Saturday, August 2, 2008

Mr. Nathaniel C. Fick and Mr. Vikram Singh from the Center for a New American Security joined CAPS for a briefing on Afghanistan and the region.  Mr. Fick and Mr. Singh are in Afghanistan to conduct an assessment which will be released prior to the upcoming US elections. Mr. Fick and Mr. Singh heard briefings from research analysts Saifullah Ahmadzai, Halim Kousary, and Hyder Akbar on the topics of development, security and politics.

Several discussions on pertinent topics related to Afghanistan were discussed, including:

–          Anti-narcotics strategy

–          Role of Iran

–          International involvement

–          Afghanistan/Pakistan border

–          Formal vs. informal policing and security

Prior to joining CNAS, Mr. Fick served as a Marine Corps infantry and reconnaissance officer, through which he traveled to and worked in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Author of the New York Times bestseller One Bullet Away, Mr. Fick also was a civilian instructor for the Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Academy in Kabul. Mr. Fick’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Mr. Fick is also a member of prestigious research institutes in the US and holds a B.A. in Classics from Dartmouth, an MBA from the Harvard Busicness School, and an MPA in international security policy form Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was a Dean’s scholar.

Mr. Singh holds a B.A. in history from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in International Security Policy from Columbia University. Prior to joining CNAS, Mr. Singh worked with Global Security Affairs, where his responsibilities included initiatives improving the U.S. military’s work with partner nations, among other things. Mr Singh has reporter for the Voice of America and in 2002, he was rewarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. Mr. Singh is also an International Fellow of Columbia University, a Fellow of the Next Generation Project of the American Assembly, and received a Superior Honor Award from the Department of State.