MESA/IR lectures

from Chad Emmett (A member of the IR Committe of the Whole, and director of the MESA degree):

IR majors:

Coming up next week are two great lectures from specialists in Middle East terrorism and intelligence.

The first is Monday March 2 at 2:00 in 238 HRCB (Kennedy Center). Dr. Gabriel Weimann, a Communications Professor in the Department of Communications at Haifa University, Israel will speak on “Terrorism and the Internet”. Much of his research has focused on how Islamic terrorist groups have used the internet to further their cause.

The second lecture is on Wednesday March 4 at 2:00 in JFSB B092. Avi Jorisch will speak on: “Tainted Money: Winning the War on Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance”. Avi’s in-country research on Hizballah’s funding of terrorism was instrumental in severely restricting the broadcast funding and abilities of Hizballah’s al-Manar TV.

These two speakers will be accompanied by and introduced by Ahmed Qureshi--a BYU graduate in Middle Eastern Studies who is now president of Harbinger Technologies Group. This group as described on its web site is “comprised of former intelligence operators, military officers, law enforcement personnel, as well as Islamic/Arab culture experts, scientists, software designers and linguists. This diverse team works together to create intelligent solutions – training, consulting and tools that better equip you to understand and know either your clients, allies or your enemies.”

All three of these men are excellent examples of how to turn an IR related degree into a job.

Hope to see you there

Professor Emmett