Blair, Charles P.
Biography
Charles P. Blair joined FAS in June 2010 as director of the Terrorism Analysis Project. An expert in radiological and nuclear weapons and specializing in terrorism, Blair's work focuses on the nexus of violent non-state actors and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He is also an instructor at Johns Hopkins University where he teaches graduate students the technologies underlying WMD. Before joining FAS, he was a research associate with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism where, among other projects, he managed the Global Terrorism Database, the largest open-source compilation of terrorist events in the world.
Since 2005, Blair has co-directed the research organization Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies. CETIS studies terrorist targeting and decision making as they relate to critical infrastructure vulnerability. U.S. governmental agencies rely on this group’s pioneering research. Previously, Blair worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Nuclear Cities Initiative and has served as a research associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies’ (CNS) Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program. Subsequently, he was an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) where he researched and interacted with a variety of domestic extremist groups, including components of the so-called “militia” movement, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, millenarian Christian Identity adherents, and radical environmental and ecological activists.
A native of Los Alamos, New Mexico, Blair has studied in France, India, and the former Soviet Union. He holds a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Colorado and masters degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in international policy studies with a focus on the technical issues and policies surrounding WMD.
Publications:
Terrorism Analysis Report #1
2011 November 16: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "Fatwas For Fission: Assessing the Terrorist Threat to Pakistan's Nuclear Assets"
2011 July 27: Norway's Anders Breivik: Weapons of Mass Destruction and Politics of Cultural Despair
In the News:
2011 November 17: Hindustan Times, "Real Threat Assessment of Pak Nukes Not Yet Made"
2011 September 16: Huffington Post, "Lone Wolves and Home-Grown Terrorists: Experts Warn of a Growing Threat from Unusual Sources"
2011 September 8: Dayton Daily News, "A Decade Later, Terrorists Have Not Employed Nuclear Weapons"
2011 July 28: Global Security Newswire, "Norway Killer Claims Allies Are Attempting to Acquire WMD"
2011 July 8: Associated Press, "Woman Accused of Shipping Paint to Pakistani Plant" (mention of Terrorism Analysis Report)
2011 July 1: CNN, "Could Terrorists Take Pakistan Nukes?"
2011 June 29: Politico, "Report: 'Neo-Taliban' Are Most Dangerous Terror Group"
2011 June 29: Wall Street Journal - India Real Time, "Are Pakistan's Nukes Safe?"
2011 June 29: CNN - Global Public Square, "New Report Warns on Pakistan's Nukes"
2011 June 29: Business Insider, "Radicals Closer Than Ever to Pakistan's Nukes"
2011 June 29: iWatch News, "Neo-Taliban Groups Rely o Bold Attacks, Military Connections"
Video:
2011 July 1: CNN, "Could Terrorists Take Pakistan Nukes?"
