Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Michael Jacobson is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
In-Depth Reports
Featured presentations:
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Energy Dept. director of intelligence, on nuclear terrorism
Donald Kerr, principal deputy DNI, on emerging threats and challenges in the Middle East
Charles Allen, under-secretary of homeland security, on terrorism's 21st-century evolution
Juan Zarate, deputy national security advisor, on U.S. successes and challenges in the war on terror
Patrick O'Brien, assistant Treasury secretary, on financial pressure on terrorist groups and rogue regimes
Michael Leiter, NCC director, on looming challenges in the war on terror
Dell Dailey, State Dept. counterterrorism coordinator, on an "all elements of power" strategy to defeat terrorism
In December 2007, The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence initiated a lecture series featuring senior U.S. counterterrorism officials. With the Bush administration's second term winding down, the series has given policymakers a chance to assess progress in the war on terror since the 9/11 attacks, as well as the challenges that remain. It has also provided valuable insights for the next administration regarding the CT environment it will inherit and identified where U.S. leaders need to focus their priorities. In this Policy Focus, Institute senior fellows Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson compile and analyze seven of these presentations:
These key U.S. officials discussed a spectrum of terrorism-related topics, with three major themes emerging: how the threats facing the United States have evolved, how the government has adapted its counterterrorism approach, and how the U.S. government has revised its very structure to address these threats.
Michael Jacobson is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, where he was previously a Soref fellow. Previously he served as senior advisor in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and as counsel on the 9-11 Commission. His areas of focus include sanctions and financial measures to combat national security threats, as well as other issues related to counterterrorism, national security law, and intelligence reform -- subjects covered in his 2006 Institute monograph The West at War: U.S. and European Counterterrorism Efforts, Post-September 11.
