Bold Ideas 2010: A new initiative for the new decade.  The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce Bold Ideas 2010, an Institute-wide effort aimed at “seeing around the corners” and identifying top challenges to our national security in the decade ahead. At our year-end meeting in December, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies CEO Mike Swetnam challenged us to be proactive in such an effort. From this challenge, Bold Ideas 2010 was born: an initiative envisioned as a follow-up to the Bold Ideas 2000 campaign that proved prescient on many fronts. Back then, our scholars predicted that the element of surprise and use of unconventional tactics would become key weapons of America?s adversaries, and called for a US national security policy that responds to those threats. The challenge is no less pressing today, and in the months ahead we will be marshalling our resources to forecast the risks we face, and identify the ways in which we as a nation must optimize our response. Look for more news under the Bold Ideas 2010 banner…as we contribute to this critical effort.

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Research Associate Chris Brown commented to media outlets this week about the failed Christmas Day terror attack aboard a Detroit-bound jet.  In a story aired on Hearst Television stations, he spoke to reporter Sally Kidd about the growing threat of Al Qaeda in Yemen. Yemen's Al Qaeda wing has claimed responsiblity for the attempted Christmas attack.  Click to watch the full story from Hearst station WCVB, including two comments from Chris Brown.

Dr. Tawfik Hamid is the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Chair for the Study of Islamic Radicalism.  In a thought-provoking piece for the Washington Examiner, he argues that accommodation of individuals' rights to practice their faith within a democratic society cannot be without limits. Hamid writes that this is especially challenging when dealing with Shariah law, and observes that we must "...distinguish between religious values, such as fasting, that predominantly affect the person who practices them, and those religious values that have a negative effect on others."  Click here to read the full article.    

In a recent article, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow David Smith writes about the current state of Turkish-Armenian relations.  Smith writes that hopes for normalization of relations between the two nations appear to be fading, as conflict persists over Armenia's presence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Smith writes that Armenian and Turkish legislatures have failed to approve an agreement to reopen the border between their two countries, despite pressure from the US and other nations.  Now, he says, "...even if a big diplomatic push succeeds in getting the agreement back on track, many underlying issues and years of mistrust will remain. Consequently, western leaders must remain engaged to channel the agreement in a positive direction."  Read the full article here.