After Iraq: The Next Steps in the "War on Terror"

January 9, 2007, 9:00am – 10:00am

About This Event

The Center for American Progress is pleased to invite you to hear terrorism expert Richard Clarke speak on the state of the “war on terror” and how America can chart a new and more effective path forward. Drawing on the key insights he has gained through decades of government service – including as Senior White House Advisor to each of the last three presidents – Clarke will offer his thoughts on the Bush administration’s post-9/11 foreign policy and propose new steps to make our country safer.

Featured Speaker:
Richard A. Clarke, Chairman, Good Harbor Consulting and former head of counterterrorism at the National Security Council

Introduction by:
John D. Podesta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Resources

Video

• View CSPAN coverage of the event

Read a full transcript of the event:

• Event Transcript

Biographies

Richard A. Clarke was a Senior White House advisor to the last three presidents. He was the Counterterrorism czar for President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and Special Advisor to George W. Bush for Cyber Security. He was initially appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence by President Ronald Reagan. He was also Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs in George H. W. Bush’s administration. Prior to his White House years, he served for nineteen years in the Pentagon, the intelligence community and the State Department. Clarke is author of the #1 New York Times best seller, “Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror” which charges that Bush’s administration took the threat of al Qaeda lightly prior to 9/11, and afterward focused on Iraq rather than the real danger posed by Bin Laden. Clarke is now a consultant with ABC News, director of the Hart-Rudman Task Force on emergency responders and chairman of Good Harbor Consulting, an IT consultancy on homeland security, cyber security, critical infrastructure protection and counterterrorism.

John D. Podesta is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and visiting professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Podesta served as chief of staff to President William J. Clinton from October 1998 until January 2001, where he was responsible for directing, managing, and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, Congressional relations, and staff activities of the White House. He coordinated the work of cabinet agencies with a particular emphasis on the development of federal budget and tax policy, and served in the President's Cabinet and as a principal on the National Security Council. Podesta has also held a number of positions on Capitol Hill including: counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas A. Daschle; chief counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee; chief minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks; Security and Terrorism; and Regulatory Reform; and counsel on the Majority Staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. John is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Knox College.