Terrorism Center Director Speaks to World Affairs Council

Professor Jason Blazakis, director of the Institute’s Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, spoke to the World Affairs Council of Monterey Bay on January 21, addressing the topic of “Financing Terror: ISIS and Antiquities.”

Blazakis, the former head of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office at the U.S. Department of State, outlined the strategies used by terrorist groups like ISIS to fund their operations, including the theft and sales of antiquities.

Video of the full presentation is available below.

Blazakis’ presentation reflects work he has been doing in this area for a number of years, including during his tenure as director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office at the U.S. Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau. Documents declassified by the State Department in 2015 fueled both Blazakis’ work and parallel research done by former Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program Director Gen. (ret.) Russ Howard, Marc Elliott MANPTS ’16, and Jonathan Prohov MANPTS ’16, highlighted in this monograph.