DOCSLIB.ORG

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 BOOK REVIEWS for the utility of digital expression made are far broader and go The Looming Tower: is thorough and has signifi cant to the heart of the university Al-Qaeda and the road merit. In seizing the power of system—online or off. Despite to 9/11 images as well as words, it is likely the tenuous link to the topic by Lawrence Wright that mechanisms such as ‘kinetic of his book, this chapter was text’ have the potential to convey particularly satisfying, with a Allen Lane meaning more effectively, and structured, convincing argument. London, 2006 restore a sense of ‘stuff’ to the Lanham probably overestimates 480pp, £20 ‘fl uff’ of communication. the potential for online courses to ISBN 9780713999730 Lanham overestimates the solve the problems raised, but his flexibility of such modes of criticisms are valid. expression, however, failing to One of the most compelling acknowledge limitations such critiques is of the assumption in awrence Wright’s background as lack of uniformity, restricted many universities that the faculty Lis a unique mix of journalism, accessibility and larger space should be employed full-time in academia and screenwriting. He requirements. It is telling that the the sequestered environment of a was one of the co-writers of the website Lanham directs readers learning institution and that the movie The Siege and he draws to, in order to see animations of administration exists to protect on this eclectic background certain fi gures that are featured in the faculty from the real world. to produce an engaging, well the book, is in the form that the This attitude is deeply frustrating researched and analytical book. author repeatedly criticises—static for any student wanting to learn The Looming Tower weaves two reproduction of text with no from a passionate and realistic stories into the one book. The added value beyond the motion teacher who conducts their work fi rst is a defi nitive work on the of the fi gures. professionally and gives insight origins, development, motivations In contrast to the early into the practical implications and theology of Al Qaeda, and substantive chapters, those of the high-level theory they are the second is an analysis of the following the matrix exposition struggling to grasp. failings of US intelligence with largely consolidate the thesis and That one of the most stimulating a distinct focus on personality allow the author to indulge in elements of the book is this chapter and institutional conflicts. venting some strong opinions. An criticising university bureaucracy Wright’s contribution is the most instance of the latter is the chapter is telling of the book as a whole— informative and signifi cant in the addressing the inadequacies of Al Qaeda analysis. university bureaucracy. Ostensibly, entertaining and interesting, but not Wright immediately establishes Lanham proposes to engage in an necessarily connected to other parts the framework for his analysis of Al ‘audit of virtuality’ on mainstream of the book or the thesis overall. public tertiary institutions. He This is most likely explicable by Qaeda and the incompatibility of its purports that such audits are Lanham’s evident preference for goals and theology with modernity universally applicable, consisting of discursive rhetoric over analytical in citing the thoughts of Sayyid a consideration of how effi ciently an economics. Credit must be given Qutb. Qutb was the American- entity participates in the ‘attention for having the bravery to tackle educated Egyptian who became the economy’. However, Lanham’s economics in this manner, but the role model for the ideological father example of an audit of universities strength of the book is its argument of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. descends into a tirade against the for more effective communication Despite having the benefi t of an institutional bureaucracy, and utilising digital techniques, not the American education, ‘he intended to the limitations of the traditional case it makes for a new ‘attention show that Islam and modernity were approach to tertiary education. economy’. This is a book that follows completely incompatible.’ The story While online university courses its own thesis, gaining attention for of Qutb, a man educated but fearful and their digital communication some intriguing ideas by presenting of the impact of Western education, methods provide the contrasting them in a novel context—a triumph westernised but radicalised, quiet case to challenge many of the of style over substance. in public but privately hostile to assumptions of this traditional American women, is disturbingly framework, many of the points Reviewed by Nikki Macor similar to the profi les of many of 58 Vol. 23 No. 1 • Autumn 2007 • POLICY AAutumn_Policy_07-1.inddutumn_Policy_07-1.indd 5858 99/03/2007/03/2007 11:08:2511:08:25 AMAM BOOK REVIEWS the 9/11 hijackers. freedom of expression and job, ironically in charge of security Wright highlights that despite movement. On the issue of the at the WTC Centre less