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Alexander Powell

Alexander Powell

Research Scientist

Alexander Powell is an expert on special operations forces, counterterrorism and irregular warfare. Regionally, he focuses on South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He has worked extensively on security issues in Afghanistan, traveling there numerous times to conduct assessments of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

For CNA, Powell has deployed with the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan. His research on special operations forces has encompassed issues ranging from the strategic to the tactical. Powell has been asked to speak at regionally hosted panels on the subject of terrorism and transnational organized crime in South Asia, and he has been published in War on the Rocks and other publications.

Powell holds a Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University, where his thesis focused on foreign armed interventions in Afghanistan since the Anglo-Afghan Wars. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in international affairs, with a focus in European history and French language, from George Washington University. He speaks French.

Areas of Expertise

Geographic areas of expertise: Middle East