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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.

ASCF News

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.

Kim Jong Un Tells Ruling Party Congress He Wants Defense Boost

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Categories: ASCF News Emerging Threats Missile Defense

Comments: 0

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a rare congress of his ruling party he wants to raise defense capabilities to a “higher level” as the nation seeks a new path away from shortcomings that have shaken a sanctions-hit economy.

“We stand at a great turning point,” he told the first Congress of the Workers Party of Korea to be held in five years, according to text of the speech released Thursday by the official Korean Central News Agency. He citied a need to “strengthen national defense capability to a higher level, to defend a peaceful environment for socialism construction.”

Kim didn’t elaborate on what he meant by the defense boost or offer details of how he will manage his nuclear arsenal amid disarmament talks that have stalled after three meetings with outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump and a new administration coming to the White House, when Joe Biden is inaugurated as president later this month.

The congress that started this week is set to meet for several days, putting together a new five-year economic plan and making leadership changes after Kim faulted the previous plan for falling short in several areas. Kim has so far made an opening address and could deliver closing remarks where he gives more details about his military and relations with the new president.

Kim is one of the few world leaders who has yet to congratulate -- or even acknowledge -- Biden’s win in the November election. During Trump’s tenure, Kim advanced his nuclear strike capability by modernizing his ballistic missile arsenal and developing more powerful atomic devices.

The North Korean leader said that while there have been difficulties, “our internal force further expanded and strengthened, and the external prestige of the country was raised remarkably,” KCNA reported.

North Korea’s economy is headed for its biggest contraction in more than two decades after it has been battered by sanctions, natural disasters and his decision to shut borders due to the coronavirus.

Photo: Kim Jong Un speaks during the ruling party congress in Pyongyang, North Korea on Jan. 5. Source: KCNA/KNS/AP Photo

Link: Kim Jong Un Tells Ruling Party Congress He Wants Defense Boost - Bloomberg

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