Aspen Security Forum’s successful debut makes it a ‘must-attend’ event in future years

The 1^st Annual Aspen Security Conference, which was held at a resort in Aspen, CO, from June 28 through June 30, attracted such a stunning roster of current and former government officials, industry executives, scholars and security professionals -- and garnered such rave reviews from its 300 registrants -- that it is certain to become the preeminent annual conclave in the homeland security field, for many years to come.

The Aspen Security Forum, or ASF, was sponsored by The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit think tank which presents renowned conferences, symposia and meetings on a wide variety of public policy issues, GSN: Government Security News and The New York Times.

“We’re proud to be associated with The Aspen Institute and The New York Times in presenting such a superb conference,” said the publisher of GSN, Edward Tyler. “We think it sets a new and higher standard of excellence in education for the homeland security field.” Al Cannon, Jr., the sheriff in Charleston, SC, agreed. “I highly recommend this educational forum for all of my peers,” Cannon told GSN.

Unlike dozens of security-related trade shows and industry-oriented conferences held each year in cities across the country -- which typically feature exhibition halls and formal education tracks -- ASF offered two full days of detailed, candid presentations by current and past government officials and other experts, followed by thought-provoking questions from the audience, which evolved into lively dialogues between the presenters and the attendees. This atmosphere of intellectual inquiry, in a relaxed and informal setting, has become the hallmark of many Aspen Institute programs.

Indeed, a unique atmosphere quickly developed during most of the sessions – which focused on topics such as aviation, mass transit and border security; local law enforcement; threats in cyber-space; post-9/11 terrorism threats, perspectives from abroad, the status of homeland security R&D and business opportunities, and much more. While the topics were familiar, what was unique about ASF was the impressive roster of speakers, panelists and audience members – including former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff; current Deputy Secretary of DHS, Jane Holl Lute; former police commissioner in New York City and Los Angeles, Bill Bratton; former senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart (who hails from Colorado); former senator from Missouri and vice-chair of a recent WMD commission, Jim Talent; the Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani; Michael Leiter, the director of The National Counterterrorism Center; the DHS heads of the Secure Border Initiative and the US-VISIT program, Mark Borkowski and Robert Mocny, respectively; and others too numerous to cite -- who typically spent two full days at the bucolic Aspen Meadows Resort, clad in casual attire, engaged in open, stimulating conversations with old friends and new acquaintances.

Each panel was moderated by a nationally-known journalist – such as David Sanger, the chief Washington correspondent of New York Times; David Ignatius, of The Washington Post; Michael Isikoff, of NBC; Jeanne Meserve, of CNN; Thomas Frank, of USA Today; and Kimberly Dozier, of the Associated Press, among others. This writer moderated the panel on R&D, new technology and investment prospects.

Largely responsible for the unprecedented cavalcade of government leaders and influential homeland security pros was Clark Ervin, the director of The Aspen Institute’s homeland security program, a former inspector general at both DHS (during the Tom Ridge era) and the Department of State, and a well-respected figure in Washington who seems to know everyone in the homeland security field.

The program got off to a quick start, before a sold-out crowd of 800 people, under a fluttering tent on a breezy Aspen evening, with a “conversation” between Admiral Michael Mullen, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and David Sanger, of The Times. Mullen wowed his audience with his extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the world’s hot spots and his unusual willingness to address every question – from Sanger and his audience – with straight-forward candor and occasional flashes of self-deprecating humor, as GSN reported on June 29.

Nine years into the war in Afghanistan, Admiral Mullen pulled no punches in acknowledging that the military effort by U.S. and allied troops is not going as well as he, President Obama, most of official Washington, and the American public would wish, but counseled patience. “This is a marathon,” said Admiral Mullen, “not a sprint.”

Following the first day of speakers and panels -- which delivered a mind-boggling mountain of facts, figures, insights and opinions -- the group gathered in a small theater on the Aspen Meadows campus for a screening of Terror in Mumbai, a chilling HBO documentary about the attack by 10 Islamic terrorists on Mumbai, India, in 2008, which left 178 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Excerpts from this minute-by-minute re-telling of the infamous assault was following by comments and analysis from terrorism scholars Paul Pillar, an ex-CIA officer and director of a security program at Georgetown University and Steve Simon, of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Peter Bergen, a national security analyst with CNN.