Oakland, Calif. October 16, 2006—National Security expert Charles V. Peña has joined the Independent Institute, a leading public policy research organization, as Senior Fellow with its Center on Peace and Liberty. Mr. Pena, the former Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, will be based in the Independent Institute’s Washington, D.C. office.
“Especially at this time of escalating violence and social upheaval in Iraq and the growing menace of nuclear proliferation, we are fortunate to have such a highly regarded authority on domestic security, defense, and foreign policy joining us as senior fellow,” said David J. Theroux, founder and president of The Independent Institute, in announcing the appointment.
“It is an honor to be included with all the other staff and scholars at the Independent Institute,” said Mr. Peña. “I look forward to advancing constructive debate on the Iraq war, terrorism, homeland security, and nonproliferation—issues that are too important to be left to partisan politics.”
Mr. Peña, an adviser on the Straus Military Reform Project, has over 20 years of experience as a national security policy and program expert, and senior manager with a variety of government agencies. He has worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Program Analysis & Evaluation, Missile Defense Agency (successor to the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization), Joint Chiefs of Staff; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Peña has analyzed and managed programs and studies on installation protection, nonproliferation, missile defense, strategic nuclear weapons, targeting policy and strategy, arms control, precision guided munitions, future of airpower, long-range military planning, Navy force structure and costing, joint military exercises, and emergency preparedness and response.
He is the author of the recent book Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism (Potomac Books), and he is an analyst for MSNBC. His opinions have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Investors Business Daily, Bloomberg News, Defense News, Financial Times (UK), Agence France Presse (France), Globe and Mail (Canada), the Guardian (UK) and many others.
Mr. Peña received his M.A. in Security Policy Studies from the George Washington University and B.A. in Political Science from Claremont Men's College.
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