Join us for an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing. Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active duty in hot spots such as Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq is also a past Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. He will be joined by Ali Soufan, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
As an FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Soufan investigated and supervised complex international terrorism cases, including the East Africa embassy bombings, the attack on the USS Cole, and the events surrounding 9/11. He is the author of Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State and The New York Times bestseller The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda, winner of the 2012 Ridenhour Book Prize. A new edition, The Black Banners (Declassified): How Torture Derailed the War on Terror after 9/11, was published in September 2020, with the previous redactions lifted.
Soufan had a distinguished career in the FBI, including serving on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, New York Office, where he coordinated both domestic and international counterterrorism operations. He often operated out of hostile environments and carried out sensitive extraterritorial missions and high-level negotiations, and he has received numerous awards and commendations for his work. These include the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence, the Respect for Law Enforcement Award for “relentless pursuit of truth and bringing terrorist subjects before the bar of justice,” and a commendation from the U.S. Department of Defense that labeled him “an important weapon in the ongoing war on terrorism.” Soufan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Soufan Group and Founder of The Soufan Center.
Following their discussion of key issues, you’ll be able to ask questions via our online platform.
Special thanks to our co-sponsors for this event, AT&T and Carahsoft Technology Corp.
While this is a free program, please consider donating to SPY to help support these programs. Between now and the end of 2020, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous anonymous donor.