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Benjamin H. Friedman
Research Fellow in Defense and Homeland Security Studies
Benjamin H. Friedman is a research fellow in defense and homeland security studies. His areas of expertise include counter-terrorism, homeland security and defense politics, with a focus on threat perception. He is co-editor of a book on U.S. military innovation since the Cold War, US Military Innovation since the Cold War: Creation Without Destruction. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun, Washingtonpost.com, Defense News, and several other newspapers and journals. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science and an affiliate of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Download Benjamin H. Friedman's CV
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: bfriedman@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
"Perception and Power in Counter-terrorism: Assessing the American Response to Al Qaeda before September 11," in A. Trevor Thrall and Jane K. Cramer, eds., American Foreign Policy and the Politics of Fear: Threat Inflation since 9/11 (London: Routledge, 2009).
US Military Innovation since the Cold War, co-editor (London: Routledge, 2009).
"The Defense Budget," Chapter 19 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq," in Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, ed by Robert Art and Kenneth Waltz (Rowman & Littlefield Pub, Inc. , 2008).
Cato Studies
"Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq," by Benjamin H. Friedman, Harvey Sapolsky and Christopher Preble, Policy Analysis no. 610, February 13, 2008.
Articles and Newsletters
"Restraining Order: For Strategic Modesty," by Harvey M. Sapolsky, Benjamin H. Friedman, Eugene Gholz, and Daryl G. Press, World Affairs Journal, Fall 2009.
"Hitting the 'Stop' Button on NATO Expansion," by Benjamin H. Friedman and Justin Logan, IA Forum, Spring 2009.
"The Terrible 'Ifs'," Regulation, vol. 30, no. 4, Winter 2007-2008.
Opinion and Commentary
"Fourth and Long," Foreign Policy, November 24, 2009
"Obama's Disappointing Secrecy," Christian Science Monitor, July 21, 2009
"The US Should Cut Military Spending in Half," Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2009
"The Iron Triangle vs. Small Wars," World Politics Review, April 9, 2009
"Don't Bet on Obama Reining in Defense Spending," World Politics Review, February 18, 2009
Cato @ Liberty Blog Posts
"Forget the QDR," February 1, 2010
"Talking about Terrorism," December 30, 2009
"Obama's Nobel Speech," December 11, 2009
"Buying Boomers," December 9, 2009
"Defense Spending Boost," December 8, 2009
Events
"Can the Pentagon Be Fixed? ," March 13, 2009 [Policy Forum]
"Shaping the Obama Administration’s Counterterrorism Strategy," January 12-13, 2009 [Conference]
"Obama's National Security Policy: A New Approach or More of the Same?," December 17, 2008 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq," May 16, 2008 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
Multimedia
Benjamin H. Friedman discusses Obama's security meeting on BBC World Service January 5, 2010 [Flash Video, 02:40]
Benjamin H. Friedman discusses military spending on Pacifica Radio's Letters to Washington December 15, 2009 [Flash Audio, 18:46]
Benjamin H. Friedman discusses the Denver/NYC terror cell on WCCO's The Michele Tafoya Show September 24, 2009 [Flash Audio, 06:16]
Benjamin H. Friedman discusses North Carolina terror suspects arrested the earlier this week on WBT's The Tara Servatius Show July 28, 2009 [Flash Audio, 07:10]
"Meet the New Defense Secretary" featuring Benjamin H. Friedman, April 21, 2009 [Flash Audio, 09:01]
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