than Al Qaeda’s hatred of modernity, abuse of western liberality by three weeks before 9/11. The they focused their efforts on terrorist organisations throughout unanswered question one draws perfecting the use of so many of the 1990s, Wright cites examples from Wright’s systematic critique the tools of modernity. In one from Canada, the UK, the of clashing personalities, clashing revealing passage, which dispels US and Germany where these FBI and CIA prerogatives, the notion of the pious young organisations openly set-up shop mismatched skills-sets and the jihadist studying the Quran before and raised funds under the eyes of treatment of John O’Neill is: attacking the infi del, Wright notes authorities. Perhaps the inherent how can fundamentally flawed that ‘At night they would often self-defeating logic of this approach organisations of such size seriously watch Hollywood thrillers, is best summarised by hope to reform and change their looking for tips. The movies ways as quickly as is required? the German example of Arnold Schwarzenegger There are two main criticisms where terrorist groups were particular favourites.’ of this book. First of all, the The Al Qaeda training could recruit and raise ending is a signifi cant letdown to book known as Military money ‘but only if they the point one feels that Wright Studies in the Jihad Against were foreign terrorists has switched to his screenwriting the Tyrants was distinctly not domestic.’ Through persona at the wrong moment, Maoist not Islamist, these examples, Wright with an eye to possible future supporting ‘the diplomacy of the highlights Western governments’ book deals. Instead of ending the cannon and the machine gun.’ inability to cut through book with a revelatory statement Their values may be seventh political correctness and look or even a recap of the highlights, he chooses to end with an account century, but their methodology is unapologetically after the interests of Al Qaeda men on horseback in distinctly twentieth century. of their citizens. Pakistan. Wright spends considerable While much of the ground time de-mythologising bin Laden Secondly, Wright sidesteps key that Wright covers in his second and Al Qaeda. He highlights issues around decisions made, or story around the failure of US that bin Laden is shorter than not made, by both President Bush portrayed in the media; that his intelligence is well-known, he and Clinton. As a result, one is left forays in Afghanistan with Arab makes well covered ground highly with the impression that President jihadists were often so hopeless readable due to his focus on Special Clinton completely outsourced any substantive decision making to that the Afghans asked him to Agent John O’Neill. O’Neill is those around him. There are only leave; how Pakistani mujahid one of the few fi gures to emerge three cursory references made to thought he shook hands like ‘a with his reputation enhanced in President Bush, so no conclusions girl’; how he squandered all his this book. In his critique of the can even be made in this respect. wealth in poor investments in national intelligence infrastructure Wright seems to be going out Sudan and that even allies thought of the United States, Wright has of his way to avoid offending that ‘his IQ was not that great.’ cast O’Neill in the role of observer, both men, which is very much Wright’s de-mythologising of bin documenter and ultimately victim at odds with the honest appraisal Laden however only serves to of the systemic failings of the most of the book undertakes in reinforce the question of how a system. John O’Neill, who died relation to both Al Qaeda and group of societal misfi ts managed on 9/11, is a truly tragic fi gure. US intelligence failings. However, to beat the national intelligence Wright depicts him as a character despite the sheer volume of books and security infrastructure of the with numerous personal flaws available on Al Qaeda and 9/11, world’s sole superpower. this one stands out for its detail, but who refuses to give in to the Perhaps the greatest irony readability and analysis of why surrounding the rise of Al Qaeda mediocrity and complacency that Al Qaeda represents much more is how such a markedly anti- surrounds him in the national than simply another terrorist modernist organisation ultimately intelligence infrastructure. organisation. benefited so significantly from O’Neill ultimately decides to modernist values such as liberality, leave the FBI for a more lucrative Reviewed by Matt Marks POLICY • Vol. 23 No. 1 • Autumn 2007 59 AAutumn_Policy_07-1.inddutumn_Policy_07-1.indd 5959 99/03/2007/03/2007 11:08:2511:08:25 AMAM.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bill Clinton Bibliography - 2002 Thru 2020*
    Bill Clinton Bibliography - 2002 thru 2020* Books African American Journalists Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream by Wayne Dawkins PN4882.5 .D38 2003 African American Women Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir by Janis Kearney F415.3.K43 K43 2004 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile E185.96 .B829 2018 African Americans--Biography Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream by Bertie Bowman E185.97 .B78 A3 2008 African Americans--Civil Rights Brown Versus Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution KF4155 .B758 2003 A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution by David Nichols E836 .N53 2007 Winning While Losing: Civil Rights, the Conservative Movement, and the Presidency From Nixon to Obama edited by Kenneth Osgood and Derrick White E185.615 .W547 2013 African Americans--Politics and Government Bill Clinton and Black America by DeWayne Wickham E886.2 .W53 2002 Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem by Janis Kearney E886.2 .K43 2006 African Americans--Social Conditions The Mark of Criminality: Rhetoric, Race, and Gangsta Rap in the War-on-crime Era * This is a non-annotated continuation of Allan Metz’s, Bill Clinton: A Bibliography. 1 by Bryan McCann ML3531 .M3 2019 Air Force One (Presidential Aircraft) Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency by Von Hardesty TL723 .H37 2003 Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes by Kenneth Walsh TL723 .W35
    [Show full text]
  • Hizbullah, Al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges
    Ideological Foundations of Jihadist Organizations: Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges Thesis submitted to the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Political Science Bettina Koch Ilja Luciak Yannis Stivachtis June 27, 2017 Blacksburg, Virginia Keyword: Jihadist organization, ideology, religion, socio-political, Hizbullah, al- Qaeda, ISIS Copyright 2017, Robert Andrew Hodges Ideological Foundations of Jihadist Organizations: Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges ABSTRACT This thesis explores the ideological foundations of three jihadist organizations, Hizbullah, al- Qaeda, and Islamic State (IS). All three are categorized as international terrorist organizations but their goals differ. Hizbullah seeks to alter the government within Lebanon, al-Qaeda seeks to eliminate Western influences in Muslim inhabited territories, and IS seeks to create a caliphate within a large portion of the Middle East. The similarities and differences of these three organizations will be illuminated through this examination. The primary focus of the examination focuses on their religious teachings and discourse, as this is a critical aspect of their ideologies. Through this examination, the differences in discourse coinciding with the differing goals of each organization is presented. The discourse of each organization facilitates their goals, recruitment of fighters, and explanation of their actions. Self/other identification is a commonality of all three ideologies but the identification of the other is different according to each organizations goals. This thesis will highlight this aspect and allow for further discussion of the three organizations in future research. The conclusion will allow for discussion as to who gains and maintains power and whether religion is a base or merely a tool for this power.
    [Show full text]
  • Sayyid Qutb's Ties to Extremists
    Sayyid Qutb’s Ties to Extremists www.counterextremism.com | @FightExtremism Sayyid Qutb’s Ties to Extremists Key Points Qutb was a chief ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt who was also widely popular on the Egyptian street. The Egyptian government executed him in 1966 for promoting the overthrow of the state. Qutb popularized the concepts of takfir— excommunication of Muslim apostates—and jahiliyya— the deplorable state of ignorance prior to the revelation of the Quran that has enveloped the secular Muslim community as well as non-Muslims. Qutb wrote that only the creation of an Islamic state ruled by sharia (Islamic law) could end the state of jahiliyya. Qutb is widely considered the progenitor of the modern jihadist movement as his writings directly inspired the Muslim Brotherhood and notorious extremists who passed through the organization, including Osama bin Laden of al-Qaeda, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi of ISIS, and the founders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 1 2 Often referred to as the father of modern Islamism, Egyptian author Sayyid Qutb was a lead theologian of the Muslim Brotherhood in the mid-20th century. Qutb’s hardline interpretations of the Quran and his excoriation of the failures of Western society inspired the modern jihadist movement and led the Egyptian government to execute him in 1966. His influence can be seen in violent groups such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban, and among such notable extremists such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Terrorism expert Paul Berman at one point dubbed Qutb “the intellectual hero of every one of the groups that eventually went into Al Qaeda, their Karl Marx (to put it that way), their guide.”1 Qutb’s writings helped inform the Islamist ideology known as Qutbism, which advocates violent jihad—including the killing of secular Muslims—in order to implement sharia (Islamic law).
