A Conversation with Dr. Vasu Vaitla | 02/16/2026

Dr. S. Vasu Vaitla is an international security scholar and practitioner with twenty-five years of experience across the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, the U.S. Air Force, and Initiatives of Change (an international peacebuilding NGO.) He currently teaches security studies at Georgetown University. Most recently, Dr. Vaitla led strategic analysis on South Asia and the Indian Ocean region as a senior foreign affairs and intelligence analyst at the U.S. Department of State, contributing to the President’s Daily Brief and briefing Cabinet officials and Members of Congress. He also received multiple departmental honors in previous roles for formulating US policy in the UN Security Council to counter foreign terrorist fighters, advancing global efforts to prevent radicalization to violence, and strengthening multilateral sanctions.