Terrorism and Democracy: Combating Terror with Intelligence - Michael Sheehan

Counterterrorist expert and author Michael A. Sheehan spoke onTuesday, Oct. 5, in the Mitchell Auditorium on The College of St. Scholastica campus. The title of his discussion is "Combating Terror with Intelligence."

Sheehan's lecture is the first in a new series called Terrorism and Human Rights, sponsored by the Alworth Center for the Study of Peace and Justice at St. Scholastica. The series will explore several sides to the issue of terrorism as terrorist actions and threats increase all over the world.

Sheehan is the former New York City Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism. From 1998 to 2001, he was the coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State. In a 2001 interview with "Frontline," he called the Sept. 11 attacks a failure of intelligence and said that the scale of the attack was completely unexpected.

Sheehan is a West Point-educated Green Beret. During his time in the military, he served as an officer in the infantry and Special Forces. He had several overseas assignments as a commander of a counter-terrorism unit in Panama, a counterinsurgency advisor in El Salvador, and an infantry company commander in Korea. He also served on peacekeeping duty in Somalia and Haiti. While on active duty, Sheehan served in the White House on the National Security Council staff for Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

His recent book "Crush the Cell" is critical of America's approach to defending against terrorist threats at home and offers a prescription for more reliable homeland security.

The Alworth Center for the Study of Peace and Justice seeks to bridge social and political barriers to bring together people of all ages and philosophies to work toward the common goals of peace and justice. The public is invited to participate in Center activities and to utilize the resource center.

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