FLEX TIME CLASS OF 2005 SPEAKER SERIES
of ISIS,” Benjamin added. “So far, the threat is nothing like 9/11. But
months before the 9/11 attacks,
because of the public debate and
Benjamin co-authored an op-ed
all kinds of crazy suggestions, we
column in The New York Times,
have a very worked-up populace in
entitled “The New Face of
the U.S.
Terrorism.”
“I fear we’re creating a sense
Laden do not want a place at the
ground,” he said. “But we should
table; they want to shatter the
remember what happened the last
table,” he wrote. “They are not
time we invaded Iraq and the ulti-
constrained by secular political
mate cost — in American casualties
concerns. Their objective is not to
and dollars — of that war.”
influence, but to kill, and in large
Instead, Benjamin underscored
By Mike Kennedy ’99
T
“Terrorists allied with Mr. bin
that we have to put troops on the
the billion-dollar investments the
Counterterror Expert: ‘Think About a Career in Public Service’
In January 2000, more than 18
numbers.” And, in a September 2002 article
U.S. has made in its intelligence
entitled “Saddam Hussein and Al
and counterterrorism capabilities,
Qaeda Are Not Allies,” Benjamin
and asserted his confidence in
wrote, “The last war against
those advancements.
Iraq was a catalytic event for the
“This is a threat we can manage
Islamists who formed Al Qaeda.
without getting back on the ground
We should not be complacent
HE WORLD is full of truly
National Security Council from
in Iraq and Syria,” he said. “We’re a
and believe that the next one will
scary things.
1994 to 1999, as a member of
really powerful country, and we can
be different, or that the jihadist
President Clinton’s staff.
deal with a lot of the problems.”
violence cannot grow worse.”
At a fall Upper School assembly, Senior Dean
The Harvard graduate and
He should know.
Decades of willfully facing down
Paul Withstandley reminded
Marshall Scholar at Oxford visited
the terrorist maelstrom have
listeners of just a few: Data
with the Upper School commu-
toughened Benjamin to an endless
breaches, infectious-disease
nity as part of the Class of 2005
outbreaks, natural disasters,
Speaker Series — an endowed gift
biological weapons, terrorist plots,
from parents of the Class of 2005
and acts of terror. Most of us prefer
to bring renowned and informative
not to think about them — not
speakers to the Brunswick campus.
to imagine them, not to plan for
“I heartily endorse your school
them, not to confront the natural
saying — ‘With All Thy Getting,
fear of them, he said.
Get Understanding’ — and hope
But someone needs to man the
that after today, you’ll be interested
watchtower, to prompt top-level
in following up on some of these
discussions about terror threats, to
international issues and doing
develop strategies to defeat terror-
something about them,” Benjamin
ists abroad, and to help ensure the
said. He spotlighted the three main
United States’ national security.
drivers for foreign-policy makers
During the last two decades, a
in Washington today: The rise of
prominent figure in this charge has
China, the crisis in the Ukraine,
been Daniel Benjamin, Ambassador-
and the ascent of the non-state
at-Large and Coordinator for
actor ISIS.
Counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department from 2009 to 2012. Benjamin also served on the
“The fourth real challenge is here at home, because of the way we have talked about the problem
“... we should remember what happened the last time we invaded Iraq and the ultimate cost — in American casualties and dollars — of that war.” – Daniel Benjamin, Ambassador-at-Large
challenge. “When you deal with it every day,” he said, matter-of-factly, “you deal with it every day. I confess it just becomes the field you play on. “I’m kept awake by the dumb mistakes we make more than I am by the bad things that can happen.” Benjamin is currently the Norman E. McCulloch Jr. Director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College. “To help the American people maintain their security and to improve how we do in the world is incredibly rewarding,” Benjamin told Upper School students. “I hope you’ll think about a career in public service.”
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