.E. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Rt Hon Terry Davis, Secretary-General, Council of Europe. Panelists included: Frank Gardner, BBC; H.E. Sadig Al Mahdi, former Prime Minister of Sudan; Prof Olivier Roy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris; H.E. Garret Fitzgerald, former Prime Minister of Ireland; Shiraz Maher, former member of Hizb-ut Tahrir; Peter Bergen, CNN; Abdullah Anas, former mujahid; Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6; H.E. Andres Pastrana, former President of Colombia; Dan Benjamin, Brookings Institution and former US National Security Council.
Dr. Harvey Rubin of ISTAR had the pleasure of serving as the Chairman of the summary session at the end of the conference where the reports of the working groups were presented.
Below are some thumbnail pictures of the London Conference (please click for enlarged photos):
ISTAR Director Presented Evidence on Infectious Diseases and Control to the UK House of Lords
Jan. 8, 2008 -- The Ad Hoc Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations (a Select Committee of the House of Lords, the Upper Chamber of the British Parliament) undertook an inquiry into the effectiveness of action carried out through intergovernmental organisations, of which the UK is a member, to control the global spread of communicable diseases. The present inquiry was focused on an in-depth examination of action through intergovernmental organisations to control the global spread infectious diseases generally and of Avian Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in particular. The Committee assessed the overall effectiveness of intergovernmental action in these fields and to explore the synergy with which the various bodies involved are operating. Our Director, Dr. Harvey Rubin, was invited to present current situations on infectious diseases and control, and delve into the utility of the International Compact for Infectious Diseases.
A Partnership for Global Security: Penn Professor Among Six Experts to Outline Plan for Worldwide Biosecurity
Nov. 16, 2007 -- Dr. Harvey Rubin, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response, is among six internationally recognized experts who have authored a five-point roadmap for the global community to enhance worldwide biosecurity. The experts recommend that these five priorities be undertaken through immediate, action-oriented initiatives on an international scale.
The roadmap, “A Consensus Statement of Priority Actions for the Promotion of Global Biosecurity,” recommends greater international communication and cooperation to combat the rising threat of pandemic, epidemic and endemic infectious diseases which threaten personal, national and international security. It is an outgrowth, in part, of Rubin and ISTAR’s work on a Global Compact for Infectious Disease, which began on the Penn campus a year ago.
“We know with great certainty that the deliberate spread of infectious diseases is one option for terrorists and is a major security concern,” said Rubin, professor of medicine, microbiology and computer science in addition to his role at ISTAR. “However, non-deliberate spread is more likely and also constitutes a severe threat to security. The global community is capable of resolving complex and sometimes overlooked international issues, as it has with the prohibition of land mines. This must happen again with regard to biological threats.”
The priority actions include:
• The development of an international shared database on global biological holdings, research facilities and infectious disease patterns.
• Improved education and elevated awareness among the scientific, academic and policy communities of the nature of biological threats.
• Greater interdisciplinary coordination and information sharing in support of the improvement of global biosecurity, including a yearly global convention on biosecurity featuring a broad cross section of life sciences stakeholders.
• An open dialogue between the public and private sectors on the risks posed by the potential misapplication of biological materials, while emphasizing the need to protect the scientific and economic value created in the biotechnology and life sciences fields.
• The promotion of globally accepted compliance standards and best practices with the integration of law enforcement to enhance the quality, rapidity and effectiveness of efforts to prevent and respond to biological dangers.
“Some of these actions are best undertaken by governments and some can be best implemented through international government organizations and non-governmental organizations,” Rubin said. “However, these priority issues should be integrated through a mechanism that links them together and facilitates action toward their goals, for example, through a Global Compact or similar global initiative.”
The consensus statement is the result of an October international workshop organized by the Partnership for Global Security and the Landau Network-Centro Volta, two international, non-partisan groups of scientists and policy makers whose mission is greater global security in an age of weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons and terrorism.
The signers of this statement intend to distribute this document at the Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference to be held in December 2008. Following the event, the signers will encourage governments, non-governmental experts and international governmental organizations to begin to act immediately on these priorities.
The statement’s authors are Rubin; Gerald Epstein and David Heyman, co-directors of the Biological Threat Reduction Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.; Kenneth Luongo, executive director of the Partnership for Global Security; Maurizio Martellini, secretary general of the Landau Network-Centro Volta; and Barry Kellman, professor of law at DePaul University.
The complete text of the “Consensus Statement of Priority Actions for the Promotion of Global Biosecurity" is available at
www.partnershipforglobalsecurity.org/documents/Consensus_Statement_Nov15.pdf.
Results of the October international workshop organized by the Partnership for Global Security and the Landau Network-Centro Volta are available at
www.partnershipforglobalsecurity.org/documents/conclusions.pdf.
