Jared Kushner just joined a really big club, CNN.com

Jared Kushner just joined a really big club
Peter Bergen
By Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst
Updated 2:37 PM ET, Wed February 28, 2018

Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the author of “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists.”

(CNN)Jared Kushner just joined a really big club: the more than 3.6 million Americans with “secret” security clearances. That’s nearly the population of the city of Los Angeles.

When the news broke Tuesday that Kushner’s interim security clearance had been downgraded from “top secret” to “secret,” his lawyer Abbe Lowell claimed that it would “…not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the President.”
This is baloney, served with generous helpings of bunkum and balderdash.
To operate effectively with adversaries such as the Chinese and even nominal allies such as the Saudis, Kushner requires, at a minimum, a top secret clearance, often referred to as a TS clearance, according to nine former senior national security officials and former military officers, all of whom had access to highly classified intelligence and whom I consulted for this story.

Let’s start with how the White House National Security Council (NSC) operates, where US policy on national security and foreign policy is formulated. A former government official who worked at the NSC for six years explains, “The NSC operates at the TS level as a baseline.”
A former senior NSC official confirms that meetings at the NSC “are by default TS.”
Then let’s add the fact that those with top secret clearances — pretty much anybody doing any work of any significance in national security — will not discuss what he or she knows with those holding clearances only at the secret level.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Jason Amerine, who served in US Special Forces and worked at the Pentagon on highly classified programs, told me that those “with only a secret clearance are regarded much the same as someone without a clearance at all. Those who routinely access top secret information in policy discussions have the discipline to carry out the best practice of simply not discussing anything with those who only have a secret-level clearance.” (Disclosure: I know Amerine from the CNN film, “Legion of Brothers,” which I produced and in which he appeared.)

For any serious discussion of US national security, a secret clearance isn’t much more than a useless piece of paper. A former senior Department of Defense official says that at the Pentagon, “when we had people being on-boarded and they only had secret clearances, they had to sit in separate spaces until they had the requisite clearances, and it severely limited their ability to function.”

At the White House, even jobs that at first blush wouldn’t appear to need a top secret clearance require one, according to Heather Hurlburt, a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton: “I had to have a top secret clearance to be a presidential speechwriter… Why? To read the information behind the rationales for events and messages and participate intelligently in meetings where they were developed. Without access to that analysis I’d have been as useful as a typing monkey.” (Hurlburt is a colleague of mine at the non-partisan think tank, New America.)

President Trump could, of course, give his son-in-law access to the top secret material he is now being denied — given that the President has the ability to declassify whatever he wants to whomever he wants — but, for the moment, Trump has said he would let his chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, make the call about Kushner’s clearance. And last week, Kelly made the call to downgrade it.

Without a top secret clearance, Kushner won’t be able to attend most NSC meetings, colleagues will be leery about discussing much of substance with him, and the former avid consumer of intelligence will only have access to the kind of relatively low-level intelligence that some three and half million other Americans with secret clearances also have.

With only a secret clearance, Kushner might as well leave the White House tomorrow — at least when it comes to national security matters — because he will be receiving scant relevant intelligence for his work, he won’t be able to attend key meetings, nor will he receive the crown jewel of the intelligence community, the President’s Daily Briefs.

Without a top secret clearance, Kushner will be no more well informed than a careful newspaper reader since materials at the secret level are often smart diplomatic analyses, not real intelligence of the kind that top national security officials need for decision-making.

This may be OK for, say, dealing with a domestic issue such as the opioid crisis, one of the many jobs in Kushner’s immense portfolio, but it’s not going to cut it for the national security and foreign policy portfolios that his father-in-law has handed him, including dealing with the Middle East and China.

That said, Kushner still has unique access to the President that no other person in his position would normally have, and that remains true whatever the level of his clearance.

As long as that access is there, Kushner will still be a player when he deals with foreign leaders. One of the leaders Kushner is close to is the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is scheduled to visit Washington next month.

It will be interesting to see if Kushner is front and center during Crown Prince Mohammed’s visit, given the loss of his top secret clearance.

