REQUEST FOR DVC WITH BRUCE HOFFMAN FOR COUNTERTERRORISM

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000678 SIPDIS SIPDIS SECSTATE FOR IIP/S - RTRIPP; IIP/SV; EAP/PD - GMCLOUGHLIN; EAP/ANP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO NZ SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR DVC WITH BRUCE HOFFMAN FOR COUNTERTERRORISM SEMINAR ¶1. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Post requests a DVC with Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert in Georgetown University's Security Studies Program at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC. ¶2. PREFERRED DATE AND TIME OF PROGRAM, FISCAL YEAR, QUARTER: Request November 5, 3:00pm Washington DC = 9:00am in NZ the following day. One hour; FY 2008,first quarter. JUSTIFICATION OF PROGRAM: Post has been contacted by an Associate Professor at the School of Government at Victoria University to see if we are able to provide a speaker, Professor Hoffman, via DVC, for a counterterrorism seminar in November 2007. Our hope is that this DVC will showcase one of the world's renowned terrorism scholars to this select audience. With his vast experience, Professor Hoffman will be able to give the group an overview of his estimate of what is happening in the war on terror; his view of Al-Qaeda, and what has happened to the movement; where the trouble spots are; what can be done to counter terrorism; and an assessment of the success of the war on terror. Professor Bruce Hoffman has been studying terrorism and insurgency for thirty years. He is currently a tenured professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC. Professor Hoffman previously held the Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation and was also Director of RAND's Washington, DC Office. In 2004 he also was Acting Director of RAND's Center for Middle East Public Policy. Professor Hoffman was adviser on counterterrorism to the Office of National Security Affairs, Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad, Iraq during the spring of 2004 and from 2004-2005 was an adviser on counterinsurgency to the Strategy, Plans, and Analysis Office at Multi-National Forces-Iraq Headquarters, Baghdad. He was also an adviser to the Iraq Study Group (Baker-Hamilton Commission),serving on the Military and Security Experts Working Group. ¶3. MSP THEME AND EXPECTED AUDIENCE: MSP GOAL 07-01 Mutual Understanding. The audience attending the seminar will include the senior officials of the terrorism Committee (SOCOT). Recently formed, this core group comprises senior officials from the NZ Police, the military services, Customs, and MFAT (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade). The SOCOT committee will be asked to open the seminar to staff of various government departments -- approximately 120 participants. This includes a class of twenty-five scholars, mainly from senior levels in government departments, who are seeking a degree to improve their job performance. ¶4. NAME OF SPECIALIST REQUIRED: Professor Bruce Hoffman Center for Contemporary Arab Studies 241 Intercultural Center Georgetown University 37th & O Streets NW Washington, DC 20057-1020 Phone: 202-687-7847 email: brh6@georgetown.edu or hudsonm@georgetown.edu ¶5. Please note: Victoria University has been in contact with Professor Hoffman, who has agreed to make himself available to participate in the DVC at this time. ¶6. POST PROJECT OFFICER: Control officer: Christine Vivian Office phone: 011-644-462-6112 or 011-6421-418-044 Fax: 011-644-499-0490 Email: cvivian@actrix.gen.nz & vivianc@state.gov TECHNICAL OFFICER: Ola Thorsen Office phone: 011-644-462-6015, Fax: 011-644-499-0490 Cell: 011-6427-451-2535 Email: thorsenO@state.gov LOCATION AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS: to be advised. ¶7. Please advise soonest. Thanks and regards, McCORMICK