The Washington Institute has long focused on terrorism as a critical factor shaping and affecting U.S. Middle East policy. But since the program's founding under director Matthew Levitt in the wake of the September 11 attacks, it has become a leading center for the analysis of terrorist groups, state sponsors, logistical and financial support networks, and counterterrorism policy.

Today, terrorism affects all aspects of U.S. Middle East policy: the pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace, U.S.-Saudi relations, Iranian weapons proliferation, political reform, democratization, and a host of other key regional issues. The thorough analysis of ever-changing trends in international terrorism is therefore more critical than ever. The Washington Institute's Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence proudly carries out this important role through its research and programming activities as well as through its publications.

The program's associates are frequently sought after and featured in the media to explain current events and trends. They participate in a wide array of academic and policy-oriented conferences, provide congressional and expert court testimony in terrorism cases, and publish timely analysis in support of regional security interests and sound U.S. counterterrorism policy. Since 2007, the Reinhard Program has hosted an ongoing series of counterterrorism lectures featuring senior policymakers from federal and local agencies and key foreign governments.

Past visiting fellows include Ely Karmon, senior researcher at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism; Rohan Gunaratna, author of the best-selling Inside Al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror; and Emily Hunt, a terrorism analyst for the U.S. Congress and the private security firm Aegis Defence Services in London.