Our long war with jihadist terrorism started this way, exactly 25 years ago, CNN.com

Our long war with jihadist terrorism started this way, exactly 25 years ago
Peter Bergen

By Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst

Updated 2:12 PM ET, Sun February 25, 2018

“Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the author of “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists.” ”

(CNN)Eight years before the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001, America witnessed an ambitious terror plot that also targeted the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
It was a quarter of a century ago this week, on February 26, 1993, when a group of jihadist terrorists, some of whom had trained in Afghanistan, tried to bring down the towers and to kill the many thousands of Americans working there.

The terrorists drove a van packed with explosives into a basement parking garage at the Trade Center and detonated a bomb. The bomb didn’t succeed in bringing down the Twin Towers, but it killed six people, injured many others and alerted Americans to a new kind of terrorism threat.

The FBI moved quickly to arrest many of the Trade Center plotters and they were tried and convicted in federal court and given lengthy sentences.

The Bureau also put an informant inside a second group of jihadist terrorists who were planning additional attacks against Manhattan landmarks, including the United Nations and the Holland and the Lincoln tunnels. They were arrested and also convicted.

The spiritual leader of the terrorists targeting Manhattan, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, aka “the Blind Sheik,” was also arrested. He died in an American prison last year.
The campaign of terrorism directed against targets in New York City in the early 1990s provided the impetus for a relatively small group of counterterrorism specialists at the FBI and CIA to start focusing on a shadowy network of jihadists who were part of an organization called al-Qaeda and its leader, a wealthy Saudi named Osama bin Laden.

Yet America was still vulnerable to the nightmare of 9/11, no doubt because the tactic of turning passenger planes into weapons was anticipated by few.

Hints of what was to come

The group of jihadist terrorists who carried out the 1993 Trade Center attack prefigured much of what would come later. The leader of the 1993 operation was Ramzi Yousef, whose uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was the operational commander of the 9/11 attacks.

A number of the 1993 terrorists had fought in the wars in Afghanistan that began in the 1980s, out of which was forged al-Qaeda.

And one of the 1993 conspirators was a US citizen, which prefigured the continuing threat we face today from “homegrown” America terrorists inspired by ISIS, a group that is an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Trade Center bombing it’s worth considering where we are in the long war that began that day.

Four waves of terrorism

The American political scientist David Rappaport pointed out shortly after the 9/11 attacks that there have been four “waves” of revolutionary terrorism in the past century or so, each one of which has burned itself out after several decades.

First, was the anarchist wave. In 1920, not far from the eventual location of the Trade Center, outside the J.P. Morgan bank at 23 Wall Street, anarchists blew up a wagon loaded with explosives, killing 38 people. You can still see the gouges in the limestone facade of the building, caused by the bombing almost a century ago.

The next wave of terrorism was the anti-colonial wave typified by the Jewish militant groups that forced the British out of Palestine shortly after World War II and the militants who forced the French out of Algeria in the early 1960s.

Then came the leftist wave that began in the 1960s that included terrorist groups such as the Baader-Meinhof Gang in Germany and the Weather Underground in the United States.
Finally, came the religious wave that began in 1979 with the overthrow of the Shah of Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers. This revolution made a great impression on Osama bin Laden as it demonstrated that religious militants could overthrow Western-backed autocrats.

This wave of Islamist religious revolutionary violence continues to this day. Its latest iteration is ISIS, and while the terrorist army has been largely defeated in Iraq and Syria, the political conditions that produced ISIS largely remain in place. They include the sectarian civil war that is roiling the Middle East from Yemen to Syria to Iraq and that pits Shia militias backed by Iran against Sunni groups such as al-Qaeda.

And they also include the collapse of governance in large chunks of the Middle East following the Arab Spring that has engendered failed states from Libya to Yemen. Those states are the weak hosts in which parasitical terrorist groups such as ISIS thrive.

It is from this toxic mix that we are likely to see the son of ISIS emerge. The long war that began with the first Trade Center attack 25 years ago continues with no end in sight.
Like other waves of terrorism, the religious wave will burn itself out at some point. But that could take decades, because the religious terrorists truly believe that God is on their side — and that is a very powerful form of belief.

America leads the world — in this horrific way, CNN.com

America leads the world — in this horrific way
Peter Bergen
By Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst
Updated 6:23 PM ET, Thu February 15, 2018

Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the author of “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists.” This is an updated version of a story that was published in October, 2017.

