Well-known counter terrorism expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
will be guest of the Maine Chapter of the Association for Intelligence Officers
at the May 19 meeting. Author of the recently published “Bin Laden’s Legacy:
Why We’re Still Losing the War on Terror,” Gartenstein-Ross is director of the
Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization at the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. In line with his major areas of research
into radicalization of homegrown terrorists and the Somali-based jihadi group
al Shabaab, he will discuss strategic issues in the global struggle against a
resiliant al Qaeda, with an extended discussion of Somalia and briefly touch on
funding for terrorist groups.
Gartenstein-Ross is a frequent consultant on counter
terrorism for various government agencies as well as private groups. He has
testified before the U. S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee and is a regular lecturer for the Naval Postgraduate School’s Leader
Development and Education for Sustained Peace.
Growing up in Ashland, Oregon, the son of non-practicing
Jewish parents, Garstenstein-Ross converted to Islam in his early twenties
after becoming impressed with the religious devotion of his Muslim friends. In
2000 he converted to Christianity after helping the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in conducting their investigation of Al Haramain, a Wahhabi
charity now considered a terrorist group.
The speaker holds a J.D. from the New York University School
of Law, and is a Ph.D. candidate in world politics at the Catholic University
of America where he received a M.A. in the same subject.
The meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Brick Store
Museum Program Center, 2 Dane Street, Kennebunk. The meeting is open to the
public. For information call 207-967-4298.
