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Philip Mudd
John Philip Mudd (born December 11, 1961) is an American media commentator and former counterterrorism official in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Early life and education Mudd was born on December 11, 1961, to his father, who worked in real estate, and his mother, a teacher at Barry University. He grew up in South Miami, where he attended LaSalle High School. Mudd graduated cum laude from Villanova University with a B.A. in English Literature in 1983. The following year he earned an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia. Career Central Intelligence Agency Mudd joined the CIA in 1985 as an analyst specializing in South Asia and the Middle East. In 1992 he joined the CIA's Counterterrorism Center (CTC). From 1995 to 1998 he served on the National Intelligence Council as the Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. In 2001, he began a policy assignment at the White House, detailed f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic higher education, Catholic university in Pennsylvania and one of two Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian institutions in the United States (The other being Merrimack College). It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university traces its roots to the St. Augustine Church, Philadelphia, old Saint Augustine's Church, Philadelphia, which the Augustinian friars of the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova founded in 1796, and to its parish school, Saint Augustine's Academy, which was established in 1811. The school's identity remains deeply rooted in its Augustinian Catholic fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extraordinary Rendition
Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored Kidnapping, forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had the purpose of circumventing the source country's laws on interrogation, Detention (imprisonment), detention, extradition and/or torture. Extraordinary rendition is a type of extraterritorial abduction, but not all extraterritorial abductions include transfer to a third country. The administration of President George W. Bush abducted hundreds of "illegal combatants" for U.S. detention, and transported detainees to U.S.-controlled sites as part of an extensive interrogation program that included enhanced interrogation, torture. Extraordinary rendition continued under the Obama administration, with targets being interrogated and subsequently taken to the U.S. for trial. A 2018 report by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focused on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits. Furthermore, the show satirized conservative personality-driven political talk programs, particularly Fox News's ''The O'Reilly Factor''. ''The Colbert Report'' is a spin-off of Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'', where Colbert was a correspondent from 1997 to 2005. The program, created by Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Ben Karlin, lampooned current events and American political happenings. The show's structure consisted of an introductory monologue and a guest interview, in which the Colbert character at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management. It began operations in 2003, formed as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, enacted in response to the September 11 attacks. With more than 240,000 employees, DHS is the third-largest Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet department, after the Departments of United States Department of Defense, Defense and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs. Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the United States Homeland Security Council, Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with signi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Dobbins (diplomat)
James Francis Dobbins Jr. (born May 31, 1942) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to the European Union (1991–1993), as Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (2001), and as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (May 2013 – July 2014). He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. He was envoy to Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia. In 2001, he led negotiations leading to the Bonn Agreement, and served as acting Ambassador of the United States to Afghanistan during the transitional period. He was head of international and security policy for the RAND Corporation. Education Dobbins graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Works"Iraq: Winning the Unwinnable Wars", ''Foreign Affairs'', January/February 2005 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban government from power. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, offering support for military action from the start of invasion preparations. The invasion came after the Afghan Civil War's 1996–2001 phase between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance groups, resulting in the Taliban controlling 80% of the country by 2001. The invasion became the first phase of the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan and marked the beginning of the American-led War on Terror. After the September 11 attacks, US President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda; bin Laden had already been wanted by the FBI since 1998. The Taliban declined to extradite him an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
September 11 Attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the Northeastern United States to California. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States military) in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane was intended to hit a federal government building in Washington, D.C., but crashed in a field following a passenger revolt. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and instigated the war on terror. The first impact was that of American Airlines Flight 11. It was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 a.m. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03, the World Trade Center’s S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White House National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials. Since its inception in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman, the function of the Council has been to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. It also serves as the President's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies. The Council has subsequently played a key role in most major events in U.S. foreign policy, from the Korean War to the War on Terror. The NSC has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations. History The immediate predecessor to the National Security Council was the National Intelligence Authority (NIA), whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the historical Fertile Crescent, and later the Levant region. It also comprises Turkey (both Anatolia and East Thrace) and Egypt (mostly located in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula being in Asia). Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire. According to the National Geographic Society, the terms ''Near East'' and ''Middle East'' denote the same territories and are "generally accepted as comprising the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Syria, and Turkey". In 1997, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Intelligence Council
The National Intelligence Council (NIC), established in 1979 and reporting to the Director of National Intelligence, bridges the United States Intelligence Community (IC) with policy makers in the United States. The NIC produces the "Global Trends" report every four years beginning in 1997, for the incoming President of the United States. Their work is based on intelligence from a wide variety of sources that includes experts in academia and the private sector. NIC documents and reports which are used by policymakers, include the National Intelligence Estimate and the Global Trends reports delivered every four years. The NIC's goal is to provide policymakers with the best available information, that is unvarnished, unbiased and without regard to whether the analytic judgments conform to current U.S. policy. One of the NIC's most important analytical projects is a Global Trends report produced for the incoming US president, which is usually delivered to the incoming president ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Syria (region), Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Governorate, Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory or too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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