(CNN)Americans often think of themselves as belonging to an exceptional nation, and in many ways they do. They belong to a tolerant, multicultural society that has led the world toward a more innovative and more inclusive future through new technologies and a unique embrace of diverse cultures.

But the United States also leads the world in other ways that don’t match the often complacent self-conception that many Americans have of their own country. The United States locks up more of its population proportionally than any other country in the world, including authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies.
It also leads in another dubious statistic: More Americans are killed by fellow citizens armed with guns than in any other advanced country, according to the Small Arms Survey.
In 2011 alone, according to FBI statistics, more than 11,000 Americans were killed by firearms in the United States (a figure that excludes suicides).

Despite all the reasonable concerns in the United States about jihadist terrorism, in any given year Americans are almost 2,000 times more likely to be killed by a fellow American armed with a gun than by a jihadist terrorist. Since the 9/11 attacks, 103 people have been killed on US soil by jihadist terrorists, according to data collected by New America. In October, in fact, eight people were killed in a terrorist attack in lower Manhattan.
By contrast, in the United Kingdom, a country which is similar to the United States in terms of its laws and culture, Britain suffers around 50 to 60 gun deaths a year in a country where the population is around a fifth the size of the United States. In other words, you are about 40 times more likely to be killed by an assailant with a gun in the United States than you are in the United Kingdom.

To be sure there are occasional mass-casualty attacks in Europe by murderers armed with guns, such as the assaults by the neo-Nazi Anders Breivik, who killed 77 in Norway in 2011, and the attack in Dunblane, Scotland, at a school where 16 children were killed in 1996, but these are exceptions to the rule.
We still don’t know the motivations of Stephen Paddock, who lin October 2017 carried out the worst mass shooting in modern American history, killing at least 59 and injuring more than 500 in Las Vegas, but what we do know, so far, is that he had 23 rifles in the room from which he launched his rampage.

Paddock also hailed from Nevada, a state that allows “open carry,” which enables its residents to openly display weapons in public. Which other civilized country allows its citizens to show up, say, at a Starbucks carrying semi-automatic guns?

Texas is another open carry state whose citizens can carry rifles and handguns openly. Twenty five people and an unborn child were killed when a shooter opened fire at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November.
A man who lives near the church used his own rifle and shot at the gunman, said Freeman Martin, a Texas public safety official. “The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger AR assault-type rifle and fled from the church,” according to Martin.

The Second Amendment, of course, is the Second Amendment, so certainly American laws allow the possession of weapons by its citizens. But it’s unlikely that the Founders’ intention was to let troubled American citizens acquire arsenals to kill as many as their fellow citizens as possible.
With each new outrage — from the Sandy Hook massacre to the attack on the gay nightclub in Orlando to the Florida high school shooting — there follows a certain amount of soul-searching by the American public and policy makers about the distinctive American gun culture that has developed in recent years, where pretty much anyone can acquire an arsenal of weapons. But each time the moment of self-reflection seems to pass.

This is a tribute to the political muscle of the National Rifle Association which embraces a Second Amendment absolutism that allows even the dangerous number of less than 1,000 Americans who are on the “no fly” list to legally purchase semi-automatic weapons.

One can only hope that the tragic events in Las Vegas and Texas and Florida may change this. However, given that previous tragedies have not changed this deadly equation, there is really little reason for hope.
That resigns us to a dystopian future where Americans attending something as innocuous as an office holiday party in San Bernardino in 2015, or partying at a nightclub in Orlando the following year, or attending a country music concert in Las Vegas or church in Texas have to live with the lethal reality that they may become the innocent targets of their well-armed fellow citizens.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the shooter in Norway as Andres Breivik.

Preventing the Next Charlottesville: How Governments Can Respond to Private Paramilitaries.” New America DC

February 26, 2018

New America holds a discussion on “Preventing the Next Charlottesville: How Governments Can Respond to Private Paramilitaries.”

