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Join us for the public event, After the Insurrection: Domestic Violent Extremism and the Intelligence Challenge on May 25, 2021, at 1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT. This conversation will mark the launch of the report “Domestic Violent Extremism and the Intelligence Challenge” by Mitchell D. Silber, former Director of Intelligence Analysis at the New York City Police Department (2005-2012) and currently a visiting lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Panelists will examine the multi-point failures in intelligence analysis and of senior government officials to issue warnings based on that intelligence, failures that allowed the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, by domestic violent extremists.
This is the fourth in the Atlantic Council series “After the Insurrection,” examining how the January 6, 2021 mob attack on the US Capitol is shaping the response to the threat from domestic terrorism by white supremacists and anti-government groups.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, amid discussion of an “intelligence failure,” the United States government reformed the structure of the federal government, formed a new department dedicated to homeland security, changed the architecture of the intelligence community, and created a director of national intelligence. In the wake of the storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, there is yet again discussion of “intelligence failures.”
Expert panelists Patricia Cogswell, Strategic Advisor, National Security Sector at Guidehouse, former Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and former Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security; Todd Rosenblum, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, and former Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, Department of Defense; Mitch Silber, Executive Director at Community Security Initiative and former Director of Intelligence Analysis, New York City Police Department (NYPD); Caryn Wagner, Adjunct Faculty Member, National Intelligence University, and former Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security, will explain how the threat the United States faced after September 11, 2001, differs from one that it faces in the wake of January 6, 2021, the effectiveness of the post-9/11 intelligence architecture against the domestic violent-extremist threat, and potential steps moving forward to reform the intelligence architecture, including a more robust collection of social media content, and the creation of a Domestic Violent Extremism Unit inside the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
The panelists will discuss current intelligence preparedness to face the new and changing threat environment, and how to improve it in a way that captures the complexities around domestic violent extremism. Tom Warrick, Nonresident Senior Fellow and Director of the Future of DHS Project, Atlantic Council and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy, Department of Homeland Security will provide opening remarks. The event will be moderated by Dina Temple-Raston, Correspondent, Investigations at NPR.
This event is hosted by the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and its Foward Defense practice area’s Future of DHS Project in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.
Opening remarks by
Tom Warrick
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Middle East Programs and the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Atlantic Council
Featuring
Patricia Cogswell
Strategic Advisor, National Security Sector
Guidehouse
Former Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and former Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis
Department of Homeland Security
Todd Rosenblum
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Forward Defense practice
Atlantic Council
Former Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense
Department of Defense
Mitch Silber
Executive Director, Community Security Initiative
Former Director of Intelligence Analysis, New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Visiting Lecturer, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”)
Caryn Wagner
Adjunct Faculty Member
National Intelligence University
Former Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis
Department of Homeland Security
Moderated by
Dina Temple-Raston
Correspondent, Investigations
National Public Radio (NPR)
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Counterterrorism Study Group
The Counterterrorism Study Group is a forum for former counterterrorism officials to review the latest threats, to understand emerging trends and future predictions, and to explore creative new proposals for improving the effectiveness of current policies and operations.