The mission of AAI is to counter terrorism and communal violence by promoting peace and prosperity in conflict-ridden communities. We believe that international security and respect for human dignity are inseparable. Our field programs create sustainable local models for the international community to emulate.
Our people-to-people initiatives integrate health, education, arts and livelihood as a basis for mediation. By building Hope, we overcome the hatred propagated by terror organizations. The success of these cost-effective models shows that empowering impoverished and conflict-plagued communities strengthens international security, stability and peace.
AAI operations are rooted in the belief that international security and the defense of human rights are inseparable. Therefore, victory over terrorist movements requires the foresight to provide humanitarian assistance in at-risk, impoverished communities. As a catalyst for policy innovation, AAI's field programs deliver direct aid to populations targeted by terrorist recruitment. In the Philippines, AAI is networking private U.S. humanitarian and educational organizations with local NGOs to support the peace process in Muslim Mindanao. These efforts are intended to enhance the quality of life, reinforce opportunities for women, offer alternatives to conflict and to deny militant networks the ability to recruit. The Initiative is in the process of expanding these grassroots programs into other key communities across the region.
Through its analytical writing and "In Focus" publications, AAI presents a coherent and comprehensive strategic view of the vast Asia-Pacific region, which extends from the Silk Road to the West Coast of the United States. AAI seeks to find common ground among this vast mosaic of terrain and cultures by cultivating cooperative and mutually beneficial long-term relationships between the United States and Asian neighbors by hosting forums with prominent Asian and American policy experts. In addition, AAI provides timely and insightful information to policy makers and the public on emerging transnational security trends.
AAI was founded by Al Santoli, a best-selling author, a nominee for both the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award for History, and editor of the weekly China In-Focus and Asia In Focus. Over three decades - as a historian, journalist, soldier, national security advisor in the U.S. Congress, human rights monitor, and as a foreign policy expert - Mr. Santoli has directly participated in seeking solutions to some of the most dramatic and complex events that have shaped U.S.-Asian relations.