SECTION: DISCUSSION; ||GOVT/CRIME/MILITIA|| Politics

LENGTH: 161 words

TIME: 4:30 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS: former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary McCord, senior litigator from practice and visiting law professor at Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection; George Selim, senior vice president of programs at The Anti-Defamation League and former director of the Homeland Security Department’s Office for Community Partnerships; Adam Tucker, assistant city attorney in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Joshua Geltzer, future of war fellow at New America; Peter Bergen, director of the New America International Security Program; and Robert McKenzie, director and senior fellow at New America

LOCATION: New America, 740 15th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C.

Modern Warfare Symposium, Global SOF, Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Speaker Graphic
The inaugural Global SOF Foundation (GSF) Modern Warfare Symposium and Expo will bring together the special operations forces (SOF) community on August 21-23, 2018 in Fort Bragg’s Iron Mike Conference Center.

Modern Warfare Symposium
Co-sponsored by the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces Command (USASOC), the purpose of this event is to convene subject matter experts, SOF, conventional units, and academia to both educate and connect through discussion about the future of modern warfare from a SOF perspective. Highlights include:

Attendees include subject matter experts, Army SOF, conventional units, industry, and academia
Previous GSF Symposia have brought together over 400 attendees from 25 countries
The third day of the Symposium will feature a SOF for Life Seminar, aimed at SOF and SOF support who are transitioning or recently transitioned from Active Duty

Modern Warfare Expo
This Exhibit-Hall focused event will take place in conjunction with the Symposium, and offers 20-30 exhibits from companies with capabilities that are needed by Army SOF. Don’t delay–space and Sponsorships will sell out quickly!

Register Save the Date Sponsorship Prospectus

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About the Global SOF Foundation
GSOF Foundation Logo

The Global SOF Foundation (GSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as the only professional association for the global special operations community with members from over 55 countries. Its mission is to build and grow an international SOF network of military, government, commercial, and educational stakeholders in order to advance SOF capabilities and partnerships.

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Symposium Agenda
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Tuesday Agenda August 21, 2018
7:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Registration Desk Open
Foyer
8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Expo Open
Exhibit Hall
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Morning Coffee
Exhibit Hall
9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m.
Welcome Remarks

Dr. Keenan Yoho, Vice President, Global SOF Foundation (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
9:15 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
USASOC 2035 and Beyond

Lieutenant General Francis M. Beaudette, Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Operations Command (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
10:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
Multi-Domain Battle

Moderator: General (Retired) Daniel Allyn, Former Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CONFIRMED)
Major General John B. Morrison, Commanding General, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence (Invited)
Brigadier General Allan M. Pepin, Commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (Invited)
Major General Kurt Sonntag, Commanding General, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (CONFIRMED)
Major General Eric J. Wesley, Director, U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Center (Invited)

Lafayette Ballroom
11:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Morning Networking Break
Exhibit Hall
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Keynote Speech: TBD

General Robert B. “Abe” Abrams, Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Networking Lunch
Exhibit Hall
2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Introduction to Threatcasting

Cyndi Coon, Chief of Staff, Threatcasting Lab (CONFIRMED)
Natalie Vanatta, Senior Advisor to Threatcasting Lab, U.S. Army Cyber Institute (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Countering Hybrid Threats and Tactics in the 21st Century

Moderator: Mr. Peter Bergen, Vice President, New America; National Security Correspondent, CNN (CONFIRMED)
General (Ret) John R. Allen, President, Brookings Institution (CONFIRMED)
Lieutenant General Austin Miller, Commander, U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (Invited)
Lieutenant General Michael Nagata, Director, Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning, U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (Invited)
Colonel Modestas Petrauskas, Commander, Special Operations Forces, Lithuania (CONFIRMED)
The Honorable Owen West, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, U.S. Department of Defense (Invited)

Lafayette Ballroom
3:45 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Afternoon Networking Break
Exhibit Hall
4:15 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Senior Leader Conversation

Moderator: Mr. Michael Lumpkin, Vice President of Human Performance, Leidos (CONFIRMED)
Congressman Richard Hudson, Representative from the 8th District of North Carolina, U.S. House of Representatives (Invited)
Congressman Scott Peters, Co-Chair, SOF Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
Exhibit Hall
7:15 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Night Vision Demo
Join the Excelitas-Qioptiq Team to see and use our latest advanced night vision systems. The live fire demonstration is open to all Symposium and Expo attendees and active duty U.S. Military and USG representatives. Following safety briefing and orientation, BBQ dinner will be served before moving to live fire points.

