[inaudible conversations] if you missed any of what secretary lou have to say you can see the entire thing on the website, cspan. Org. We are going to head to the press club in washington for remarks from the retired general tip ward. In the wake of the recent terror attacks in brussels. This is hosted by the Potomac Institute center for terrorism studies. It should get underway in just a moment. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] again we are live this morning from the National Press club expecting to hear from the retired general kip ward as he talks about strategies for combating multiple threats, multiple terrorist attacks as this is the result of the terror attacks that recently took place in brussels. Hosted by the Potomac Institute center for International Studies we expect this to start in just a moment. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] ladies and gentlemen, im the ceo of the Potomac Institute for policy studies, and its my honor and privilege to welcome you today to a seminar on terrorism in the middle east. Im sure many of you or most of you are aware of the center for International Terrorism studies headed by alexander that for many decades has been looking into all aspects of terrorism, its causes and how we can deal with it. For the last almost 20 years, the center has been a Potomac Institute and its been our great privilege to host these seminars, the International Center has produced at least one academic volume if not three or four per. We have many examples including this one today that has just been released and another one was released yesterday on russia and asia and its been the senators focus for a couple of decades to look at how terrorism has been used as a tool to disrupt governance and society all around the world to look how different governments and cultures have dealt with it and look at what has worked and has not to document that in an academic setting such that the Lessons Learned from dealing with terrorism around the world can be studied, looked at and hopefully improve our capability for dealing with it. In keeping with that tradition and trend as i said, the professor alexander has brought together today once again as always one of the most distinguished and experienced panel of individuals whove dealt with terrorism in the middle east, africa and europe. We will have an opportunity to hear some of the best Lessons Learned and interact with those that have dealt with it on the ground and strategically at the governments and communities and hopefully increase our knowledge and ability to deal with terrorism. I would like to think think professor alexander for the two decades that hes allowed me to work with him on these issues. In my mind hes one of the greatest academics in the world and we are privileged to have him not just here today but in the world for as long as he will stay with us. With that, let me introduce the person who needs no introduction, professor yoda alexander. [applause] thank you, mike, for your generous introduction. The main point is we cannot deal with the challenges without International Cooperation and work with the diplomats from the countries and the academic standards so on. Let me first introduce the panel briefly and then i would like to make a few quick notes and move on to the discussion. Next to mike is general gray as the commandant of the marine corps and he will also introduce our keynote speaker, general ward sitting next to him and then we are going to have a presentation from the embassy of libya. Next is the deputy chief of missions and finally, we have also another distinguished diplomat who is the political counselor at the embassy of the egyptian embassy. Obviously we cannot conduct any discussion without academics so we are divided to have today professor mohammed, the president of the Moroccan Center for strategic studies and general gray as always well will have the last word. A couple of footnotes in terms of our Academic Work that mike mentioned. This year alone, we at the discussions right here at the National Press club on International Cooperation in combating terrorism we also dealt with the sunni shia divide beginning with the challenge in the middle east and beyond into dealing with nato and so forth. Now, we have to remind ourselves that terrorism is only one out of many challenges we have to consider talking about security challenges and the natural disasters and academics is also a grave concern as we have seen with the crisis in africa and beyond and so on. But we are going to focus on manmade disasters that we see daily, and i think we have to keep in mind that no community and no country and no region is affected by terrorism. Yesterday, we had the plane hijacking in egypt. Although its not a terrorist incident as we know, but the modus operandi reminds us of the challenges that we are facing. And someday obviously we sold with grave concern what happened in pakistan and exposed again the ugly face of terror and there is no end to the imagination of the terrorists and the list goes on and on all the way from paris to brussels to california and elsewhere. We have to keep in mind the trends that we see particularly with regards to the expansion of the Islamic States. According to the record we could follow from the United Nations into the Terrorism Community of close to 40,000 volunteers and fighters throughout the world in the Islamic State this is actually much larger, seven times larger and of those volunteer fighters to join the mujahedin in afghanistan to fight the soviet union. What is of grave concern we dont always realize the threat that is generated in the north african region as well as the style throughout africa. In fact, out of the 40 identified groups around the world that our partners in other words and terms of declaring