January 18th, 2011

Thomas Fingar: Don't make the Wikileaks problem worse

Overreaction over Wikileaks is "likely unless there is a concerted effort to prevent it," write CISAC's Thomas Fingar and Roger George, a former national intelligence officer who teaches at the National War College. "The theft and unauthorized disclosure of these materials are inexcusable, but media coverage has consistently -- and predictably -- depicted a single, albeit horrendous, incident as indicative of widespread systemic deficiencies and makes it appear that Washington is unable to safeguard any classified information. That isn't the case." Read more »

January 3rd, 2011

Thomas Fingar: The view from Beijing

In the January/February issue of Foreign Policy magazine, Thomas Fingar, the former deputy director of national intelligence for analysis, examines Chinese President Hu Jintao's assessment of the economic and political challenges his nation faces. China's "growth has bolstered national pride and earned the respect of people around the world," Fingar writes in an imagined memo from Hu. "But it has also raised expectations at home and reinforced foreign concerns about China's rise. Our successes have made it even more important to make progress on corruption, perceived injustice, and other long-standing problems." Read more »

October 5th, 2010

Global trends: anticipating key developments through 2025

Looking ahead to 2025, Thomas Fingar, examined significant issues--including economic, natural resource, climate change, and demographic factors--with the potential to shape the future, to an audience of more than 400 members of the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head Island. Dr. Fingar's observations were based on the National Intelligence Council report "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World."

• » Global trends: anticipating key developments through 2025 (audio transcript)

September 24th, 2010

Honors students explore challenges of policy implementation, assessment in Washington, D.C.

In September, honors students from FSI's two undergraduate honors programs - the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) - traveled to Washington, D.C., with their faculty advisors for senior-level policy briefings with U.S. government officials and major international organizations, NGOs, and think tanks. A highlight was a meeting at the National Security Council with two leading Stanford foreign policy experts serving in the current administration: Michael McFaul, President Obama's senior advisor on Russia; and Jeremy Weinstein, Director for Democracy on the National Security Council Staff. Read more »

July 21st, 2010

Tom Fingar cites animosity towards Director of National Intelligence

"Part of the problem is the continuing animosity of some individuals, organizations that hope the DNI is a passing fad, can be made to fail and things will go back to the halcyon days of yore when the director of central intelligence was in charge," Fingar says in an interview with National Public Radio. Read more »

May 24th, 2010

NPR interviews Tom Fingar on Korean crisis

CISAC's Tom Fingar comments on the U.S. military role in northeast Asia after an investigation blamed the North for sinking a South Korean warship. The U.S. is planning military exercises with the South, while Japan has cited the tensions as a reason for closer military cooperation with the U.S. Read more »

April 30th, 2010

Five years later, a stronger intelligence community, Tom Fingar argues

Those noting the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have paid more attention to shortcomings than to what has been achieved and why the achievements are important, Fingar argues in a Washington Post op-ed. Read more »