For immediate release
Media contact: Jane Maestro
Middle East Forum
215-546-5406, ext. 16
Maestro@MEForum.org
November 8, 2001 -- Middle East Forum director Daniel Pipes, a foremost expert on militant Islam, has been appointed to the newly-formed “Special Task Force on Terrorism Technology” sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a division of the Department of Defense.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. of September 11, the United States Department of Defense and other agencies of the federal government are looking at a range of responses to the terrorist threat. The Special Task Force, a small panel of specialists, has been convened by the director of DARPA to assist the government in “better focusing its efforts related to counter-terrorism and asymmetric warfare.”
Part of the job is to understand the threat of militant Islam-"a radically different culture and mindset"- a specialty of Mr. Pipes’s. Other topics to be covered by DARPA include information technology and defenses against weapons of mass destruction.
“I am very pleased that the Department of Defense takes seriously the challenge to figure out the enemy’s mentality and will do all I can to assist in what I believe to be a critical mission,” said Mr. Pipes.
The Middle East Forum, founded in 1994, is a think tank,working to define and promote American interests in the Middle East and to shape the intellectual climate in which U.S. policy is made. In particular, it believes in strong ties with Israel, Turkey, and other democracies as they emerge; works for human rights throughout the region; seeks a stable supply and a low price of oil; and promotes the peaceful settlement of regional and international disputes. For more information, please go to http://www.meforum.org.
DARPA, founded in 1958, has many high-technology achievements to its credit, including invention of the Internet and the development of electric vehicles and hybrids. First established as a U.S. response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik, DARPA has since ensured that the United States maintains a lead in applying state-of-the-art technology for military capabilities and preventing technological surprise from adversaries.
###