religions providing support we find that 20 of them are located in africa and i would like to mention the publications mike already referred to that is being released today that deals with a threat throughout the region. Im not going to go into details because we dont have with us general ward whos going to deal with some of these issues. But this map tells everything that one has to recognize in terms of the analysis of the nature and impact. In other words we are very concerned about al qaeda especially after 9 11 when an increasing number of attacks took place in north africa somehow the world did not recognize and it was the first country victimized in the 1990s after the mujahedin came back. But anyway, today basically every country in the continent had some form of sympathizers so in other words, we are talking about the socalled caliphate without borders, and if you have an opportunity, try to read that report into the general will go into some details. The threat is growing and this week as we know right here in washington there is a summit on Nuclear Security and the representatives from all over the world in africa, europe, asia and so on to deal with the issue of Nuclear Terrorism so it is only a matter of time. Not if but when we would have to face the incident. We have to be concerned because even according to the last reports about europe, we know that daesh have some targets for the Nuclear Facilities and so on. So with this introduction i would like to introduce the American General gray. [applause] good morning. It is my distinct privilege to have an opportunity on behalf of the Potomac Institute to introduce a great warrior, Great American and a someone i just know youre going to be really delighted to listen to and no matter how smart you are, i predict you are going to learn something. General ward has been a distinguished officer for over 40 years. More importantly, i encourage you to read his bio because you need to understand what he developed and where his ideas came from and how he applied them. He started out as a commander and thats where you really learn about people and find out quick that everything you get it done as a young lieutenant you get get it done through people and so it just makes common sense to take care the very best way you know how and to try to bring them home alive if the conflict is there. He went up to a distinguished career in the light and the light and have been to all the schools and held all of the commands from the lieutenant all the way up through the Division Commander and then of course he was the first commander of the africa command, which he will talk to us about today. Now hes the president and ceo of a company in the corporate world and we were chatting a little bit earlier before this thing started and i said some of the leadership things that youve picked up in the military are apropos in the commercial world as well because still, its all done by people and we need to take care of them and he agreed with that. We were also chatting before. He was born before i graduated from high school in 1945 and 17. My best my best friend was from briel across the river they were my rivals. He and i had grown up knowing each other for a long time and later he went to the same school at morgan state only he was a freshman in 1946 and thats back when he had good athletes. When you got there they kind of dwindled off. So anyway we had to chat about that. Im pleased to introduce general kip ward. [applause] but we follow by saying good morning and extending gratitude of thanks to professor alexander for the invitation for me to be here this morning to address this group. But the general needs no introduction because general gray is one of the iconic heroes. Thank you for your service and all that youve done not just for the marines but all in the nation. Thanks very much. [applause] when the professor alexander contacted me about coming this morning i said im not an academician. I dont publish great volumes for those to read and in fact knowing what you do, why is why contributes to this austere occasion. Thats why we want you there. The general talked about my career and i will briefly highlight a couple of things that might be instructive as i go through the remainder of my comments. Over 40 years as an infantryman, my first 20 years as a soldier, i spent ensuring our nation that show the greatest nemesis of the cold war impact our security we were going to defeat it. I did not, assigned to units. In europe, korea the mechanized units, armored units. I did that assigned to the contingency force units, 82nd Airborne Division here in the United States. The last 20 years presented a different paradigm and i will talk about that. Since 9 11, the security challenges that we face have grave implications and theyve emerged globally. The middle east, africa, europe, asia all regions of terrorist networks, particularly al qaeda and daesh but including the most treacherous of the organizations killing hundreds of people a week that go unreported. Al shabaab expanding operations across this and stability that exists without borders. Combating terrorism, Lessons Learned. Lessons learned. Middle east, north africa and beyond. This enemy that possesses states like features is not a state. How do we recognize it . Not long ago, you had a great presentation by a youngster. You call me youngster. I call ben stewart a youngster. He presented a detailed and accurate synopsis to lay down with an enemy is. So i will expand upon what he said about daesh and this force, but that is an enemy that has permeated our global commerce. We live in a complex security environment. I went to help guarantee humanitarian relief in an impoverished and devastated land. It in 1992, i discovered what i trying to do for 20 years as an infantryman, just