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Articles by Tommy Ross
Why the EU AI Act Is a Data Literacy Wake-up Call
Generative AI is producing transformative results for businesses, unlocking productivity and recasting job roles to be more strategic and rewarding. Many enterprises worldwide, however, continue to lack effective approaches to developing AI literacy. Faced with high education costs, misaligned incentives and a lack of proven learning tools, they’re still working out how to unlock AI’s benefits while simultaneously ensuring its responsible use. The EU AI Act is a pacesetter for global AI regulation.
Reforming U.S. Security Sector Assistance
Stephen Tankel & Tommy Ross War on the Rocks October 29, 2020 One of America’s most important foreign policy tools is not fit for purpose. U.S. security sector assistance — the means by which the United States strengthens alliances and partners — is stuck in the past. Crucially, it is out of sync with U.S. priorities when it comes to where resources are needed most and the types of capabilities required by America’s allied and partners. Read Full Article »
Retooling U.S. Security Sector Assistance
Tommy Ross & Stephen Tankel War on the Rocks October 29, 2020 Despite widespread agreement on the need to prioritize strategic competition with Russia and China, the United States still directs a disproportionate amount of assistance toward the Middle East. An emphasis on counter-terrorism since 9/11 has also contributed to an emphasis on building the wrong capabilities.
Retooling U.S. Security Sector Assistance
One of America’s most important foreign policy tools is not fit for purpose. U.S. security sector assistance — the means by which the United States strengthens alliances and partners — is stuck in the past. Crucially, it is out of sync with U.S. priorities when it comes to where resources are needed most and the types of capabilities required by America’s allied and partners.
House and Senate Chart Different Courses on US Clandestine Support of Foreign Militias
Proxy warfare has come to occupy a central role in the United States’ national security strategy in the post-9/11 era, and U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) have become America’s foremost sponsors of foreign proxies. SOF-sponsored proxy warfare has underpinned counterterrorism operations across the Middle East, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia for nearly two decades.
Is Human Rights Training Working with Foreign Militaries? No One Knows and That’s O.K.
Training a foreign army is not like training your own military. This seems obvious, but the differences are often not accepted in practice. For example, there’s time constraints. Donors want instantaneous improvements in combat lethality and compliance with international laws. The tactical, operational, and professional skills that take a soldier years to learn in a Western military are expected to be mastered by local forces in months. Then there is the scale of the challenge.
Time to Get a Handle on America’s Conduct of Proxy Warfare
In the past decade, proxy warfare has become a major challenge to global stability. In fact, in nearly every major conflict of the 21st century—civil wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya; U.S.-initiated wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; ongoing conflicts in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and eastern Ukraine—proxies have featured prominently.
Time to Get a Handle on America’s Conduct of Proxy Warfare
In the past decade, proxy warfare has become a major challenge to global stability. In fact, in nearly every major conflict of the 21st century—civil wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya; U.S.-initiated wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; ongoing conflicts in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and eastern Ukraine—proxies have featured prominently.
The World’s Landmine Challenge Demands Presidential Action
This Saturday, the United Nations-proclaimed International Day for Mine Awareness, the world will reaffirm its commitment to eliminate the odious threat that mines and unexploded ordnance pose to civilians in 59 countries around the world. The day will find the United States at a crossroads in its commitment to this goal.
A Roadmap for Better Choices From Security Partners
Tommy Ross & Melissa Dalton, War on the Rocks January 17, 2020 U.S. Marine Corps photo by SSgt Mark E Morrow Jr. How can America best work with imperfect partners to achieve pressing security objectives? This question bedevils American foreign policy. Case in point: Over the past decade, America's most essential military partner in Africa has become one of its most problematic.
A Roadmap for Better Choices from Security Partners
How can America best work with imperfect partners to achieve pressing security objectives? This question bedevils American foreign policy. Case in point: Over the past decade, America’s most essential military partner in Africa has become one of its most problematic. Uganda has played a key role in two major U.S. priorities on the continent — the African Union Mission in Somalia and the multinational campaign against Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army.
Shifting the Burden Responsibly: Oversight and Accountability in U.S. Security Sector Assistance
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Beyond 'by, with and through': Reforming America's security partnerships
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in security assistance to fragile states such as Iraq, Somalia, Niger and the Philippines. The assumption many policymakers possess in giving this assistance is simple: that by working “by, with and through” partner forces, the United States can build an enduring capacity within these states to confront mutual threats such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
Book Review Roundtable: Building Militaries in Fragile States
1. Introduction: The Pitfalls of Seeking Security on the Cheap By Jason Fritz In the years since the United States deployed massive amounts of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan beginning in the early to late 2000s, it has changed tactics, relying upon local security forces to fight its enemies abroad in order to avoid the costs of large-scale military commitments.
