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Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

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Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

Iraq names third PM-designate in 10 weeks

Iraq’s president named intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi as prime minister-designate - the third person chosen to lead the country in 10 weeks.

Mr Kadhimi vowed to form a government that “puts the aspirations and demands of Iraqis as the top priority”.

He was nominated hours after Adnan al-Zurfi withdrew his candidacy.

Mr Zurfi cited “internal and external reasons” for the move. He reportedly faced opposition from Shia factions with close ties to Iran.

Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November in response to mass anti-government protests, will continue to govern in a caretaker capacity.

Before the coronavirus outbreak began in Iraq last month, people were taking to the streets of the capital, Baghdad, and many southern cities to express their anger at endemic corruption, high unemployment, dire public services and foreign interference in the oil-rich country.

More than 500 protesters were shot dead by security forces and unidentified gunmen during five months of unrest. Thousands of others were injured.

The protesters’ demands included sweeping away Iraq’s political system, which allocates positions to political parties based on ethnic and sectarian identity, encouraging patronage and corruption.

In his nominating speech on Thursday, President Barham Saleh described Mr Kadhimi as a “fighter and intellectual who is well known for his integrity, moderation and keenness [to honour] the rights of the Iraqi people”.

But Mr Saleh warned that the 53-year-old National Intelligence Service chief had a "huge responsibility, and a difficult task”, including organising fair and transparent parliamentary elections.

“I pledge to my honourable people to work to form a cabinet that puts the aspirations and demands of the Iraqi people at the top of its priorities, safeguards the country's sovereignty, preserves rights, works to resolve crises and pushes the economy forward," Mr Kadhimi tweeted.

He must now submit a cabinet to parliament for approval by 9 May - something neither Mr Zurfi or the first nominee, Mohammed Allawi, were able to do.

If successful, he will have to deal with an outbreak of Covid-19 that has killed infected more than 1,200 people in Iraq and claimed 69 lives.

Photo: © AFP President Barham Saleh (L) and Mustafa al-Kadhimi (R) wore gloves at the ceremony

Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iraq-names-third-pm-designate-in-10-weeks/ar-BB12oGw2

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