wasnt working quite well in this environment. My young sergeant who were out doing what they did in villages, hamlets, working with tribal elders and leaders would come back in and say, colonel, its not about fire maneuver here. This is about other things to help guarantee stability. And we talked about that and we got to the bit, but we knew then that the enemy presented a different face, operated with different tactics, gain its authority through different means. Mostly intimidation and terror. Lesson learned, did we Pay Attention to it . Maybe, maybe not. Some years later i was fortunate enough to be asked to go to egypt to be the u. S. Security coordinator with the Egyptian Armed forces. And assignment that i absolutely think it was one the best assignment idabel because it exposed me to understanding the importance of understanding those with whom you work that may not be just like you. Important tour as the general indicated, help create this mosaic to inform things that are there came to in as i move along. Had the great opportunity to command the 25th infantry division, a part of the u. S. Pacific command area of responsibility, traveling all over south asia region, again being exposed to folks who are not like me, not like my focus, but learning. Lessons learned. Lessons learned. I told the journal he probably gave my talk in his summation because its so true. The general. Its about how you understand people and how you build relationships. That theme will come forth again as i talk to your. That asymmetrical threat we faced in 1980 to come it was there. Things went on in the balkans and on september 11, 2001, as i sat in the pentagon as the vice director of operations on the joint staffs, the threat became real in no uncertain terms. And as i spent four days in the pentagon without leaving doing things that help determine what our response would be to that devastating attack that would change all of us, to be sure we were in a new era. Lessons learned. We all got a crash course in it that day, and we continue to receive it. That enemy that we are trained to defeat as a military no longer existed. And maintain security and protecting our National Interests needed to occur more than at the end of a rifle, by delivering a main gun round out of an abrams tank, by dropping a bomb from a b1 or by firing a missile from a frigate. To be sure, that needed to be there. But more was required. More is required. I go to the balkans as a native command of the Stabilization Force in austin herzegovina in 2003 bosnia. Trying to establish stability and put things together so that that was what i called them a horizon of hope for peace. That wasnt happening because i was a combat veteran. Is happening because i had better been paying attention to othethings in that apartment that would make a difference. I went in 2005 to be the United States security coordinator to israel and the palestinian authority. These lessons continued to reinforce themselves. What is it that we are doing to help bring stability to an environment . This notion of security that i had been taught as a lieutenant, captain, colonel, as a young infantryman my first 20 years, was exposing to me its limited with respect to the total to mention of how we approach addressing this arc of instability. I was very fortunate to have been selected to be the inaugural commander of the United States africom. I served in four of our nations geographic commands at that point, in varying assignments. So how was this one to be different if it is to address challenges we faced, and to be sure in 2006 and 2007 as we were discussing it, terrorism was well known to evolve. We have talked about those incidents that had led to was having it smacked right in our faces. Because of what the young sergeant said to be on one of my trips into somalia in 1990, early part of 1993 visiting him, i knew stability was more than just what we brought to this dynamic. What we brought was absolute critical come and to be sure, but it needed more. What was the more . What was the lesson . We talk about it today like its been around forever. In 2007 we were not talking about the importance of development. We were not talking about the importance of understanding the society in which we were operating, knowing what was important to the people who lived there where they were, and doing things in a sustained way to address that such that they had a stake in their own stability because they had horizon of hope. We were not talking about this. You say why are you as a soldier talk about it . Because when it doesnt happen, my soldiers, marines, sailors get caught in harms way to help bring security and stability, and i would much rather not do that. To be sure, prepared to do. Thats what my nation asked me to do. Thats what i took an oath to do as i wore across the nation. In my minds eye, that ought to be our last resort to achieve the stability that we all desire on these global commons. As these conditions have continued to move forward, it is even more imperative that those things that are associated with stability, defense to be sure, but as was pointed out by professor alexander, its more than that. This economic horizon, this horizon that will create something for communities that exist in this vast area, that weve been talking about even i before alqaeda and islamic maghreb, and as was pointed out we were not paying attention. But conditions that spawned the creation of those sorts of activities still exists. So how are we to address it . What are the Lessons Learned . We have built great systems to deal with the security aspects, intelligence and Fusion Centers and sells, sustained engagemen engagements, combined and joint operations to address threats, the use of our special operation forces, the use of our conventional forces. I offer that s