Bus transportation departs the Symposium at 1915 and will return from the range at 2130 and 2200.

This event will take place at The Range Complex, 2850 Tiger Swan Dr., Autreyville, NC 28318
www.therangecomplex.com
If you plan to attend, please respond to Sunie Davis at Excelitas Technologies, no later than 3 August 2018, to ensure we can provide transportation, food, and equipment for everyone.

Sunie Davis
sunie.davis@excelitas.com
937-353-2268

Jump To: Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Back to Top
Wednesday Agenda August 22, 2018
8:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Expo Open
Exhibit Hall
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Morning Coffee
Exhibit Hall
8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Registration Desk Open
Foyer
9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m.
Welcome Remarks

Dr. Keenan Yoho, Vice President, Global SOF Foundation (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
9:15 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Keynote Speech: TBD

General Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (Invited)

Lafayette Ballroom
10:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
Senior Leader Conversation: CF-SOF Operational Synergy

Moderator: Ms. Linda Robinson, Senior International Policy Analyst, Rand Corporation (CONFIRMED)
Major General James Kraft, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Operations Command (Invited)
General Stephen Townsend, Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (Invited)

Lafayette Ballroom
11:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Morning Networking Break
Exhibit Hall
11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Neuroscience and Neurotechnology and its Applications in National Intelligence and Defense

Captain (Ret) Richard Bremseth, Neuroethics Studies Program, Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University Medical Center (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch & Exhibit Hall Closing
Exhibit Hall
1:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.
Indigenous Approach in the 21st Century

Moderator: MG (Ret) Michael Repass, Chief Executive Officer, Able Global Solutions, LLC (CONFIRMED)
Major General Gary M. Brito, Commanding General, U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (CONFIRMED)
BG(P) Tony M. Fletcher, Commanding General, Special Operations Command South (CONFIRMED)
Major General Torgeir Gråtrud, Commander, Special Operations Command, Norway (Invited)
Major General James Linder, Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command (Invited)
Major General Mark C. Schwartz, Deputy Commander, Joint Special Operations Command (Invited)

Exhibit Hall
2:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Closing Comments

Lieutenant General Francis M. Beaudette, Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Operations Command (CONFIRMED)

Lafayette Ballroom
5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
No Host Social
The Mash House
Exhibit Hall
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Thursday Agenda August 23, 2018
“SOF for Life” Transition Seminar
This is OPEN TO ACTIVE DUTY SOF AND THOSE WHO HAVE RETIRED OR SEPARATED LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO (and their spouses).
SOF for Life Seminar Information
7:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Registration Desk Open
Foyer
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Phase 1: “Your Why”

Mr. Joe Musselman, Founder and CEO, The Honor Foundation (CONFIRMED)

Hodge 3-4
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Lunch
Hodge 3-4
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Phase 2: “Your Gear”

Mr. Joe Musselman, Founder and CEO, The Honor Foundation (CONFIRMED)

Hodge 3-4
3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Break
Foyer
3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Phase 3: “Your Workup”

Mr. Joe Musselman, Founder and CEO, The Honor Foundation (CONFIRMED)

Hodge 3-4
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Global SOF Symposium, Madrid, Spain

2018 Global SOF Symposium – Europe

The 3rd Annual Global SOF Symposium – Europe will focus on the European, North African, and Latin American special operations communities and the shared issues they face.

Join us on September 25-27, 2018 in Madrid, Spain for this unique opportunity.
Symposium Highlights

A packed agenda that includes high-ranking speakers and extensive networking opportunities
The largest exhibit space at a GSF Symposium to date
Attendees include: active duty and retired military and police, government civilians, industry, academia, journalists, and non-governmental
organizations

Confirmed Countries

Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
France

Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Kuwait
Libya
Lithuania
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal

Romania
Senegal
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States

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About the Global SOF Foundation
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The Global SOF Foundation (GSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as the only professional association for the global special operations community with members from over 55 countries. Its mission is to build and grow an international SOF network of military, government, commercial, and educational stakeholders in order to advance SOF capabilities and partnerships.

