Leading Counterinsurgency Blog Launched on CNAS.ORG

WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 8, 2009 – The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to announce that Abu Muqawama, a leading blog on issues related to defense policy, is now hosted on the CNAS website. The founder and editor of the blog, Andrew Exum, recently joined CNAS as a fellow, where his work focuses primarily on contemporary conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Abu Muqawama, considered a “must-visit daily” blog in defense policy circles, covers issues related to contemporary conflicts as well as evolutions in tactics and strategy. It receives over 6,000 visitors a day from across the world and has been cited frequently by The New York Times, Foreign Policy, WIRED magazine, Reuters and The Atlantic.

With Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq on the forefront of the national security agenda, Exum stresses the importance of engaging the public, the military and national security players on issues related to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and the evolution of U.S. military doctrine.
 
“One of the aims of the blog is to host a discussion whereby both practitioners and observers can debate and exchange ideas about our nation’s conflicts and the direction in which defense policy is heading,” Exum said.

Exum served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 2000 until 2004. In 2002, he led a platoon of light infantry in Afghanistan and a platoon of Army Rangers in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Most recently, Exum served as an advisor on the CENTCOM Assessment Team.  He is the author of the book, This Man’s Army: A Soldier’s Story from the Frontlines of the War on Terror and has published opinion pieces in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and many other media outlets. 

Though now hosted on the CNAS website, the blog will retain its autonomy and the views expressed within the blog will not reflect the views or the beliefs of CNAS. For more information on Andrew Exum and Abu Muqawama, please visit the CNAS website at www.cnas.org.
 
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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is an independent and nonpartisan research institution that develops strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies that promote and protect American interests and values. CNAS leads efforts to help inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow.