As the United States confronts increasingly complex threats from China, foreign influence, artificial intelligence and geopolitical flashpoints around the world, one Seton Hall University program is giving graduate students hands-on experience tackling real national security challenges before they enter the workforce at a rate its founder says proves the program’s importance.

The National Security Graduate Fellowship at Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations pairs students with government agencies seeking research and analysis on pressing foreign policy and national security issues and has an 80% placement rate, with graduates going on to work at the NSA, CIA, Secret Service, military and defense contracting companies, according to founder Mohamad Mirghahari.

«My goal for my students is they’re ready day one if they get hired,» Mirghahari told Digital.

Mirghahari, a Seton Hall graduate and national security expert who spent 14 years in key Department of Defense leadership roles supporting counterterrorism initiatives around the globe, later served as a presidential appointee and senior advisor to the Transportation Security Administration’s chief of staff and remains a special advisor to the Defense Department.

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«Our program is unlike any other in the nation because our graduate students are actually tackling real-world national security challenges and issues from government agencies,» Mirghahari explained. «As we know, most government agencies have a lot of things going on and they don’t have enough resources, but what our graduate students are able to do is support those government agencies, answering and doing research for real-world requirements in the national security field.»

Mirghahari says the program is also unique due to the practitioners from «across the United States government» that serve as guest lecturers and professors giving students a necessary insight into experiences in the field, particularly given the changing landscape and variety of threats facing the nation compared to 10 or 20 years ago.

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«Part of what makes our program so unique is that we address the real-world issues of today,» Mirghahari said. «History is very important, and you learn from history, but we also want to be the classes that can support the government in real time. We have done projects on China, India and Pakistan, as well as the South China Sea.»

The fellowship’s work has included projects for the State Department on how the U.S. could re-engage with the Taliban if the group returned to power in Afghanistan. Mirghahari said the research remained relevant for years, with the papers later recirculated within the government.

«That’s part of what we do, provide that real-time research,» he said.

The program also focuses on emerging national security challenges involving artificial intelligence, data and foreign influence. Mirghahari said younger students often bring valuable technological expertise and perspectives that government agencies may not have previously considered.

«Artificial intelligence, data and all these different things impacting our national security play a major role in our work,» he said.

On the artificial intelligence front, which has changed how the United States deals with cyber threats along with how it conducts cyber operations, Mirghahari says it has become a «force multiplier» for his students.

«We examine foreign influence, including how data is mined and distributed, and we use tools such as artificial intelligence, graph theory and other analytical methods to examine large datasets,» he said. «We’re giving students an awareness of these technologies and how they can be used across the government.

Mirghahari added, «Our students can sift through large amounts of information and extract what is relevant to support their research. That process is extremely time-consuming, so we’re helping government clients bring the information together in one place and examine it more thoroughly.»

Mirghahari told Digital he believes students would need to work for five years in a national security position to be able to learn the on the job skills they learn at the Seton Hall program and explained that now, perhaps more than ever, hitting the ground running is critically important.

«Some of the feedback we’ve received from agencies is, ‘Your students are well-equipped. They’re better than some of the people who have been here for five to 10 years,’» Mirghahari said.

national security, politics, education, china, artificial intelligence

El tablero geopolítico internacional atraviesa su momento más crítico, frágil y volátil de las últimas décadas. La superposición de frentes abiertos en Medio Oriente, Europa del Este y el Pacífico, combinada con una carrera armamentista tecnológica sin precedentes, ha encendido las alarmas de analistas internacionales y servicios de inteligencia. La gran pregunta que hoy domina la agenda global ya no es si el sistema internacional está en crisis, sino cuán cerca nos encontramos del punto de no retorno hacia una conflagración generalizada.

1. El polvorín de Medio Oriente y el choque frontal entre Estados Unidos e Irán

La crisis global escaló de forma dramática a raíz del conflicto abierto en Medio Oriente centrado en torno a Irán, impulsado por operaciones militares conjuntas de Estados Unidos e Israel. La ofensiva inicial —marcada por una serie masiva de bombardeos estratégicos contra infraestructura militar, defensas aéreas y centros neurálgicos del programa nuclear iraní en enclaves como la región de los Montes Zagros— modificó por completo las reglas del ajedrez regional.

• El Estrecho de Ormuz como arteria vital: Las tensiones han paralizado de manera intermitente el flujo comercial y petrolero, con incidentes armados y ataques a buques petroleros que mantienen en vilo a los mercados energéticos globales.
• Milicias y ramificaciones regionales: La red de poderes subsidiarios de Teherán (el llamado «Eje de Resistencia», incluyendo milicias en Irak, Siria y Líbano) mantiene una postura de confrontación activa, perpetrando ataques selectivos contra bases y posiciones estadounidenses y elevando el costo económico y humano de la campaña.

2. Europa en tensión: Ucrania, el rearme de la OTAN y la respuesta del flanco oriental

En simultáneo con el frente asiático y medio oriental, la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania sigue operando como el catalizador principal de la inestabilidad en el continente europeo. Las tácticas de desgaste, los ataques sistemáticos con drones y misiles sobre infraestructura crítica y la constante amenaza de una nueva movilización a gran escala en Moscú mantienen la presión al límite.

Ante este escenario, la postura de los países de la región ha experimentado un giro radical hacia el rearme defensivo:

• Alemania y el Zeitenwende: Berlín continúa acelerando su transformación militar histórica, modernizando sus fuerzas armadas y destinando presupuestos récord para blindar su capacidad de disuasión y asegurar el suministro de armamento avanzado a Kiev.
• Polonia y los Estados bálticos (Letonia): Países como Polonia y Letonia actúan como la vanguardia defensiva de la OTAN. Los gobiernos de la región han advertido públicamente sobre el peligro de una agresión híbrida o directa contra territorio aliado, señalando las vulnerabilidades europeas ante la guerra de alta intensidad y exigiendo una aceleración drástica en la producción de sistemas antidrones y defensas antiaéreas (como los sistemas Patriot).

3. El bloque euroasiático: La consolidación del eje Rusia, China y Corea del Norte

Del otro lado de la línea de fractura geopolítica, las alianzas estratégicas se han institucionalizado con un nivel de coordinación inédito. Las cumbres diplomáticas y militares entre Rusia, China y Corea del Norte han cimentado un bloque cohesionado frente a Washington y sus aliados occidentales.

• Cooperación militar y tecnológica: Pyongyang ha intensificado su respaldo a Moscú mediante el envío masivo de municiones de artillería, sistemas balísticos y despliegue de personal militar en zonas de conflicto, a cambio de la transferencia de tecnología aeroespacial y militar avanzada por parte del Kremlin.
• La postura de Pekín: Aunque China mantiene una diplomacia pragmática centrada en la hegemonía económica y comercial global, su alineamiento político y estratégico con Moscú y Corea del Norte dota al bloque de una dimensión global capaz de desafiar de forma simultánea el liderazgo norteamericano en múltiples escenarios.

4. El factor de destrucción masiva: El rol crítico y peligroso de la Inteligencia Artificial

Uno de los elementos más aterradores y novedosos de esta coyuntura global es la integración descontrolada de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) en los sistemas de comando, control y toma de decisiones militares.

Expertos en ciberseguridad y cumbres internacionales de defensa (como el Foro Xiangshan en Pekín) han advertido recientemente sobre los peligros inminentes del uso malicioso y automatizado de la IA en contextos bélicos:

• Compresión extrema de los tiempos de decisión: Los algoritmos de IA procesan flujos masivos de datos en fracciones de segundo para recomendar respuestas tácticas. Esto reduce drásticamente el margen de análisis de los líderes políticos y militares, propiciando un entorno propicio para la «guerra flash» (flash war), donde los conflictos escalan de forma automatizada antes de que la diplomacia humana pueda intervenir.
• Alucinaciones algorítmicas y sesgos de escalada: Modelos de lenguaje y sistemas de percepción avanzados utilizados para inteligencia militar son propensos a errores, fabricaciones de datos (fake intelligence) o respuestas hiper-agresivas si son alimentados con contextos de confrontación. Un informe falso generado por una IA sobre movimientos navales o un ataque inminente puede desencadenar una represalia irreversible.
• Desinformación sintética y Deepfakes: La proliferación de material multimedia falso en momentos de crisis geopolítica extrema puede confundir de manera deliberada las intenciones del adversario, generando falsas alertas en sistemas de defensa nuclear y antiaérea.

Tras las múltiples advertencias de la comunidad científica y tecnológica sobre investigaciones que «se estaban saliendo de las manos», la falta de marcos regulatorios internacionales vinculantes para el uso militar de la IA representa hoy una de las amenazas más letales para la supervivencia de la población civil a escala global.

Análisis de Probabilidades: ¿Estamos ante un punto de no retorno?

Evaluar la probabilidad de que esta suma de focos regionales (Oriente Medio, Ucrania y la tensión en el Pacífico) derive en una Tercera Guerra Mundial exige analizar indicadores clave:

1. Interconectividad de los teatros de operaciones: Los bloques están claramente definidos. Un colapso definitivo en Medio Oriente que cierre el suministro energético global arrastraría de inmediato a las economías asiáticas y occidentales a medidas desesperadas. Probabilidad moderada-alta (45%) de interconexión directa de los frentes.
2. El umbral nuclear y la disuasión: A pesar de la agresividad retórica y los cruces de misiles, la doctrina de la destrucción mutua asegurada (MAD) sigue operando como un freno psicológico para los líderes de las potencias nucleares. Probabilidad baja (15-20%) de un intercambio atómico directo a corto plazo.
3. El factor accidente tecnológico (El «Cisne Negro» de la IA): Es aquí donde el riesgo se vuelve exponencial. La combinación de armas autónomas, redes de comando algorítmicas ultra-rápidas y la posibilidad de que una «alucinación» o ciberataque inteligente simule una agresión real eleva drásticamente el peligro de una escalada involuntaria e incontrolable.

Conclusión: El llamado al entendimiento global

El reloj geopolítico sigue avanzando y la línea entre la disuasión y el abismo es cada vez más delgada. Ante este escenario, el desafío más urgente para los líderes mundiales no es solo apagar los frentes de fuego actuales en Medio Oriente o Europa del Este, sino asumir el control de una tecnología que amenaza con independizarse de la voluntad humana. Las naciones deben encontrar de forma imperativa un punto de entendimiento diplomático y establecer marcos regulatorios globales estrictos; solo así se evitará que las presiones geopolíticas y los errores automatizados de la inteligencia artificial arrastren al mundo a una guerra fantasma, irreversible y de proporciones catastróficas.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic-era federal relief funding, including money intended to help students recover from learning loss, instead went toward «anti-racism» training for teachers and administrators in Albuquerque Public Schools.

The district approved $336,500 in American Rescue Plan funds in 2021 for training tied to the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), while accounting records obtained by America First Legal show APS ultimately spent nearly $700,000 on the training program.

School district officials told Digital they could not confirm the spending or how much came from federal COVID relief funds because they did not have immediate access to the records.

PISAB, which has received grants from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, has distributed training materials instructing «White folks» to «learn how [they] became white» and defining race as a «specious classification of human beings created by Europeans (whites)» to assign human worth and social status and maintain «power and privilege.»

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At APS, the programming included «Community Conversations,» an introductory course centered on «core equity and anti-racism principles,» as well as «Introduction to Undoing Racism» and a multi-day «Undoing Racism» workshop.

The training was delivered through the Anti-Racism Training Institute of the Southwest (ARTI), which had a 23-year relationship with PISAB.

The effort reached hundreds of district employees after initially focusing on school leadership. During the 2020-21 school year, APS principals and assistant principals participated in «Community Conversations,» a course ARTI «specifically designed» for the district which incorporated PISAB’s organizing principles.

By July 2022, at least 721 APS staff members, ranging from teachers to senior district officials, had attended an ARTI training, according to records obtained by AFL.

«Leftist groups infiltrate schools because they know that they will have the opportunity to shape and control children’s minds and social behavior,» Bobby Crossin, counsel at America First Legal, said in a statement. «Here, the Albuquerque Public Schools took money intended by Congress to help students harmed by government lockdowns, and spent it on critical race theory indoctrination sessions.»

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Julie Levin, senior counsel at America First Legal, said the group’s concerns centered in part on the use of pandemic relief money at a time when schools were trying to help students recover from COVID-era disruptions.

«You had all of this money that Congress was giving to school districts to get children back on track after the COVID pandemic,» Levin told Digital. «Instead of using that money to help the students, they were using it to pay for these anti-racism trainings.»

«What was happening was taxpaying dollars were being used to pay for training sessions that were supposed to be espousing anti-racism, but were actually being used to indoctrinate the teachers and administrators with respect to racism,» Levin continued.

The records show APS had even bigger plans for the program, proposing nearly $1 million in DEI training through 2024 that would reach nearly 2,000 people each year.

District officials later considered extending the effort beyond employees and directly to students.

In fall 2022, APS officials proposed adding «a student component to our equity/anti-racism model,» which would have involved 20 to 30 students per school at up to 10 middle and high schools, according to internal memos obtained by AFL.

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The proposal envisioned first introducing participating students to «foundational equity/anti-racism principles» before having them develop projects of their own.

APS, however, told Digital the student component was never implemented.

The district’s relationship with ARTI continued after the student proposal. In 2023, ARTI provided APS with a $27,000 estimate for in-person «Undoing Racism» training.

APS defended its use of PISAB and ARTI trainings, saying the programs were intended to help improve student outcomes.

«We haven’t received criticism about this,» a spokesperson for the district wrote in an email to Digital. «But generally speaking, we used the program to help with attendance and academic achievement for students.»

The training highlighted in Albuquerque is also part of a greater effort, according to Levin, who said PISAB continues to offer classes in cities including Seattle, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Brooklyn,

«The People’s Institute to this day is offering these classes throughout the United States,» Levin said. «All you have to do is go to their website and see that month by month there’s the calendar of these training classes that they are offering either directly in person, virtually, or through third parties.»

«America First Legal will continue exposing where public-school dollars are being diverted away from our children’s education toward ideological programs that divide Americans by race and reshape our schools around an insidious political agenda,» Levin said.

Digital reached out to PISAB for comment.

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