Opening Remarks

Master of Ceremonies Mr. Robert Howe, President and Chief Operating Officer, System High Corporation
General Fernando Alejandre Martínez, Chief of Defense, Spain

0945-1100
Senior Leader Conversation

Moderator: Mr. Peter Bergen, Vice President, New America
Mr. Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence (Intelligence and Security), Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

1100-1145
Coffee Break in Exhibit Area
Foyer
1145-1300
Media and SOF: Balancing Openness with Operational Security

Moderator: Colonel (Ret) Tim Nye, Former Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Special Operations Command
Mr. Jim Foster, Former SAS Sergeant Major, Independent Cameraman and Documentarian
Mr. Jeff Newton, Senior Producer, National Geographic
Captain Jason Salata, Director, Office of Communication, U.S. Special Operations Command

1300-1430
Networking Lunch
Sponsored by: Tampa Microwave LLC Logo
Foyer
Plenary Session
Londres/Bristol/Oxford
1430-1530
Hezbollah’s (Military Wing) Global Criminal Support Network

Mr. John Fernandez, Special Operations Division, Counter-Narco Terrorism Operations Center, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

1530-1600
SOF Slam: Electronic Warfare

Mr. Kelly Dunn, President, CTL-Systemware

1600-1630
Networking Break
Foyer
1630-1700
Keynote Speech: U.S. Operations in Africa

The Honorable Alexander M. Laskaris, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement, U.S. Africa Command

Networking Reception in the Exhibit Area
1700-1830
Foyer
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Thursday Agenda September 27, 2018
0730-1600
Registration and Information Desk Open
Atrium 2
0800-1430
Exhibit Hall Open
Foyer
Government / Military Only
Estrasburgo
0800-0930
SOF Roundtable (Government Only)

Moderator: Dr. Keenan Yoho, Vice President, Global SOF Foundation
Major General Jaime Iñiguez Andrade, Commander, Joint Special Operations Command, Spain

Estrasburgo
Plenary Session
Londres/Bristol/Oxford
0930-0940
Welcome and Administrative Remarks

Master of Ceremonies Mr. Remi Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer, MAS Special Operations Training

0940-1015
Keynote Speech

The Honorable Maria Elena Gómez Castro, Director, General Directorate of Defense Policy

1015-1130
Illicit Networks Spanning Ibero-America, North Africa and Europe

Moderator: Mr. Peter Bergen, Vice President, New America
Dr. Carlos Echeverría de Jesús, Professor of International Relations, National Distance Learning University, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Major General Daniel Grammatico, Director of Operations, Military Staff, European Union
His Excellency Gen Mamadou Sow, Ambassador, Embassy of Senegal, Madrid

1130-1200
Networking Break in the Exhibit Area
Foyer
Plenary Session
Londres/Bristol/Oxford
1200-1245
Keynote Speech: TBD

His Excellency Juan Carlos Pinzón, Former Minister of Defense, Colombia

1245-1400
Networking Lunch
Foyer
SOF Slam
Londres/Bristol/Oxford
1400-1430
SOF Slam: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Integration into SOF

Mr. Robert Brush, Master Chief EOD, U.S. Navy (Ret.) and President, Point One USA

Plenary Session
Londres/Bristol/Oxford
1430-1545
What it takes to be a SOF Component Headquarters

Moderator: Mr. Stephen Wisotzki, Global Security and Investigations, JPMorgan Chase
Major General Jaime Iñiguez Andrade, Commander, Joint Special Operations Command, Spain
Vice Admiral Colin Kilrain, Commander, NATO Special Operations Headquarters
Air Brig Gen Philippe Morales, Deputy Commander, Special Operations, France
Colonel Riho Ühtegi, Commander, Special Operations, Estonia (Invited)

1545-1600
Closing Remarks

Major General Jaime Iñiguez Andrade, Commander, Joint Special Operations Command, Spain

NATO Parliamentary Assembly Briefing
1630-1730
Estrasburgo
This is a closed door session with NSHQ.
Evening Reception at Historic Casino Madrid
1830-1900
Bus Transportation to Reception at Casino Madrid

1900-2100
Reception

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The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the Tragedy in Vietnam. Max Boot book event, New America DC

International Security Events The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the Tragedy in Vietnam

The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the Tragedy in Vietnam
RSVP
When

February 22, 2018

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Where

New America

740 15th St NW #900

Washington, D.C. 20005

Edward Lansdale, the man said to be the fictional model for Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, pioneered a “hearts and mind” strategy of counterinsurgency. In his new book, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, Max Boot chronicles the methods Lansdale promoted in the Philippines and then in Vietnam, arguing that his visionary policy was crushed by an American military bureaucracy more focused on napalm bombs than winning the trust of the people. Boot draws on dozens of interviews and new documents to shed light on this engaging figure.

