INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TERRORISM STUDIES AT

POTOMAC INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES

"The Fifteenth Anniversary of 9/11: Past Lessons and Future Outlook"

October 14, 2016

As the U.S. just marked its 15th anniversary of 9/11 and as the UN general assembly began its 71st session, terrorism continues to plague the international community with escalated, complex security challenges. The latest attacks from New York to Aleppo have once again underscored the brutalization, victimization, and globalization of contemporary terrorism. It is against this geopolitical and generational context that a panel of distinguished former political, diplomatic, and military officials as well as academics discussed past lessons, assess current and future threats, and offered recommendations for a more effective counterterrorism architecture.

Opening remarks were made by Michael S. Swetnam, CEO and Chairman, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. The panel was moderated by Professor Yonah Alexander, Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, and Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. The keynote speaker was Hon. R. James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA and currently, Chairs the Board of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The panel consisted of Hon. Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and currently, Director, Center for National Security Strategies, Hudson Institute; Ambassador (Ret.) Charles A. Ray, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs and Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe and previously, he served in the United States Army for twenty years; and David Albright a physicist and Founder & President, Institute for Science and International Security and a former inspector of the Iraqi nuclear program and a faculty member at Princeton University and George Mason University. Closing remarks were provided by General Alfred Gray, USMC (Ret.), Twenty-Ninth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps; Senior Fellow and Chairman of the Board of Regents, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

To view a recording of the seminar click here.