    [Show full text]
  • Looming Tower (3/13/2018)
    Looming Tower (3/13/2018) 00:00:21 Alice Greenwald: Good evening. My name is Alice Greenwald. I'm president and C.E.O. of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to tonight's program, along with those who are tuning in live via our live web broadcast at 911memorial.org/live. As always, I'm delighted to see our museum members in the audience, and I believe one of our board members, Paula Grant Berry, is also here with us this evening, so welcome. 00:00:53 I am personally very excited about tonight's program. Years ago, when we were in the earliest stages of envisioning the museum, Lawrence Wright's book "The Looming Tower" was a narrative we turned to again and again. We were barely five years beyond the 9/11 attacks, and this book provided a cogent historical context we could not find anywhere else. 00:01:21 Wright's perceptive narrative and his insight surrounding al-Qaeda and the efforts to track the group both before and after 9/11 deeply informed our understanding of these topics. It is hardly an overstatement to say that "The Looming Tower" sits on many bookshelves in the museum offices. We recognize the significance of this story within the overall narrative of 9/11 and are tremendously thankful to producers Dan Futterman and Alex Gibney for sharing it in such a vivid and engaging format on Hulu. 00:01:55 We are also truly privileged to host tonight's conversation, and I'd like to take a moment to introduce our panelists.
    [Show full text]
  • Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa
    Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa Clayton Thomas Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs February 5, 2018 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R43756 Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa Summary After a more than a decade and a half of combating Al Qaeda (AQ) in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States faces a diverse array of threats from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa. While senior Al Qaeda figures reportedly remain based in Pakistan, the network includes a number of affiliates across the Middle East and Africa including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Al Shabaab. Al Qaeda also retains a small but possibly growing presence in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have stated that Al Qaeda still maintains a foothold in Syria through its ties to Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front), though the exact nature of that relationship may be evolving. This report examines the threat posed by Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa as described by U.S. officials and outside observers, as well as the U.S. approach to date in responding to these threats. The rise of the Islamic State and its rapid territorial expansion across Syria and Iraq has at times eclipsed the attention directed towards Al Qaeda, at least in the public debate. However, U.S. officials have warned that Al Qaeda remains focused on attacking the United States, and that some of its affiliates in the Middle East have the capability to do so.
    [Show full text]
  • Targeting Top Terrorists Targeting Top Bryan C
    Targeting Top Terrorists Targeting Top Bryan C. Price Terrorists How Leadership Decapitation Contributes to Counterterrorism Late in the evening of May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced to the nation that Osama bin Laden was dead. Earlier that day, the president had ordered a team of elite military forces deep into Pakistan to kill the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks, which had shocked the country and the world nearly ten years before. During his speech, President Obama said that he had told his new director of central intelligence, Leon Panetta, that getting bin Laden was the number one priority in the United States’ counterterrorism strategy against al-Qaida.1 Upon hearing of bin Laden’s death, Americans broke out in spontaneous celebration, and pundits immediately began specu- lating about its symbolic and operational importance. But what does bin Laden’s death mean, if anything, for the future of al-Qaida? More broadly, what does it mean when terrorist groups experience leadership decapitation? Decapitation tactics, which are designed to kill or capture the key leader or leaders of a terrorist group,2 feature prominently in the counterterrorism strat- egies of many states, including Israel and the United States. Some scholars ar- gue that targeting the group’s leadership reduces its operational capability by eliminating its most highly skilled members and forcing the group to divert valuable time and limited resources to protect its leaders.3 Decapitation tactics Bryan C. Price is a major in the U.S. Army and former Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Review Patrick M. Foley, CFP , QPFC
    Book Review The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 Patrick M. Foley, CFP®, QPFC June 2013 Those who have been receiving our Monday updates for a bit may recall that I sometimes include a book review. It has been a while though, as I have been working on a research paper (on the subject of business exit planning) that has been eating up the time I might otherwise spend writing about other subjects. In any case, the paper is finally nearing completion, and I recently finished a book that I feel compelled to recommend. Actually, I’ve read a few really interesting books in recent months that are worth mention but that I did not find time to write about. “The Signal and the Noise” by Nate Silver is an insightful look at the subject of statistical prediction with direct relevance to investing and the markets. An interesting book about statistics… that’s a real trick! “Antifragile” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb proposes that while chaos is typically thought of as a destructive force, there are some things (including economies under the right circumstances) that are actually strengthened by disorder. It is a concept with very interesting implications for the realms of politics and investing. But the book that pushed me to write another review is “The Looming Tower – Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11” by Lawrence Wright. It describes the genesis of the radical Islamic movement that has grown to represent a dire threat to America and to free Nations throughout the world. Reading it made me realize how little I knew about the formation and structure of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations whose names have become – tragically – so familiar to us in recent decades.
    [Show full text]
  • Constructing Takfir: from `Abdullah `Azzam to Djamel Zitouni
    JUNE 2008 . VOL 1 . ISSUE 7 Constructing Takfir: accept takfir as necessary and the broader he eschewed a radical interpretation he is able to construct his definition of of Islam and jihad.11 While in the From `Abdullah `Azzam takfir. training camps of Afghanistan, `Azzam to Djamel Zitouni interacted with jihadist leaders from Dr. `Abdullah `Azzam around the globe as he continued By Shane Drennan `Abdullah `Azzam is considered to be espousing his messages of defense and the godfather of the Afghan jihad. His resistance. It was in this context that he on april 2, 2008, jihadist websites posted writings calling for the unification of produced his two most famous works an “open interview” with Dr. Ayman the umma through defensive jihad, and on jihad: Defence of Muslim Lands and Join the al-Zawahiri wherein the al-Qa`ida his Maktab al-Khidmat (Services Bureau), Caravan. leader fielded a number of often hostile created the organizational archetype for questions. The first, and arguably the the current manifestation of the global Definition of Takfir most important, concerned al-Qa`ida’s Salafi-jihad and al-Qa`ida specifically. `Azzam did not excommunicate invocation of takfir (excommunicating or Although `Azzam’s Salafi-jihadi ideology Muslims. For him, defending Muslim declaring a Muslim an apostate, which was considered radical by most lands from invasion by kuffar (infidels is punishable by death): academics, his eschatological grounding or nonbelievers) and uniting the umma made him relatively moderate compared was paramount, and takfir only served Excuse me, Mr. Zawahiri, but to many of the jihadists4 who answered to create fitna (division).
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 20 the Role of Intelligence in the Prevention of Terrorism (Early
    Chapter 20 The Role of Intelligence in the Prevention of Terrorism (Early Warning – Early Response) Kenneth A. Duncan This chapter outlines how intelligence has adapted to the ever-changing threat of terrorism, and the crucial role “warning” has played and will continue to play in countering and mitigating this threat. To better understand warning’s capabilities and limitations, it also explores the nature of intelligence as well as the factors underlying warning’s collection, analysis, production, dissemination, and reception. It traces the relationship between intelligence and law enforcement agencies as it evolved as part of the US government’s organizational response to terrorism from the late 1960s onward, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, it discusses problems arising from the often-troubled relationship between intelligence producers and consumers – from policymakers to the general public – which can lead to obstacles in turning an early warning into an early response. Keywords: 9/11, early warning, homeland security, intelligence, prevention, public warning, TIPOFF, United States. HANDBOOK OF TERRORISM PREVENTON AND PREPAREDNESS 645 “The terrorism threat is constantly evolving in response to social, political, and technological change, as well as adapting in response to counterterrorism pressure’. Daniel Byman 1 Introduction: Understanding Intelligence At the main entrance to CIA’s headquarters building in Langley, Virginia. is an inscription from the Gospel of St. John: “The truth shall make you free,” which reflects Intelligence Officers’ belief that their role is to “speak truth to power.” But contrary to this common view regarding intelligence assessments, nothing could be further from the truth. Intelligence and warning are not about the objective truth at all.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ideological Hybridization of Jihadi Groups
    The Ideological Hybridization of Jihadi Groups By Thomas Hegghammer here is broad consensus in the analytical literature on Islamism on the need to disaggregate the various sub-currents of Is lamist ideology. And while there is considerable disagreement among observers about what constitutes the right typology for differentiating between these sub-currents, there is general agreement on a handful of Tkey analytical distinctions. Of these, perhaps the most common is the so-called “near enemy-far enemy” divide, which is often used to distinguish between groups that tar- get primarily local Muslim regimes, and groups that focus on Western targets.1 And yet, as anyone who has followed militant Islamism closely in