CTEC Director and Middlebury Institute Professor Jason Blazakis and CTEC/CNS expert Professor Avner Cohen were recently quoted in Monterey County Weekly.

Professors Blazakis and Cohen weighed in on developments following President Trump’s decision to kill Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qassem Soleimani.  Professor Blazakis explained that the Middlebury Institute is in a unique position to answer questions surrounding U.S.-Iran tensions, in part because of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program. “Some other programs may focus on nonproliferation and some may focus on terrorism…It’s unique to have a program where you have the two worlds merge.”


The Middlebury Institute houses both CTEC and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), leading centers of research in the fields of terrorism and WMD nonproliferation. Professor Cohen offered his input as an expert on WMD nonproliferation and Middle East affairs, he went on to clarify, “While no one is mourning Soleimani, the killing was a reckless, thoughtless, ignorant and impulsive kind of decision.”


If you would like to read the full story from Monterey County Weekly, click here.