The Dynamics of ISIS: Its Origins and Implications for the United States
Malcolm Nance
Monday, 17 Oct 2016 at 7:00 pm – Great Hall, Memorial Union
Malcolm Nance is a counter-terrorism and intelligence adviser for the U.S. government’s special operations, homeland security and intelligence agencies. He frequently serves as a terrorism analyst for MSNBC and is the author of the book Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe. For more than 30 years Nance participated in field and combat intelligence activity, including as an Arabic-speaking field interrogator. A decorated veteran and former Navy intelligence officer, he deployed on numerous clandestine operations in the Balkans, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. He also served as a master training specialist at the U.S. Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School. Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political ScienceMalcolm Nance has eye witnessed numerous terrorist incidents and/or participated in response operations. These include the American Embassy and U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon; the TWA 847 hijacking; the millennium bomb plot; the attack on the USS Cole and the September 11th attacks.
He conceptualized and implemented the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival school (ATAHS) in resisting torture, exploitation and escaping terrorist captivity from 1997-2001. At ATAHS, he led the terrorism training team formed to simulate Al-Qaeda and its attacks for Tier-1 National Mission Units and select members of the U.S. Intelligence community in the pre-9/11 era.
His other books include The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency and three editions of The Terrorist Recognition Handbook.
Nance is a graduate of New York Excelsior College. He is presently the executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics, and Radical Ideologies (TAPSTRI), in Hudson, New York.
Cosponsored By:
- Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women & Politics
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
- Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science
- Political Science
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
Stay for the entire event, including the brief question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentation. Most events run 75 minutes.
Sign-ins are after the event concludes. For lectures in the Memorial Union, go to the information desk in the Main Lounge. In other academic buildings, look for signage outside the auditorium.
Lecture Etiquette
- Stay for the entire lecture and the brief audience Q&A. If a student needs to leave early, he or she should sit near the back and exit discreetly.
- Do not bring food or uncovered drinks into the lecture.
- Check with Lectures staff before taking photographs or recording any portion of the event. There are often restrictions. Cell phones, tablets and laptops may be used to take notes or for class assignments.
- Keep questions or comments brief and concise to allow as many as possible.