The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point contributes relevant scholarly perspectives through education, research and policy analysis to combat terrorist threats to the United States. We maintain expertise in four primary areas: terrorism, counterterrorism, homeland security, and weapons of mass destruction. By developing a curriculum of the highest quality, producing theoretically informed studies, and crafting relevant policy recommendations, we remain an internationally recognized center of excellence dedicated to the advancement of terrorism knowledge and expertise.
HISTORY
Recognizing the immediate need for a first-rate undergraduate education in intelligence and counterterrorism studies, the United States Military Academy at West Point opened the Combating Terrorism Center in 2003. The events of September 11, 2001 highlighted the changing and dangerous nature of the international security environment.
Given these events and the ensuing war on terror, it is imperative that current and future leaders of our country be armed with the tools to make sense of new terrorist threats, to lead our nation, and to succeed in a very complex and increasingly hostile world. Through the generosity of Vincent Viola, Chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and a 1977 graduate of West Point, the Center was officially launched in February 2003 within the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy.
The operational expertise of the Center's personnel creates a comparative advantage that allows the Center to develop and implement an internationally recognized program. Faculty members bring together their academic expertise, operational and policy experience to educate cadets, develop educational materials and conduct policy-relevant research. Additionally, the Center boasts one of the most extensive collections of primary-source documents in library holdings on terrorism and counterterrorism studies in the country.
