Relevant Professional Experience:
2011—2013 Fellow, American Security Project
2011— Contributor, The Atlantic Monthly
2010— Columnist, PBS Need to Know
2009—2011 Senior Intelligence Analyst, Northrop Grumman Information Systems
2008—2009 Human Terrain Analyst, U.S. Army TRADOC G2 Human Terrain System
2006—2008 Strategic Consultant, Toffler Associates
2006— Editor, Registan.net
Fellow, American Security Project. Wrote analysis of U.S. foreign policy, targeted to media and senior officials. Traveled extensively for research & participation in international conferences. Wrote op-eds supporting strategic thinking in U.S. foreign policy. Briefed members of Congress, professional staff, and senior policymakers on foreign policy topics. Managed media presence on key issues. Researched targeted killings, drone strikes, and covert warfare, reforming the intelligence community, and metrics in understanding national security policy.
Columnist. Since April, 2010, writes weekly analysis of foreign policy issues as they relate to U.S. politics for PBS Need to Know. In July 2010 interviewed by Jon Meachem on the Wikileaks scandal. Since July, 2011, writes occasional analysis of U.S. foreign policy issues and strategic decision-making for The Atlantic Monthly. Covers issues relating to alliance issues in Afghanistan, counterterrorism, drones warfare, and the local political consequences of U.S. policy. Wrote several most-read articles for 2011 and 2012 at both publications. Writes op-eds in a wide variety of media outlets as well.
Intelligence Analyst. Managed team of researchers and was lead writer for a proposal team that won over $80 million in contracts in 2010. Produced original and substantive research on the social-cultural phenomena behind irregular warfare movements as the Social Futurist of the Irregular Warfare Division at the National Ground Intelligence Center. Also analyzed socio- cultural issues in Afghanistan as a part of the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain System, incorporating field and independent research. Carried out primary field research for the military intelligence community and served as the primary joint interagency point of contact.
Consultant. Analyzed future strategic trends for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air National Guard, and U.S. Air Force. Designed and implemented a collaborative research system for the Defense Intelligence Agency, incorporating massively distributed collaboration and open source research into intelligence analysis as a part of the Full Spectrum Analysis pilot. Developed a system for “market surveillance” for a major communications company that incorporated news feeds, online meetups, and group blogging.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, University of Colorado at Boulder
Books & Book Chapters
Joshua Foust, Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net (Charlottesville: Just World Books, 2010).
“France in Kapisa: A Combined Approach to Statebuilding,” in Statebuilding in Afghanistan, ed. Péter Marton and Nikola Hynek, Vol. 7 of Routledge Studies in Intervention and Statebuilding, ed. David Chandler (London: Routledge, 2011).
Congressional Testimony
“Making Intelligence Contracting Smarter: Reexamining Government Roles and Oversight,” Testimony prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia Hearing on “Intelligence Community Contractors: Are We Striking the Right Balance?” 20 September 2011.
Research Papers
“Oversight for Effectiveness: A Counterterrorism Perspective on the Targeted Killings ‘White Paper,’” National Security Network, March 2013
“Understanding the Strategic and Tactical Considerations of Drone Strikes,” American Security Project, January 2013
“Security and Human Rights in Central Asia,” Brown Journal of World Affairs, 19.1 Fall/Winter 2012
“Critical National Security Challenges,” American Security Project, December 2012
“The Strategic Context of Lethal Drones,” American Security Project, August 2012
“U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan: Five Lessons We Should Have Learned,” American Security Project, July 2012
“Measuring Success: Are We Winning? 10 Years in Afghanistan – May 2012 Update,” American Security Project, May 2012
“Expeditionary Economics: A New Approach to Foreign Aid,” American Security Project, 28 April 2011
“Post-Soviet Central Asian National Interests in Afghanistan,” The Century Foundation Afghanistan in its Regional and Multilateral Dimensions Task Force, 28 September, 2010
“Kapisa Province: A COIN Case Study in Afghanistan.” World Politics Review Feature, 31 March 2009
“Human Rights in Central Asia.” World Politics Review Feature, 22 December 2008
Presentations & Talks (Previous 12 months)
“The Future of U.S. Military Engagement in Afghanistan,” Panel discussion at the George Washington Elliott School of International Affairs, 3 December 2012
“The Economic Drivers of Ethnic Conflict in Southwest Kyrgyzstan,” Panel discussion at the Registan 2012 Conference, 5 October 2012
“The Senate’s Role in National Security Policy,” Hosted discussion with Senators Jean Shaheen and Dick Durbin at the Young Atlanticist Shadow NATO Summit in Chicago, IL, 20 May 2012
“When Interventions Fail,” Panel presentation during the GLOBSEC Summit in Bratislava, Slovakia, 11 April 2012
“The Operational and Strategic Challenges of Long-Term Stability Operations,” Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth lecture series , 28 March 2012
“The Moral and Strategic Failures of Humanitarian Interventions,” University of Ottawa Center for International Policy Studies, 21 March 2012
“The Failure of Politics in the US War in Afghanistan,” The Center for National Policy, “The End of the Afghan War: Talking with the Taliban and What Comes Next,” 24 January 2012
Printed Commentary
The Atlantic (Correspondent)
http://www.theatlantic.com/joshua-foust
Writes weekly about U.S. foreign policy, military policy, intelligence issues, and regional engagement since July, 2011.
PBS Need to Know (Columnist)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/author/foustj/
Writes weekly column about national security issues as they relate to U.S. politics since April, 2010.
Registan.net (Editor)
http://www.registan.net/
Covering Central Asia & the Caucacus since 2003. Recently named by The Columbia Journalism Review as a top-ten blog covering counterinsurgency
Numerous other media appearances on radio, in print, and on TV.