Training Law Enforcement in Fragile States: The Case for a New U.S. Approach
On Jan. 15, 2019, al-Shabaab gunmen flooded into Nairobi’s DusitD2 hotel complex and opened fire, killing 21 people including an American citizen. Investigations uncovered a pattern familiar in Kenya: The militants were linked to the Dadaab refugee camp, a sprawling complex sheltering over 400,000 Somali refugees, long antagonized by the Kenyan government and subject to rampant police abuse.
Sen. Burr should release the full Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture of detainees
I left North Carolina for Washington, D.C ., roughly 16 years ago as a naive 20-something, determined to change the world. I set out to play a small role in making policies that would improve American communities and defend American values. I never imagined I would have to debate whether torture should be used in the name of those values. And yet throughout the 15 years I worked in Congress and the Pentagon, that exact debate has raged.
Policy Roundtable: The Pros and Cons of Security Assistance
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Tech and law enforcement should deepen cooperation to fight crime
Debate about law enforcement’s ability to access encrypted devices and communications remains a stalemate. Law enforcement leaders continue to insist on the need for extraordinary access to encryption in criminal investigations; technology experts note that such an approach would bring untenable risks to the security and privacy of individuals, businesses, and critical infrastructure. While this stalemate persists, a range of other challenges hindering criminal investigations are left unaddressed.
At a Crossroads, Part III: Reasserting Congress’ Oversight Role in Foreign Policy
Congressional oversight of foreign policy hasn’t always been this way. A far cry from today’s marginalized and demoralized bodies, Congress’ foreign affairs committees once stood side-by-side with the presidency at the center of America’s foreign policymaking.
At a Crossroads, Part II: No More Shadows: The Future of Intelligence Oversight in Congress
In the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, M (Judi Dench) and Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) debate how to respond to a leak that has led to the assassination of several MI6 intelligence agents. They are torn between a desire to ensure that MI6, Britain’s premier spy agency, remains a credible part of British democratic institutions and the need to avoid antiquation in the face of rapidly changing technology and spycraft. At one point, Mallory laments, “We can’t keep working in the shadows.
The Future of Intelligence Oversight in Congress
In the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, M (Judi Dench) and Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) debate how to respond to a leak that has led to the assassination of several MI6 intelligence agents. They are torn between a desire to ensure that MI6, Britain's premier spy agency, remains a credible part of British democratic institutions and the need to avoid antiquation in the face of rapidly changing technology and spycraft. At one point, Mallory laments, “We can't keep working in the shadows.
At a Crossroads, Part I: How Congress Can Find Its Way Back to Effective Defense Oversight
Last year, four American soldiers were killed in Niger while performing a joint patrol with host nation military forces. Key members of Congress, including members of the defense committees overseeing U.S. military operations, later acknowledged that they had no idea U.S. troops were present in Niger, though staff and at least some members were reportedly briefed on the effort.
The Pentagon Just Revealed How Much It Spends Helping Foreign Militaries
DoD’s first-ever summary of 27 security-cooperation programs deserves praise. Now tell us more. Even for a federal department that has never been audited, it’s long been notably difficult to figure out just how much the Pentagon spends on security cooperation — i.e., building up foreign militaries, ensuring the U.S. military can go where it needs to, and sustaining a network of partners and allies to promote U.S. global security interests.
A Unique Opportunity for Transformative Change (excerpt)
On December 1, the Department of Defense (DoD) will finalize its plan for reorganizing the undersecretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L) within Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) into two new undersecretariats.
Niger ambush proves need for transparency in US security assistance
Among the many questions around the ambush of U.S. servicemembers in Niger last month is: What laws or policies authorized U.S. troops to be conducting patrols alongside Nigerien military units in a far-removed corner of one of Africa’s most poverty-ridden and remote countries?
Modernizing online privacy protections can be a win for Congress
Our entire lives are on the Internet. Emails, texts, pictures, documents, health and financial records – they are all stored in the cloud, giving us the flexibility to access our information whenever and wherever we are. Even though we store this information online, we expect our privacy to be protected in the same way as the papers we physically keep under lock and key. Under outdated existing laws, however, it isn’t.
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