Rep. Jason Crow
House of Representatives (D-CO-6)
12th Annual Future Security Forum
25 Years After September 11, Lessons From America’s Post-9/11 Wars
- Hybrid
- New America
740 15th St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
On September 15, 2026, Arizona State University and New America will host the 12th Annual Future Security Forum: 25 Years After September 11, Lessons From America’s Post-9/11 Wars. This year’s Forum is organized in collaboration with Global SOF Foundation, Security & Defence PLuS, the McCain Institute, and Small Wars Journal.
The Forum will reflect on U.S. and allies’ counterterrorism efforts, insights from two and a half decades of war reporting, how America’s allies see the country today, and ways in which the Iran War built on the prior policies, among other topics.
The 12th Annual Future Security Forum will be held at New America’s Washington, DC office (online viewing will be available but we strongly recommend attending in person). Space is limited, register today.
Keynote Speakers
Dame Louise Richardson
President, Andrew Carnegie Foundation; Author, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat
Gen. Joseph L. Votel (U.S. Army, Ret.)
Former Commander of U.S. Central Command, Special Operations Command, and Joint Special Operations Command
Sen. Peter Welch
Senator (D-VT)
Quick Links
Speakers
Christy Abizaid
Vice President, Trust & Safety, Global Policy & Standards, Google; Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Elliot Ackerman
Journalist and author; Author, The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan; Marine Corps and CIA Special Operations Veteran
Javed Ali
Associate Professor of Practice, University of Michigan; Former Senior FBI Counterterrorism Official
Matin Bek
Fellow, Future Security Program, New America; Former Chief of Staff to the President of Afghanistan
Gina M. Bennett
Director, All Secure Program, Girl Security; Retired Senior Counterterrorism Analyst, CIA
Peter Bergen
Vice President, Global Studies & Fellows, New America; Professor of Practice, Arizona State University; Author, All the Presidents’ Wars
Col. Stuart Bradin (U.S. Army, Ret.)
President and CEO, Global SOF Foundation
Jason Burke
International Security Correspondent, The Guardian; Author, The Revolutionists
Paul E. Butler
Interim CEO and President & Chief Transformation Officer, New America
Roger D. Carstens
Former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Inaugural John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Distinguished Senior Fellow, McCain Institute; Former Fellow, New America Future Security Program
Caitlan Coleman
Former Haqqani Network Hostage; Intern with New America Future Security Program
Steve Coll
Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author and Journalist; Former Dean, Columbia Journalism School; Former President and CEO, New America
Christopher P. Costa
Executive Director, International Spy Museum; Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC
Rep. Jason Crow
House of Representatives (D-CO-6)
Kimberly Dozier
CNN Global Affairs Analyst
Evelyn Farkas
Executive Director, The McCain Institute at ASU; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia / Ukraine / Eurasia
Joshua Geltzer
Partner, WilmerHale; Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC
Col. Ken Gleiman (U.S. Army, Ret.)
Professor of Practice, ASU Future Security Initiative; Editor-in-Chief, Small Wars Journal
Karen J. Greenberg
Fellow, Future Security Program, New America; Author, Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump
Bruce Hoffman
Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism & Homeland Security, Council on Foreign Relations, and Professor, Georgetown University; Author, Inside Terrorism
Sandrea Hwang
Senior Director, Pillsbury Law; Former National Intelligence Manager for Counterintelligence and Assistant Director at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
Azmat Khan
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Investigative Reporter, The New York Times Magazine; Professor of Journalism, Columbia University; ASU Future of War Fellow, 2017
David Kilcullen
Professor of War Studies, University of New South Wales; Professor of Practice, ASU; Author, The Ledger: Accounting for Failure in Afghanistan
Meaghan Keeler
Chief Operating Officer, Global SOF Foundation, and Future Security Program Fellow, New America
Col. Ioannis Koskinas (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)
CEO, Hoplite Group, and Senior Fellow, Future Security Program, New America
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Trustees Professor and Director, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology; Author, How Terrorism Ends
Nelly Lahoud
Nelly Lahoud, General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security, U.S. Army War College; Author, The Bin Laden Papers; Former Senior Fellow, New America Future Security Program
Brig. Ian Langford (Australian Army, Ret.)
Executive Director, Security & Defence PLuS
Amy J. Nelson
Director, Future Security Scenarios Lab, New America; Senior Fellow, Future Security Program, New America
Nadia Oweidat
Associate Professor, Kansas State University; Former Fellow, New America Future Security Program
Amb. Roya Rahmani
Director of Global Engagement, World Bank Group; Senior Fellow, Future Security
Heela Rasool-Ayub
Co-Director, Global Transformation Initiative, New America
Dame Louise Richardson
President, Andrew Carnegie Foundation; Author, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat
Daniel Rothenberg
Co-Director, Future Security Initiative, Arizona State University; Senior Fellow, New America
Peter Warren Singer
Strategist & Senior Fellow, New America
Colin Smith
Coordinator, Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, United Nations
David Sterman
Deputy Director, Future Security, New America; Term Member, Council on Foreign Relations
Gen. Joseph L. Votel (U.S. Army, Ret.)
Former Commander of U.S. Central Command, Special Operations Command, and Joint Special Operations Command
Joby Warrick
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and National Security Reporter; Author, The Jackal
Sen. Peter Welch
Senator (D-VT)
Sarah Yager
Former Washington Director, Human Rights Watch; Former Adviser, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Former Professor of Practice, ASU
Amb. Fareed Yasseen
Secretary -General, Iraq-Pugwash Association; Former Ambassador of Iraq to the United States
Agenda
8:30 am | Arrival / Coffee
9:00 am | Welcome Remarks
- Paul Butler, Interim CEO and President & Chief Transformation Officer, New America
- Daniel Rothenberg, Co-Director, Future Security Initiative, Arizona State University; Senior Fellow, New America
- Brig. Ian Langford (Australian Army, Ret.), Executive Director, Security & Defence PLuS
- Col. Stuart Bradin (U.S. Army, Ret.), CEO, Global SOF Foundation
- Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, The McCain Institute at ASU; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia
9:15 am | What Is the State of the Jihadist Movement?
- Bruce Hoffman, Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism & Homeland Security, Council on Foreign Relations, and Professor, Georgetown University; Author, Inside Terrorism
- Nelly Lahoud, General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security, U.S. Army War College; Author, The Bin Laden Papers; Former Senior Fellow, New America Future Security Program
- Nadia Oweidat, Associate Professor Kansas State University, Former Fellow, New America Future Security Program; Author, Reform and Its Perils in Contemporary Islam: The Case of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd
- Colin Smith, Coordinator, Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, United Nations
- Moderator: Jason Burke, International Security Correspondent, The Guardian; Author, The Revolutionists
9:55 am | What Are the Lessons of the Past 25 Years of Warfare?
- Gina Bennett, Director, All Secure Program, Girl Security; Retired Senior Counterterrorism Analyst, CIA; Author, National Security Mom
- Audrey Kurth Cronin, Trustees Professor and Director, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology; Author, How Terrorism Ends
- David Kilcullen, Professor of War Studies, University of New South Wales; Professor of Practice, ASU; Author, The Ledger: Accounting for Failure in Afghanistan; Former ASU Fellow, New America
- Col. Ioannis Koskinas, CEO, Hoplite Group and Senior Fellow, New America Future Security Program
- Peter W. Singer, Strategist, New America; Professor of Practice, ASU; Author, Ghost Fleet
10:35 am | Coffee Break
10:45 am | How Should the U.S. Respond to Hostage Taking?
- Roger D. Carstens, Former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Inaugural John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Distinguished Senior Fellow, McCain Institute; Former Fellow, New America Future Security Program
- Caitlan Coleman, Former Haqqani Network Hostage; Intern, New America
- Sandrea Hwang, Senior Director, Pillsbury Law; Former National Intelligence Manager for Counterintelligence and Assistant Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center
- Moderator: TBD
11:10 am | Keynote Conversation with Gen. Joseph L. Votel (U.S. Army, Ret.)
