CAZENOVIA, NY – Peter Bergen, CNNs national security analyst, will discuss U.S. military and intelligence involvement in Afghanistan at the Cazenovia Forum on Friday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the Catherine Cummings Theatre, 9 Lincklaen Street in Cazenovia. The event is free of charge and no reservations or tickets are required.Editors: For a high-resolution image of Peter Bergen, please email us at lectureseries@cazenoviaforum.com.
Peter Bergen
Bergen, whose lecture is titled “Obama’s War,” is perhaps best known as one of the few Westerners to have met the worlds most-wanted man, Osama bin Laden, when in 1997, as a producer for CNN, he interviewed the 9/11 mastermind.
“This is an exciting opportunity for people in our community to hear and engage with one of the worlds premier journalists and a longtime expert on the global terrorist threat,” said Jim Bruno, a member of the Cazenovia Forum board of directors. “In addition, Peter Bergen is a keen observer of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and he will be sharing his views on the conflict and answer audience questions.”
For more than 15 years, Bergen has traveled extensively throughout Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and more recently Iraq to report on national security and the al-Qaeda network. His latest book, The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and al-Qaeda, takes a close and critical look at Americas decade-long war on terrorism. “Drawing on vast firsthand knowledge of the region and mining a huge stock of primary and secondary material, including his own interviews with combatants, the books depth of detail and breadth of insight make it one of the more useful analyses of the ongoing conflict,” said Publishers Weeklyin its review.
Bergen’s previous book, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al-Qaedas Leader, was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2006 by The Washington Post. CNN produced a two hour documentary, In the Footsteps of bin Laden, based on the book that aired around the fifth anniversary of 9/11.
He is also the author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of bin Laden, a New York Times best-seller that has been translated into 18 languages. A documentary based on Holy War, Inc., which aired on National Geographic Television, was nominated for an Emmy in the research category.
Bergen’s work has appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and the International Herald Tribune. In addition to being CNNs national security analyst, Bergen is a Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation. He is also an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as well as a research fellow at New York Universitys Center on Law and Security.
The Cazenovia Forum was established in 2006 by community members focused on promoting the understanding and discussion of national and international issues. By organizing and underwriting lecture events featuring nationally-known experts, the group intends to further Cazenovias commitment to knowledge-seeking and community involvement.
