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Global War on Terrorism: A Status Report
 The recent waves of terrorist attacks on the Hotel Marriot in Pakistan and the U.S. Embassy in Yemen demonstrate that the war on terrorism is far from over. There is no conclusive evidence on whether the two terrorist incidents were coordinated, but the possibility cannot be ruled out.
Today the U.S. is fighting a complex and diffused form of radical Islamist threat. Although there has not been any terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland since 9/11, there are reasons to be pessimistic about the global war on terrorism: Al Qaeda is re-emerging around the world, the Talibans are regrouping in Afghanistan, there is an overall high level of violence in post-war Iraq, and terrorists are continuing to have safe havens in Pakistan. Success in the war on terrorism would depend on how the U.S. partners with other countries in pursuing a vigorous policy of 4 Ds: defeating the terrorists; denying terrorist safe havens; diminishing the environment of underlying conditions that breed terrorism; and defending the U.S. citizens at home and abroad. This event was co-sponsored by the National Security Network and as part of International Week at UCIS Bio of Rand Beers:  Rand Beers is currently the President of the National Security Network. Before founding the National Security Network, Rand Beers served as the National Security Adviser to the Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign, and was for 35 years a civil servant. After serving as a Marine officer and rifle company commander in Vietnam, he entered the Foreign Service in 1971 and the Civil Service in 1983. From 1988-98, Mr. Beers served on the White House National Security Council Staff as Director for Counter-terrorism and Counternarcotics, Director for Peacekeeping, and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs. From 1998-2003, he was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In 2002-03, he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism at the National Security Council. Beers earned a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from the University of Michigan.
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