- Gen. Joseph L. Votel (U.S. Army, Ret.), Former Commander, U.S. Central Command; Former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command; Former Commander, Joint Special Operations Command
- Moderator: Col. Ken Gleiman (U.S. Army, Ret.), Professor of Practice and Director of Irregular Warfare Studies, Arizona State University Future Security Initiative, Editor in Chief, Small Wars Journal; Fellow, New America Future Security Program; Author, Winning Without Fighting
11:50 am | Pop-Up: 25 Years of Drone Warfare
- David Sterman, Deputy Director, New America Future Security Program, Research Fellow, ASU Future Security Initiative
12:00 pm | Endless War?: A View From Congress
- Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-6)
- Moderator: Anne-Marie Slaughter, Senior Adviser, New America; Former CEO, New America; Former Director of Policy Planning, U.S. State Department
12:30 pm | Lunch Break
1:00 pm | Keynote Conversation with Dame Louise Richardson
- Dame Louise Richardson, President Andrew Carnegie Foundation; Author, What Terrorists Want
- Moderator: Peter Bergen, Vice President, New America; Co-Director ASU Future Security Initiative and Director Center for Intelligence & National Security, ASU; Author, All the Presidents’ Wars
1:40 pm | How Should We Assess the Threat of WMD Terrorism?
- Justin Anderson, Deputy Director, Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Defense University
- Moderator: Amy J. Nelson, Director, New America Future Security Scenarios Lab
1:55 pm | Assessing Civilian Harm in the War on Terror
- Azmat Khan, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Investigative Reporter; The New York Times Magazine; Professor of Journalism, Columbia University; Former Professor of Practice, ASU; 2017 ASU Fellow at New America
- Sarah Yager, Former Washington Director, Human Rights Watch; Former Adviser, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Former Professor of Practice, ASU
- Moderator: Daniel Rothenberg, Co-Director, Future Security Initiative, Arizona State University; Senior Fellow, New America
2:15 pm | Coffee Break
2:30 pm | What Are the Successes and Failures of American Counterterrorism Policy?
- Christy Abizaid, Vice President, Trust & Safety, Global Policy & Standards, Google; Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center
- Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice, University of Michigan; Former Senior FBI Counterterrorism Official; Former New America Future Security Program Fellow
- Christopher P. Costa, Executive Director, International Spy Museum; Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC
- Joshua Geltzer, Partner WilmerHale; Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC, 2018 ASU Future Security Fellow at New America
- Moderator: Meaghan Keeler, Chief Operating Officer, Global Special Operations Foundation; Future Security Program Fellow, New America
3:10 pm | What Are the Lessons From 25 Years of Reporting on the Post-9/11 Wars?
- Elliot Ackerman, Journalist; Author, The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan; Marine Corps and CIA Special Operations Veteran
- Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and Journalist; Former Dean, Columbia Journalism School; Former President and CEO, New America; Author, Ghost Wars
- Azadeh Moaveni, Associate Professor of Journalism, New York University; ASU Future of War Fellow, 2018; Author, Guesthouse for Young Widows
- Joby Warrick, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and National Security Reporter; Author, The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World’s First Super-Terrorist
- Moderator: Kimberly Dozier, CNN Global Affairs Analyst; Author, Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report–and Survive–in Iraq
3:50 pm | All The Presidents’ Wars: 25 Years of the War on Terror
- Peter Bergen, Vice President, New America; Co-Director ASU Future Security Initiative, ASU; Director Center for Intelligence & National Security; Author, All the Presidents’ Wars
- Moderator: Karen Greenberg, Fellow, New America Future Security Program, Research Fellow, ASU Future Security Initiative; Author, Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Trump
4:20 pm | The View From America’s Partners
- Brig. Ian Langford (Australian Army, Ret.), Executive Director, Security & Defence PLuS
- Matin Bek, Fellow, New America Future Security Program; Former Chief of Staff to the President of Afghanistan
- Amb. Roya Rahmani, Director of Global Engagement, Word Bank Group; Former Afghan Ambassador to the United States, Senior Fellow, New America Future Security Program
- Amb. Fareed Yasseen, Secretary-General of the Iraq Pugwash Association; Former Ambassador of Iraq to the United States.
- Moderator: Heela Rasool-Ayub, Co-Director, Global Transformation Initiative, New America, former NSC Director for Global Engagement
5:00 pm | Concluding Remarks
Partners
