program spotlight

NSA Professor Releases Two Books on Very Different Subjects
By MC1 Leonardo Carrillo

National Security Affairs Distinguished Professor Dr. Tom Bruneau displays his two recently published titles, "Patriots for Profit: Contractors and the Military in U.S. National Security" and "Maras: Gang Violence and Security in Central America" (coauthored) in his office on campus, Jan. 12. Bruneau’s extensive research and collaborative efforts resulted in two works that tackle distinctly unique topics of national defense and civil-military relations.

In "Patriots for Profit," Bruneau takes an in-depth look at the issues concerning the replacement of military forces, in recent conflicts, with civilian contractors and the effects and repercussions of such strategies. Bruneau raises the point that, while the military is a representation of the U.S. government and controlled by elected representatives of the American people, contractors work under little public control and limited legal authority.

In coauthoring "Maras," Bruneau collaborated with Lucia Dammert of the Global Consortium on Security Transformation and Elizabeth Skinner of NATO's Allied Command Transformation in collecting a series of essays and studies from multiple experts in the study of the history, organization and propagation of the Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gangs that originated in Los Angeles and have been growing in prominence and influence in the United States and North and Central America, and are becoming increasingly more and more dangerous.

Intelligence and Democracy

Our Focus:
The Intelligence and Democracy Education program at CCMR assists countries consolidate their democracies from the perspective of institutionalizing democratic intelligence systems that are not only transparent and accountable, but also effective (i.e. that are able to fulfill the roles and missions assigned by civilian leaders). Having intelligence agencies that are equally transparent and effective is a challenge in every democracy — a "Gordian Knot" that incessantly tests policy makers — yet not impossible. From this standpoint, CCMR's Intelligence and Democracy courses are designed to explore and provide possible ways and avenues that enable successful reform of intelligence agencies in a democracy.

What We Do:
The Intelligence and Democracy Education program conducts two annual courses at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey: a two-week course in April (MASL # P170009), and a one week course in November (MASL # P171404). It also delivers one-week long mobile seminars for national and regional audiences (MASL # P309149 and MASL # P309287). In addition, in collaboration with the CCMR CT program, we conduct a one week course on Intelligence and Combating Terrorism (MASL # P309043).

CCMR's approach to teaching the Intelligence and Democracy courses is to focus instruction on the specific conditions and unique requirements of the recipient countries, and in consonance with ODC/SAO/MILGROUP guidance. Participants will be provided with necessary theoretical knowledge by academic experts and experienced practitioners. The courses utilize case studies and simulation exercises to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed in reforming national security and intelligence institutions.