The Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) partnered with the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington D.C. and the Parliamentary Diplomacy program at the prestigious Universidad Austral in Argentina as well as the Directorate of Parliamentary Diplomacy, International Cooperation and Worship of the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Argentina—to host a three-phase, multi-disciplinary series of collaborative seminars on Asymmetric Warfare and Transnational Organized Crime. Participants in this workshop included Congressional staff/government analysts, academia, and civil society leaders in Argentina with backgrounds in foreign policy, knowledge on national security, dedication to regional security, and passion for free market ideals.
The first phase, held in early August in Buenos Aires, hosted many mid-career professionals from the National Congress of Argentina and other government agencies for a two-day workshop on the fundamentals of Asymmetric Warfare. The second phase was a series of online seminars on Cyber, Economic, and Hybrid Warfare. With representatives from the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Security, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Finance, as well as the National Congress, these participants are some of Argentina’s next-generation national security leaders. The final phase of the workshop, which was a crisis simulation exercise on countering transnational organized crime, took place in Washington D.C. from September 17 – 19, 2018.
Objectives of our 2018 Argentina Asymmetric Warfare Workshop were outlined as:
1) Lessen the deficiency within the foreign policy and national security community (of Latin America) in understanding the nature of modern (asymmetric) warfare and its impact on national security strategy.
2) Educate Argentine policymakers, academics, and defense and intelligence practitioners on theoretical principles and critical skills derived from these to address complex and unconventional threats in Argentina and the Western Hemisphere unleashed by internal and external adversaries.
3) Connect senior advisors in the Argentine government and build trusting relationships with their counterparts in the United States.
The Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) was proud to host the Argentina Asymmetric Warfare Group in Washington D.C. to continue our crucial work of building bridges between the US national security community and its counterparts in Latin America. SFS Executive Director Joseph Humire remarks, “Argentina is a long-standing partner for the United States in a range of issues, namely in National Security. We share the same challenges and are fighting against the same transnational threats in our hemisphere. Renewed relations under the leadership of President Macri and the Argentine Congress provide an opportunity to enhance our shared strategies. SFS is proud to partner with two top universities in the Americas to do just that.”