Mariya Y. Omelicheva, Ph.D. (2007) is Professor of Strategy at National War College, National Defense University. She is the author of Webs of Corruption: Trafficking-Terrorism Nexus in Central Asia (Columbia University Press, 2019, with Lawrence Markowitz), Democracy in Central Asia: Competing Perspectives and Alternate Strategies (University Press of Kentucky, 2015) and Counterterrorism Policies in Central Asia (Routledge, 2011) and over a hundred peer-reviewed articles. Brittnee Carter, Ph.D. (2017) is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas. She has published many articles in the areas of international security, foreign policy, and terrorism studies.