Expert can discuss U.S. detention operations, espionage charges in Cuba

A U.S. Air Force enlisted man who served as a translator for detainees at Guantanamo Bay has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy, according to news reports. Earlier this week, Army Islamic chaplain Capt. James Yee was detained for similar reasons.

Mark Jacobson, a visiting scholar at The Ohio State University Mershon Center, is an expert on the detainees now being held at Guantanamo Bay as a result of the war on terrorism. Jacobson, who formerly worked for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, helped to develop the policy on detention of the people held at Guantanamo Bay as well as other related intelligence issues.

Jacobson, who now works in Ohio State’s International Security and Public Policy program, where he examines a range of national defense policy issues with emphasis on counterterrorism, psychological operations, public diplomacy and special operations. The Mershon Center focuses on the interdisciplinary study of international security and public policy.

Jacobson served for eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1996-97 he was part of the NATO Peace Implementation Force in Bosnia and in 1998 he received the Association of the United States Army’s Soldier of the Year Award. In 2001 Jacobson accepted a commission in the United States Naval Reserves and is assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency.