The Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is privileged to present the CTC Sentinel, a new monthly online journal devoted to understanding and confronting contemporary threats posed by terrorism, insurgency and other forms of political violence. The CTC Sentinel draws from the Center’s network of scholars and practitioners dedicated to the study of terrorism and counter-terrorism to provide the most well-informed forum for the analysis of these most pressing security challenges facing the United States and its allies.
The CTC Sentinel supports the Combating Terrorism Center’s dual mission of educating a new generation of leaders and conducting objective, policy relevant, informative and rigorous research of the highest standards geared both to the specialist and larger interested public. Reflecting the CTC’s commitment both to academic excellence as well as to the military, law enforcement community and other practitioners in the field, the CTC Sentinel will include relevant scholarly research as well as articles with a more practical orientation. For example, each issue will feature an operational after-action report from military personnel returning from combat operations as well as a monthly chronology of significant terrorist incidents.
Leading this project is Erich Marquardt, who joins the CTC from The Jamestown Foundation, where he was the editor of Terrorism Focus and Terrorism Monitor and the Program Manager of Global Terrorism Analysis. The Sentinel’s editorial board includes CTC Director of Research Dr. Jarret Brachman, Senior Research Fellow Dr. Assaf Moghadam and Senior Associate Brian Fishman.
The CTC Sentinel is one of several new initiatives that we are pleased to announce. Early next year, the CTC will launch an entirely redesigned website, which will feature an interactive tool for searching our growing collection of Harmony documents. We also look forward to releasing two major reports this spring, including a historical study of failed jihadist movements and our Shi`a Ideology Atlas.
With the recent passing of our Distinguished Chair, General Wayne A. Downing, we would like to dedicate this inaugural issue to him. As General Downing used to remind the Center’s faculty—only slightly adjusting the motto of the British SAS—“Who thinks wins.” We hope you will find the CTC Sentinel to be a valuable resource that informs your thinking and enhances our collective understanding of the persistent challenges facing the United States and its allies by terrorist and insurgent groups.
LTC(P) Joseph Felter, Ph.D.
Director, Combating Terrorism Center
Department of Social Sciences
U.S. Military Academy
