Steven Emerson

Steven Emerson
Steven Emerson is considered one of the leading authorities on Islamic extremist networks, financing and operations. He serves as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, a non-profit organization that serves one of the world's largest storehouses of archival data and intelligence on Islamic and Middle Eastern terrorist groups. Emerson and his staff frequently provide briefings to U.S. government and law enforcement agencies, members of Congress and congressional committees, and print and electronic media on terrorist financing and operational networks of Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the rest of the worldwide Islamic militant spectrum. Since 9-11, Emerson has been interviewed frequently on all the major television networks and in the national and international print media. The website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which was started in September 2007, is now considered one of the top counter-terrorism websites in the world and can be accessed at www.investigativeproject.org. Emerson launched The Investigative Project on Terrorism in 1995, following the November 1994 broadcast of his documentary film, "Jihad in America," on public television. The film exposed clandestine operations of militant Islamic terrorist groups on American soil. For the film, Emerson received numerous awards including the George Polk Award for best television documentary, one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. He also received the top prize from the Investigative Reporters and Editors Organization (IRE) for best investigative report in both print and television for the documentary. The award from IRE was the fourth he had received from that group. The documentary, which was featured on 60 Minutes, has become standard viewing for federal law enforcement and intelligence organizations. Emerson is recognized as one of the first terrorism experts to have testified and warned about the threat of Islamic militant networks operating in the United States and their connections worldwide. In a pioneering congressional testimony delivered in 1998, he specifically warned about the threat of Osama Bin Laden's network. Nearly every one of the terrorist suspects and groups first identified in his 1994 film have been indicted, convicted, or deported since 9-11. Emerson is the author or co-author of six books on terrorism and national security, including: "Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the U.S." (Prometheus, 2006) "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us" (The Free Press, 2002) "Terrorist: The Inside Story of the Highest-Ranking Iraqi Terrorist Ever to Defect to the West" (Villard Books /Random House, 1991) "The Fall of Pan Am 103: Inside the Lockerbie Investigation" (Putnam's Sons, 1990) "Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era" (Putnam's Sons, 1988) "The American House of Saud: The Secret Petrodollar Connection" (Franklin Watts, 1985) Prior to starting the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Emerson worked as a correspondent for CNN and previously as a senior editor at US News and World Report. His first job in Washington DC in 1977 was as a staff researcher for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has a BA and MA from Brown University and once ran a marathon in 2 hours, 59 minutes, a feat he was never able to repeat again.

ARTICLES BY: Steven Emerson

March 9, 2015 12:31 am

Palestinian Slams Car Into Israelis on Purim Holiday, PLO Encourages More Attacks

A Palestinian man rammed a car into a group of Israeli pedestrians, injuring five people including four female border police officers, during the Jewish holiday...

March 3, 2015 12:45 am

Australia Bans Funding of Some Muslim Organizations

The Australian parliament passed legislation last week prohibiting foreign funding for Islamic organizations in an attempt at curbing the spread of Islamist radicalism, Newsweek reports. The law specifically...

February 26, 2015 11:19 am

Poll: A Quarter of British Muslims Sympathize With Paris Attack Terrorists

More than a quarter of British Muslims sympathize with the terrorists who committed the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris last month, according to a new ComRes...

February 26, 2015 11:07 am

Rasmieh Odeh Prosecution: Justice Demands Extraordinary Sentence

In a memorandum loaded with staggering new disclosures about her terrorist past, prosecutors are asking a Federal judge to sentence Rasmieh Odeh to at least five years...

February 25, 2015 12:35 am

Betting Our National Security on a Theory

The debate over whether it's a good idea to use phrases like "Islamic extremism" in fighting global terrorism took center stage last week when the...

February 24, 2015 1:08 am

Jury Finds Palestinian Authority Liable for Intifada Terror

Palestinian Authority (PA) policies, including direct financial support to employees convicted of terrorism charges, and payments to families of those killed carrying out terrorist attacks, make...

February 24, 2015 12:17 am

The CIA Tried to Recruit Hamas Spies

Spy cables reveal that the CIA attempted to interact with Hamas, despite U.S. government prohibitions on contact with the designated Palestinian terrorist organization, the Guardian reports. The...

February 22, 2015 3:12 pm

New York Jury Could Hit PA in the Pocketbook and Beyond

Deliberations began Friday in a civil lawsuit brought by American victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks during the second Intifada. The Palestinian Authority (PA) could face $1 billion...

February 16, 2015 9:19 am

Judge Slams Rasmieh Odeh’s Request for New Trial

Saying defense attorneys had merely rehashed old arguments on which he's already ruled, a Federal judge on Friday rejected a request to either grant Rasmieh Odeh...

February 10, 2015 2:20 pm

Turkish Leader Accuses ‘Jewish Lobby’ of Plot to Topple Regime

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that his government would not give into the "Jewish lobby," which he claims is working against the ruling AKP...

February 6, 2015 2:59 pm

Sami Al-Arian: Palestinian Terrorist and US Resident No Longer

Sami Al-Arian boarded a commercial flight late Wednesday night from Washington Dulles International Airport to Turkey, ending a 20-year con in which he posed as a...

February 5, 2015 12:47 pm

Gaza Terrorist Groups Rebuilding Militaries, Training Recruits for War

Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist organizations are intensifying efforts to rebuild military capabilities damaged during last summer's war with Israel, the Meir Amit Intelligence and...

February 1, 2015 10:56 am

Muslim Brotherhood Calls for Jihad in Arabic, Peace in English

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, hailed as a moderate voice and welcomed by officials in the Obama Administration just this week, issued separate statements on its English and...

January 26, 2015 9:33 am

Islamist Panel Displays Misguided View on Islamic Terror

A panel discussion last Thursday hosted by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) promised to plumb the "the root causes of radicalization"...