As the nation commemorates the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks this week amid increasing threats from terrorist groups abroad, the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for History, Strategy and Statecraft and the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at The University of Texas at Austin will host a first-of-its-kind conference featuring America’s most senior intelligence and counterterrorism leaders.
The conference will examine the effectiveness of the intelligence and counterterrorism reforms adopted after Sept. 11, 2001, and explore next steps in light of the ongoing terrorist threat.
Event: “Intelligence Reform and Counterterrorism after a Decade: Are We Smarter and Safer?”
When: Thursday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 18
Where: ATandT Conference Center and Blanton Museum of Art Auditorium, The University of Texas at Austin
For the conference schedule and registration information, click here.
Background: It has been a decade since the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ushered in a sweeping reorganization of the U.S. intelligence community, creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center. In partnership with the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, the Clements Center and Strauss Center will host the multiday gathering on “Intelligence Reform and Counterterrorism after a Decade: Are We Smarter and Safer?” The conference will examine lessons that have been learned and the challenges that lie ahead.
Participants will include prominent practitioners, policymakers and scholars, with addresses by:
- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
- former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley
- Adm. William McRaven, former commander of the United States Special Operations Command
- U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security
- U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Amarillo), who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
“Through the tremendous collaboration of the Clements and Strauss Centers, The University of Texas at Austin has become the academic home for nonpartisan, policy-relevant study of national security intelligence issues,” said Bill Powers, the university’s president. “At such an important time in our country, we are honored to have such a significant and high-level gathering of intelligence and counterterrorism officials on our campus to discuss these pressing matters.”
Other participants include former Directors of National Intelligence John Negroponte and Michael McConnell; Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Matt Olsen and former Director Michael Leiter; Adm. Bob Inman, former director of the National Security Agency; David Shedd, acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; and other scholars and senior policymakers.
This conference is an initiative of the Intelligence Studies Project, a collaboration of the Clements Center and Strauss Center to bring together scholars, policymakers and intelligence officials to explore the past, present and future of intelligence work. This includes workshops conducted with the National Security Agency, the National Intelligence Council and senior intelligence and counterterrorism officials.
The William P. Clements, Jr. Center for History, Strategy and Statecraft is a nonpartisan research and policy center that draws on the best insights of diplomatic and military history to train the next generation of national security leaders.
The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law integrates expertise from across the university, as well as from the private and public sectors, in pursuit of practical solutions to emerging international challenges.
