Our Work
As a global leader in innovation, the U.S. has strengthened its ability to protect its citizens, defend its allies, articulate our principles of freedom, expression and association, and encourage developing democracies.
Policies that forfeit our competitive edge to foreign entities – particularly those that are state-owned or directed – put the safety, privacy, and liberty of free people and governments at risk.
See the American Edge Project’s work on national security:
We Can’t Let China Win Global Tech Battle, Doug Kelly, February 15, 2022
WTAS: Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Raise National Security And Privacy Concerns, AEP blog post, January 26, 2022
AEP Releases New Ad: “Threats,” AEP press release, January 19, 2022
Working With Innovators Will Help Bolster America’s Tech Edge, Francis Townsend, November 21, 2021
New Report Urges Washington to Support Domestic Tech Innovators, the Atlantic Council, October 14, 2022
The Government Must Work With, Not Against, The U.S. Tech Sector, Frances Townsend, October 4, 2021
Don’t Jeopardize National Security By Weakening American Tech, Frances Townsend, August 21, 2021
Preserve America’s Cyber Infrastructure, Chris Carney, July 28, 2021
Poll: U.S., European Voters View China’s Growing Tech Influence as Global Economic, Security Threat, Ipsos, June 16, 2021
Is our critical infrastructure safe from cyber hacks?, Admiral James Stavridis and Frances Townsend, March 19th, 2021
A New National Security Policy Framework for Space, Chris Carney, March 17th, 2021
American Edge Project’s National Security Policy Framework, Admiral James Stavridis, Frances Townsend, et al., February 22nd, 2021
U.S. Technological Edge Key to Cyber and Election Security, Chris P. Carney, October 23rd, 2020
Poll: Voters Are Concerned That the U.S. is at Risk of Falling Behind Other Countries Technologically, Ipsos and AEP, October 20th, 2020
New Research: U.S. National Security Requires a Robust, Innovative Tech Sector, Lexington Institute, October 8th, 2020
AEP Releases “Security”, AEP Press Release, September 29th, 2020
U.S. Tech: A National Security Imperative, AEP Blog Post, September 16th, 2020
Foreign Technological Interests Increasingly Threaten U.S. Security, Admiral James Stavridis and Frances Townsend, September 10th, 2020
National Security Advisory Board
Frances Townsend
Former White House Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor
Frances Townsend is a national security leader who has worked across party lines to address some of the world’s most complex and volatile security issues.
With more than two decades of public service, including being the original first Assistant Commandant for Intelligence of the Coast Guard, Townsend has worked in law enforcement, intelligence, national security and homeland security; in both civilian and military organizations; in policy and operational jobs; and on domestic and international issues.
As Chair of the Homeland Security Council and one of President George W. Bush’s top advisors, Townsend offers an informed viewpoint on the global issues facing the country. As national security analyst at CBS News, Townsend contributes to coverage of homeland security, foreign policy counter terrorism and intelligence and she also appears on the network’s digital streaming service, CBSN.
General Joseph F. Dunford Jr.,
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Joe Dunford served as the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that capacity, he was the senior ranking U.S. officer and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Prior assignments included service as the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Commander of U.S. Forces and NATO Forces in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of St Michael’s College and has graduate degrees from Georgetown University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. General Dunford currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Injured Marine Semper Fi and America’s Fund and as a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. He serves as a director on the boards of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bessemer Securities Corporation, the Travis Manion Foundation, and the Atlantic Council. He is a co-chair of the Japan-U.S. Military Statesmen Forum.
Michael J. Morell
Former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Michael Morell, the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is one of our nation’s leading national security professionals, with extensive experience in intelligence and foreign policy.
During his 33-year career at CIA, Michael served as Deputy Director for over three years, a job in which he managed the Agency’s day-to-day operations and analysis, represented the Agency at the White House and Congress, and maintained the Agency’s relationships with intelligence services and foreign leaders around the world. Michael also served twice as Acting Director, leading CIA when Leon Panetta was confirmed as Secretary of Defense and again after David Petraeus left government.
Michael’s senior assignments at CIA also included serving for two years as the Director of Intelligence, the Agency’s top analyst, and for two years as Executive Director, the CIA’s top administrator—managing human resources, the budget, security, and information technology for an agency the size of a Fortune 200 firm.
Today, Michael is involved in a wide range of activities. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Fortress Investment Group; Senior Counselor and Global Chairman of the Geopolitical Risk Practice at Washington’s fastest growing consulting firm, Beacon Global Strategies; and an advisor to a large number of private sector entities. He is also the Chairman of the National Security Task Force at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Michael is a Senior National Security Contributor for CBS News, the host of the national security podcast Intelligence Matters, an Expert Voice on Axios, and a Contributing Columnist for the Washington Post. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller “The Great War of Our Time: An Insider’s Account of the CIA’s Fight Against Terrorism – From al Qaida to ISIS.”