James J.F. Forest

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Biographical Details

"James J.F. Forest, Ph.D. is currently a visiting associate professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on terrorism and security studies, and a senior fellow with the Joint Special Operations University, where he holds a TS/SCI security clearance with the U.S. Department of Defense and conducts research on insurgencies, emerging terrorist threats, transnational criminal networks and special forces training.

"Dr. Forest is the former Director of Terrorism Studies at the United States Military Academy. During his tenure (2001-2010) he taught courses in terrorism, counterterrorism, information warfare, international relations, comparative politics and sub- Saharan Africa. He also directed a series of research initiatives and education programs for the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, covering topics such as terrorist recruitment, training, and organizational knowledge transfer. Dr. Forest was selected by the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy as one of “America’s most esteemed terrorism and national security experts” and participated in their annual Terrorism Index studies 2006 thru 2009. He has been interviewed by many newspaper, radio and television journalists, and is regularly invited to give speeches and lectures in the U.S. and other countries. He has published 11 books, and dozens of articles in journals such as the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Contemporary Security Policy, the Journal of Political Science Education, and Democracy and Security. He has also served as an advisor to the Future of War panel for the Defense Science Board, and has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate."

Recent Books

• Influence Warfare: How Terrorists and Governments Fight to Shape Perceptions in a War of Ideas (Praeger, 2009).
• Handbook of Defence Politics: International and Comparative Perspectives (Routledge, 2008, with Ike Wilson)
• Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century: International Perspectives (3 volumes: Praeger, 2007)
• Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism (McGraw-Hill, 2007, with Russell Howard)
• Teaching Terror: Strategic and Tactical Learning in the Terrorist World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006)
• Homeland Security: Protecting America’s Targets (3 volumes: Praeger Security International, 2006)
• The Making of a Terrorist: Recruitment, Training and Root Causes (3 volumes: Praeger Security International, 2005)

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

• Erica Chenoweth