National Security Education Program
The National Security Education Program (NSEP) was initiated by the National Security Education Act of 1991 authored by then U.S. Senator David L. Boren.[1] The Act also "created the National Security Education Board ...and a trust fund in the U.S. Treasury to provide resources for scholarships, fellowships and grants. It is guided by a mission that seeks to lead in development of the national capacity to educate U.S. citizens, understand foreign cultures, strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness, and enhance international cooperation and security."[2]
"NSEP recognizes that the scope of national security now includes the new challenges of a global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness."[3]
"NSEP was designed to provide U.S. undergraduates with the resources and encouragement they need to acquire skills and experience in countries and areas of the world critical to the future security of our nation."[4]
With little notice Congress approved section 318 of the 2004 Intelligence Authorization Act which appropriated four million dollars to fund a pilot program known as the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program (PRISP) and:
- PRISP was designed to train intelligence operatives and analysts in American university classrooms for careers in the CIA and other agencies. PRISP now operates on an undisclosed number of American college and university campuses, and if the pilot phase of the program proves to be a useful means of recruiting and training members of the intelligence community then the program will expand to more campuses across the country.[David Price, op. cit.]
Background
The origins of NSEP and its affiliated programs stems:
- PRISP is largely the brainchild of University of Kansas anthropologist Felix Moos – a longtime advocate of anthropological contacts with military and intelligence agencies.[David Price, op. cit.]
Affiliations
External Resources
- David H. Price, "The CIA's Campus Spies", CounterPunch, March 12, 2005.