recent years will testify, the distinction between near enemy and far enemy groups seems less and less relevant. Many jihadist groups are displaying ambiguous rhetoric and behavior with regard to who they consider as their main enemy. In the past five years, “far enemy groups” such as al-Qaida Central2 have adopted a more hostile and explicitly takfiri rhetoric toward Muslim regimes. Conversely, “near enemy” activists such as the militants in Algeria have become more anti-Western in both words and deeds. A process of ideological hybridization has occurred, with the result that the enemy hierarchies of many jihadist groups are becoming more unclear or heterogeneous than they used to be.3 Why is this process of ideological hybridization occurring? The central argument of this paper is that this hybridization is a result of strain and a sign of weakness. When enemy hierarchies become unclear, undefined, or heterogeneous, then this 26 ■ CURRENT TRENDS IN ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY / VOL.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Jihad: Al-Qaeda and Its Implications for the Global System
    Global Jihad: Al‐Qaeda and Its Implications for the Global System Source: www.wjla.com An Undergraduate Honors Thesis Presented to the Department of International Studies John C. Adamson June 2011 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 5 ......................................................................................................... ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ ﻭﺍﻟﺠﻬﺎﺩ Islam and Jihad 5 ............................................................................................................................. ﺳﻠﻔﻲ Salafism 7 .................................................................................................................................. ﺍﻟﺠﻬﺎﺩ Jihad 8 .......................................... ﺳﻴﺪ ﻗﻄﺐ ﻭﺍﻹﺧﻮﺍﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ Sayyid Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood Al-Qaeda: The Organization and Its Ideologies ........................................................................... 10 Profiles of Important Figures .................................................................................................... 10 10 ........................................................ ﺃﺳﺎﻣﺔ ﺑﻦ ﻻﺩﻥ Osama bin Laden: The Face of Al-Qaeda 13 .............................................................. ﺃﻳﻤﻦ ﺍﻟﻈﻮﺍﻫﺮﻱ Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Lieutenant 15 ................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Download Testimony (207K)
    Bipartisan Policy Center Congressman Lee Hamilton and Governor Tom Kean Testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee January 26, 2010 Introduction We are very happy to be back before you today. This committee’s role in enactment of the historic Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was critical to the most substantial changes to the national security infrastructure since its creation in 1947. Senators Lieberman and Collins, as well as Congressman Hoekstra and Congresswoman Harman, went well above the call of duty to see to its enactment and that’s something for which the country should be grateful. Today, we are appearing in our capacity as co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group (NSPG), a successor to the 9/11 Commission. Drawing on a strong roster of national security professionals, the NSPG works as an independent, bipartisan group to monitor the implementation of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations and address other emerging national security issues. NSPG includes the following membership: Mr. Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst and Author, Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation Dr. Bruce Hoffman, Georgetown University terrorism specialist The Honorable Dave McCurdy, Former Congressman from Oklahoma and Chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, President of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers The Honorable Edwin Meese III, Former U.S. Attorney General, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation The Honorable Tom Ridge, Former Governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Senior Advisor at Deloitte Global LLP, Ridge Global The Honorable Frances Townsend, Former Homeland Security Advisor and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism Dr.
    [Show full text]