Near East South Asia Center
for Strategic Studies
Building Relationships – Enhancing Security
The Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies was approved by the Secretary of Defense in 2000 and formally launched in October of that year. The Center’s mission is to enhance security in the Near East and South Asia by building sustained mutually beneficial relationships; fostering regional cooperation on security issues; and promoting effective communications and strategic capacity through free and candid interaction in an academic environment. Our programs take place both in Washington, DC and the region.
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NESA Center Director, LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.) speaking to Strategic Communication Seminar on the "Military Commander's Perspective on Dealing with the Press" (June 2006) |
In April 2006, the Secretary of Defense appointed a new Director, Lieutenant General David W. Barno, USA (Ret.). As the former Commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan (2003-2005) and Task Force Warrior that trained free Iraqi forces in Hungary (2003), he brought a new frame of reference to the Center. The Center is co-located with National Defense University, the nation’s preeminent joint professional military education institution.
The youngest of DOD’s Regional Centers, the NESA Center covers one of the most diverse and volatile areas of the world, stretching from the western end of North Africa to the Himalayas – “from Marrakech to Bangladesh.” The NESA Center participating countries include (countries in yellow on map below) : Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
The NESA Center concept was both simple and controversial. It was based on the premise that Arabs and Israelis, Pakistanis and Indians, and others would come together to discuss national security issues in a neutral setting for mutually beneficial dialogue. This “business model” was severely tested after 9/11, but has proven itself strong even during times such as the August 2006 Lebanon conflict, when we had both Israeli and Lebanese representatives attend a Combating Terrorism seminar while the conflict continued. Our alumni continue to be the Center’s greatest resource.
As both the dynamics of our region and our guidance from the Secretary of Defense changed in the post-9/11 world, the NESA Center also redesigned its programs and activities. New programs on countering ideological support for terrorism, increasing and improving strategic communication and outreach to the region, and supporting other strategic goals have been implemented, with more coming in the future.
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