Max Boot is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of numerous books in addition to The Road Not Taken, including Savage Wars of Peace and the New York Times bestseller Invisible Armies.
Participants:
Max Boot
Author, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Moderator:
Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America
Director, International Security Program, New America

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DARPA D60 Symposium, Washington DC

About D60

D60 is a three-day Symposium hosted by DARPA in honor of its 60th Anniversary. The Symposium will highlight DARPA’s innovative approach to creating breakthrough technologies and capabilities from the Agency’s past, present, and future. DARPA’s mission requires a constant stream of novel ideas and contributions from innovators looking beyond what is possible now. D60 will provide attendees the opportunity to engage with up-and-coming innovators, along with some of today’s most creative and accomplished scientists and technologists, as they continue to provide these contributions. By sharing our record of innovative achievements over the past 60 years, DARPA aims to inspire attendees to explore future technologies, their potential application to tomorrow’s technical and societal challenges, and the dilemmas those applications may engender. D60 participants will have the opportunity to be a part of the new relationships, partnerships, and communities of interest that this event aims to foster, and advance dialogue on the pursuit of science in the national interest.

D60 will feature six Plenary Sessions focused on topics of broad import and interest as well as 30 themed Breakout Sessions that will enable participants to dive more deeply into particular topics of interest. An Exhibit Hall will feature displays from each of DARPA’s six technical offices, detailing a selection of programs that reflect the breadth of DARPA’s research portfolio as well as the range of its performer base. Visitors to the Exhibit Hall will also have the opportunity to view an extensive showcase of historical displays and artifacts with highlights from DARPA’s storied past.

Directorate S: America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Steve Coll book event

Directorate S: America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
RSVP
When

February 9, 2018

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Where

New America

740 15th St NW #900

Washington, D.C. 20005

Prior to 9/11, the United States had carried out numerous covert operations in Afghanistan, ostensibly in cooperation, although often in direct opposition, with I.S.I., the Pakistani intelligence agency. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. found itself on a slow-motion collision course with Pakistan.

In Directorate S: The CIA and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Coll provides a detailed telling of this clash, expanding upon his first book, Ghost Wars, to tell the story of the United States’ efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the years that followed.

Steve Coll is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He was also president of the New America Foundation from 2007 to 2013. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker, and previously worked for twenty years at The Washington Post, where he received a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism in 1990. He is the author of seven other books, including On the Grand Trunk Road, The Bin Ladens, Private Empire, and Directorate S.
Participants:

Steve Coll
Author, Directorate S: The CIA and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Dean, Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University
Moderator:

Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America
Director, International Security Program, New America
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The Syrian Opposition in 2018, New America DC

The Syrian Opposition in 2018
RSVP
Photo: ART production / Shutterstock.com
When

January 19, 2018

12:15 pm – 1:45 pm
Where

New America

740 15th St NW #900

Washington, D.C. 20005

Ever since the Arab Spring protests broke out in Syria in 2011, the ensuing conflict between the government of Bashar al-Assad and Syrian opposition groups has gone through numerous shifts. With the fall of ISIS’ territorial holdings in the east of the country, advances by Syrian forces, and a new administration in the United States transforming the Syrian conflict, where does the Syrian opposition stand in 2018?

New America is pleased to welcome Osama Abu Zayd, a spokesman and representative of the Free Syrian Army to discuss these issues. Zayd has been a member of the Track 1 delegations at negotiations in Geneva and Astana, representing the Syrian opposition bilaterally and with transnational bodies such as the EU and UN.

Join the conversation online using #Syria2018 and following @NewAmericaISP.

Participants:
Osama Abu Zayd
Spokesman, Free Syrian Army

Moderator:
Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America
Director, International Security Program, New America