Jamestown Foundation: Difference between revisions
m Reverted edits by Trentboden (talk) unexplained removal of content (HG) |
Trentboden (talk | contribs) →Criticism: This was deleted because the Voltaire Network is an unreliable source. |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
||
The Jamestown Foundation has been accused of being an allegedly [[Anti-Russian sentiment|anti-Russian]] relic of the [[Cold War]].<ref name="fs">[http://www.voltairenet.org/article30194.html The Jamestown Foundation: A News Agency Made to Measure] [[Voltaire Network]]</ref><ref name="exile">[http://exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=6745&IBLOCK_ID=35&phrase_id=6727 Vladimir Socor: Hound for Hire] ''[[The Exile]]''</ref><ref name="reu">[http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL07151231 Moscow criticises US think-tank over debate] [[Reuters]]</ref><ref>[http://www.russiajournal.com/node/5929 Wisdom or temptation in Central Asia?] [[The Russia Journal]]</ref> It has been alleged that the Foundation is a [[Neoconservatism|neoconservative]] agenda driven think-tank with ties to the CIA and [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]]. Several publications have accused it of being an anti-Russian organization. An article by the [[Voltaire Network]] alleged that "...the Jamestown Foundation is only an element in a huge machine, which is controlled by [[Freedom House]] and linked to the CIA. In practice, it has become a specialized news agency in subjects such as the communist and post-communist states and terrorism. Although it publishes high quality information on issues that can be checked up, it does not hesitate to launch the most blatant imputations on the rest, thus providing neo-conservative think tanks with a world image that matches their ghosts and justifies their policy."<ref name="fs"/> U.S defectors [[Kim Philby]] and [[Guy Burgess]] writing for ''[[The eXile]]'' commented: "Most of the bitterly anti-Russian journalists who publish with these rightwing lobbies are from the small countries surrounding Russia, and they are animated by a deep hatred of their former conqueror."<ref name="exile"/> |
|||
In 2007 Moscow accused the think tank of spreading anti-Russian [[propaganda]] by hosting a debate on violence in the Russia's turbulent region of [[Ingushetia]]. According to a statement by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Foreign Ministry of Russia]]: "Organisers again and again resorted to deliberately spreading slander about the situation in Chechnya and other republics of the Russian [[North Caucasus]] using the services of supporters of terrorists and pseudo-experts. Speakers were given carte blanche to spread extremist propaganda, incite ethnic and inter-religious discord."<ref name="reu"/> The Jamestown Foundation responded by saying that Russia felt threatened by it and was trying to intimidate it. Foundation president Glen Howard claimed that "they're intimidated by the power of the [[Freedom of speech|free word]] and this goes against the state manipulation of the [[Freedom of the press in Russia|media in Russia]]."<ref name="reu"/> |
In 2007 Moscow accused the think tank of spreading anti-Russian [[propaganda]] by hosting a debate on violence in the Russia's turbulent region of [[Ingushetia]]. According to a statement by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Foreign Ministry of Russia]]: "Organisers again and again resorted to deliberately spreading slander about the situation in Chechnya and other republics of the Russian [[North Caucasus]] using the services of supporters of terrorists and pseudo-experts. Speakers were given carte blanche to spread extremist propaganda, incite ethnic and inter-religious discord."<ref name="reu"/> The Jamestown Foundation responded by saying that Russia felt threatened by it and was trying to intimidate it. Foundation president Glen Howard claimed that "they're intimidated by the power of the [[Freedom of speech|free word]] and this goes against the state manipulation of the [[Freedom of the press in Russia|media in Russia]]."<ref name="reu"/> |
||
Revision as of 06:13, 19 January 2011
The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet dissidents. Today its stated mission is to "inform and educate" policy makers about events and trends which it regards as being of current "strategic" importance to the United States. Its website claims that "utilizing indigenous and primary sources, Jamestown’s material is delivered without political bias, filter or agenda."[1] However the foundation has come under criticism for alleged agenda pushing and its ties to the CIA. The Jamestown Foundation says it acquires its information through official or intelligence sources.
