Clements-Supported Intern Robin Richards Publishes Piece on al Qaeda

Robin Richards | Jul 23, 2013

As a graduate research intern at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, DC, Robin Richards published an article about the al Qaeda network response to recent turmoil in Egypt. The piece was posted on AEI’s Critical Threats Project (CTP) website on July 23, 2013 and was quick to garner critical acclaim. The Wall Street Journal mentioned her piece in a July 29th article, “Crackdown in Egypt Fans U.S. Fears.” The article dealt with concerns that suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood could result in increasd violence. Ms. Richards’ article was referenced showing that the al Qaeda network had already been calling for violence as a response to the ousting of Mohamed Morsi.

AEI’s Critical Threats Project tracks and analyzes national security threats, such as Al Qaeda and associated movements, in order to inform the policy debate. As an integral member of CTP this summer, Ms. Richards tracked the activities of al Qaeda in North Africa. She used open-source intelligence to analyze militant movement in Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.

Ms. Richards is a dual-degree Master’s candidate at the LBJ School and the Middle Eastern Studies department. She came to UT after receiving her Bachelor’s at Rice University and has studied abroad in Egypt and Israel. After graduating, she hopes continue working on matters related U.S. foreign policy and national security.