Associate Christopher Swift testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee at a hearing titled, “The State of Al-Qaeda, its Affiliates, and Associated Groups: View from Outside Experts,” on February 4, 2014. Drawing on more than 15 years of extensive research on terrorism, Afghanistan, Yemen and other conflict zones, Swift presented a new legal framework for untangling the global web of terrorist and insurgent groups. The hearing examined Al-Qaeda’s regional franchises, the rise of new terrorist syndicates and the future of the War on Terror. Swift, who is an adjunct professor of national security studies at Georgetown University, also offered insights into legal debates over drone strikes, NSA surveillance and the Authorization for the Use of Military Force.
