ISP Symposium – Intelligence Reform and Counterterrorism after a Decade: Are We Smarter and Safer?
October 16, 2014 | Time Varies
AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
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. Partnering with the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, the University of Texas at Austin’s Clements Center and Strauss Center hosted a multi-day gathering on “Intelligence Reform and Counterterrorism after a Decade: Are We Smarter and Safer?” from October 16-18, 2014. The conference examined what lessons have been learned and what challenges lie ahead. The event was a culmination of a large number of interviews and will be followed by a report with recommendations. It aims to be the most comprehensive and high-profile examination of the largest reorganization of the U.S. intelligence community in more than 50 years.
Video, audio, and images from the conference can be found below.
Photos of keynote conversations with Admiral McRaven and Director Clapper
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16
4:00-5:00pm Welcome Remarks and Discussion with Admiral William McRaven, (ret.) [click for audio]
Introduced by William Powers, Jr, UT-Austin President
5:00-6:30pm Keynote Address “Ten Years of Intelligence Integration and Reform” [click for audio]
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
8:45-9:00am Opening Remarks: Admiral Bobby Inman (ret.), former National Security Director
9:00-10:30am Session 1: Office of the Director of National Intelligence: The View from the Top [click for audio]
Moderator: Michael Allen, Beacon Global Strategies Managing Director
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence
Vice Admiral Michael McConnell, former Director of National Intelligence
David Shedd, Defense Intelligence Agency Director (Acting)
10:45-12:15pm Session 2: Office of the Director of National Intelligence: The View from Outside [click for audio]
Moderator: Paul Pope, UT-Austin CIA Officer in Residence
Stephen Cambone, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Lt Gen Frank Kisner (ret.), former NATO Special Operations Commander
Jim Langdon, former Chair of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
Steve Slick, former National Security Council Senior Director
12:45-2:00pm Luncheon and Keynote Conversation: Steve Hadley, former National Security Advisor [click for audio]
2:15-3:45pm Session 3: National Counterterrorism Center [click for audio]
Moderator: Robert Chesney, Strauss Center Director
Michael Allen, Former House Intelligence Committee Staff Director
Matt Olsen, former National Counterterrorism Center Director
Juan Zarate, former Deputy National Security Advisor
4:00-5:30pm Session 4: Jihadist Terrorism: Assessing the Present and Future Threat [click for audio]
Moderator: Paul D. Miller, Clements Center Associate Director
Mary Habeck, former National Security Council Special Advisor
Marcel Lettre, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
John McLaughlin, former CIA Director (Acting)
Quintan Wiktorowicz, former National Security Council Senior Director
5:45-7:00pm Keynote Address: “Congress over the Last Decade: Help or Hindrance” [click for audio]
U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, Armed Services Committee Vice-Chairman
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
9:00-10:30am Session 5: The Path Forward: Practitioner Perspectives [click for audio]
Moderator: Chuck Alsup, INSA Vice President for Policy
Tom Fingar, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence
Admiral Bobby Inman (ret.), former National Security Agency Director
John McLaughlin, former CIA Director (Acting)
Nick Rasmussen, Acting National Counterterrorism Center Director
David Shedd, Defense Intelligence Agency Director (Acting)
10:45-12:15pm Session 6: The Path Forward: Scholar Perspectives [click for audio]
Moderator: William Inboden, Clements Center Director
Robert Jervis, Columbia University Professor
Joshua Rovner, Southern Methodist University Associate Professor
Gary Schmitt, American Enterprise Institute Resident Scholar
Jennifer Sims, Chicago Council on Global Affairs Senior Fellow
Amy Zegart, Stanford University
12:30-1:30pm Closing Luncheon and Keynote Address “The False Narrative: How Ending the ‘War on Terror’ Put America in Danger” [click for audio]
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, Homeland Security Committee Chairman
About the Sponsors
The William P. Clements Jr. Center for History, Stratey & Statecraft at the University of Texas at Austin 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 Clements Center honors former Texas Governor Bill Clements and his leadership on national security during his service as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1973-77.
The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law integrates expertise from across the University of Texas at Austin, as well as from the private and public sectors, in pursuit of practical solutions to emerging international challenges. Towards that end, the Center sponsors a wide array of research programs and educational initiatives.
The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, non-partisan, public-private organization that works to promote and recognize the highest standards within the national security and intelligence communities. INSA members include current and former high-ranking intelligence, military and government agency leaders, analysts, and experts from industry and academia. Drawing on the experience and expertise of this membership, the Intelligence and National Security Alliance provides the thought leadership that identifies crucial intelligence topics, completes strategic research and promotes innovative solutions.
This conference is part of the Intelligence Studies Project, a collaboration of the Clements Center and Strauss Center to bring together scholars, poicymakers, 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.
Corporate sponsorship is provided by Raytheon Company, a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security, and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services.