Media contact: Jordan Reese at 215-573-6604 or jreese@pobox.upenn.edu
Dr. Harvey Rubin at the Partnership for Global Security Conference in Lake Como, Italy
The conference, entitled "Strengthening a Global Biosecurity/Biosafety Framework and Coping with the Biotechnology Revolution" seeked new ideas and implementation paths for a variety of ways to deal with the staggering advances in biotechnology that have taken place in recent years. Dr. Rubin, who has spoken often on the need for an International Compact for Infectious Diseases, participated in a roundtable discussion on implementing and operationalizing new initiatives.
The International Compact for Infectious Diseases Included in Noordwijk Medicines Agenda
The OECD High Level Forum on Medicines for Neglected and Emerging Infectious Diseases has adopted the wording of the International Compact for Infectious Diseases in its report, the Noordwijk Medicines Agenda. The High Level Forum was attended by ministers of OECD countries, the Queen of the Netherlands, and representatives from the private sector, academia and philanthropic organizations. With the inclusion of the Compact into the NMA, we look forward to even broader participation in our November 2007 Compact Drafting Conference, to be held in Philadelphia. For more information about the Compact, please visit our Compact website.
The International Compact for Infectious Diseases Presented to OECD
The Compact, ISTAR's groundbreaking effort to drive pharmaceutical innovation for infectious diseases while eliminating the market and coordination failures that currently hinder such discoveries, was presented at the Preparatory Workshops for the High Level Forum on Medicines for Neglected and Emerging Infectious Diseases. An OECD initiative to explore policy options ahead of the Noordwijk-an-Zee meeting in the Netherlands, the Preparatory Workshops were attended by government officials, academics and representatives from the philanthropic community. For more information about the Compact, please visit our Compact website.
Roundtable on Risk: Liabilities and New Directions
The Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response, in collaboration with Wharton's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, recently hosted a roundtable on enhancing global supply chain effectiveness. After a keynote speech from James Lee Witt, former director of FEMA, scholars and managers from across the country took part in panel discussions designed to explore new directions for risk management research and policymaking. The Council on Foreign Relations, Lockheed Martin, and the Rand Corporation were all represented.
 From left: Erwann Michel-Kerjan, James Lee Witt, Howard Kunreuther and Harvey Rubin.
The fall 2006 edition of the Risk Management Review has an in-depth feature on the roundtable and can be found here.
Striving for Progress in Preparedness - Highlighting the City of Philadelphia's Emergency Preparedness Progress Report
We are pleased to highlight the City of Philadelphia's 90-day Emergency Preparedness Progress Report, which was completed and presented to Mayor Street on October 11th 2006. The report was just recently made public online at the City of Philadelphia's website www.phila.gov. In it, the City's continual efforts in initiating and implementing the recommendations of the Emergency Preparedness Review Committee (EPRC) are documented and appraised. We congratulate the City for the continual progress in this important aspect of public service.
We
also congratulate Ms. MaryAnn E. Marrocolo who was recently appointed as Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management and Preparedness. Ms. Marrocolo will oversee the reform implementation process, and she comes with vast experience in emergency management, including overseeing New York's Emergency Operations Center for Y2K, the responses to the World Trade Center attacks and the Anthrax attack in 2001, just to name a few.
 Presentation of the Report to Mayor Street, Oct 11th 2006.
State and Local OUTLOOK on Homeland Security October 2006 Edition
The October 2006 Edition of this Governing Magazine issue covers important points of the City of Philadelphia's recently concluded Emergency Preparedness Review Committee (EPRC) report. James Lee Witt, former FEMA director under President Clinton and EPRC consultant, delves into various aspects of preparedness for the city and gives his opinion how best to proceed.
Project BioShield founders amid public relations battles
Originally designed to stimulate research and commercial investment in biomedical endeavors critical to homeland security, Project BioShield is now faltering in part because of a massive public relations battle being waged by two potential suppliers of an anthrax vaccine. Due to the small size of the market and low profit margins of the desired products, Project Bioshield has failed to attract attention from large pharmaceutical companies and has relied on smaller startup companies to provide the countermeasures it requires. According to the New York Times, the lobbying efforts of VaxGen and Emergent BioSolutions have diverted attention away from the vaccine and focused it on the protracted battle being fought on issues peripheral to its development and testing. The full article can be found here.
President Bush updates the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism
This update to the NSCT, first released in February 2003, comes at the beginning of a political season framed by issues of national security. The document is the White House's response to evolving terrorist methods and is designed to keep America safe even as terrorists adapt to existing counter-terrorism strategies. The full updated document can be found here. President Bush's remarks about the strategy and the progress of the War on Terror can be found here.
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