Founding and mission
The Jamestown Foundation was founded in 1984 after Arkady Shevchenko, the highest-ranking Soviet official ever to defect when he left his position as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, defected in 1978. Geimer had been working closely with Shevchenko, and established the foundation as a vehicle to promote the writings of the former Soviet diplomat and those of Ion Pacepa, a former top Romanian intelligence officer; with the help of the foundation, both defectors published bestselling books.[2] The CIA Director William J. Casey, a leading figure in national security organizations, helped back the formation of The Jamestown Foundation, agreeing with its complaints that the U.S. intelligence community did not provide sufficient funding of Soviet bloc defectors. The foundation, initially also dedicated to supporting Soviet dissidents, enabled the defectors from the Eastern Bloc to earn extra money by lecturing and writing.[3]
According to its website: "The mission of the Jamestown Foundation is to inform and educate policy makers and the broader policy community about events and trends in those societies which are strategically or tactically important to the United States and which frequently restrict access to such information. Utilizing indigenous and primary sources, Jamestown’s material is delivered without political bias, filter or agenda. It is often the only source of information which should be, but is not always, available through official or intelligence channels, especially in regard to Eurasia and terrorism." The Foundation describes its "unique ability to elicit information from those who have first-hand experience with the regimes and groups that threaten U.S. national security".[2][4] It claims to have "contributed directly to the spread of democracy and personal freedom in the former Communist Bloc countries."
Current activities
Currently, its primary focus is on China, Eurasia, Russia and global terrorism. As of 2008, its publications were Eurasia Daily Monitor, Global Terrorism Analysis, China Brief, North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly) and Recent From Turkey. Previous publications included Eurasia Security Trends, Fortnight in Review, North Korea Review, Russia and Eurasia Review, Russia’s Week, Spotlight on Terror, Terrorism Focus and Terrorism Monitor. Along with these publications, Jamestown produces occasional reports and books.
As of 2010, the foundation’s current board included Carlton W. Fulford Jr., Kathleen Troia McFarland, Bruce Hoffman, James H. Burnley IV and Frank Keating,[5] while the Jamestown's fellows included David Satter, Michael Scheuer (let go in 2009, he claims he was fired because of his criticism of the U.S.-Israeli relations[6]), Vladimir Socor[7], Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a Hong Kong-based China specialist, and Stephen Ulph, a leading expert on Jihadist ideology.
Nikolai Getman collection
The foundation hosts Russian artist Nikolai Getman's paintings of Gulag camps. Getman was imprisoned for eight years by the Soviet regime for participating in anti-Soviet propaganda as a result of a caricature of Stalin that one of his friends had drawn on a cigarette box. He survived, and for four decades he secretly labored at creating a visual record of the GULAG system.[8] In September 2009, the Jamestown Foundation transfered the Getman collection to the Heritage Foundation.
Media Coverage
An article published in The Jamestown Foundation publication China Brief was credited by a Taiwanese newspaper as prompting the Taiwanese government to conduct a review of the island's defense strategy.According to a May 5, 2010 report in the Taipei-based newspaper United Daily News, the China Brief article, “Taiwan’s Navy: Able to Deny Command of the Sea?”, published on April 16th, 2010 written by James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara at the U.S. Naval War College, was reportedly the reason why Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou recently directed the Ministry of National Defense to reevaluate the country's naval strategy. China Brief editor L.C. Russell Hsiao noted that this development was a major achievement for the publication and attests to the range and impact it has on the policymaking community. Published since May 2001 China Brief has a global readership of nearly 8,000 subscribers and is widely read by defense and foreign policy experts around the world, particularly policymakers in the United States.
Criticism
In 2007 Moscow accused the think tank of spreading anti-Russian propaganda by hosting a debate on violence in the Russia's turbulent region of Ingushetia. According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry of Russia: "Organisers again and again resorted to deliberately spreading slander about the situation in Chechnya and other republics of the Russian North Caucasus using the services of supporters of terrorists and pseudo-experts. Speakers were given carte blanche to spread extremist propaganda, incite ethnic and inter-religious discord."[9] The Jamestown Foundation responded by saying that Russia felt threatened by it and was trying to intimidate it. Foundation president Glen Howard claimed that "they're intimidated by the power of the free word and this goes against the state manipulation of the media in Russia."[9]
References
- ^ Policy Recommendations for a Political Solution in Georgia's Region of South Ossetia
- ^ a b Origins
- ^ The Jamestown Foundation: A News Agency Made to Measure Voltaire Network
- ^ Support - The Jamestown Foundation
- ^ Board Members
- ^ Lobby? What Lobby?
- ^ Jamestown Fellows
- ^ Getman Retrieved on November 9, 2010
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
reuwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).