Third Annual Conference on Terrorism and Global Security

Organizers:	Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group (LA-TEW) The RAND Corporation
Dates:	May 8 - 9, 2008
Location:	The RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90407 Directions to RAND and parking information
Agenda:	View the Conference Agenda
Continuing Legal Education:	Conference sessions have been certified for 8 hours of CLE credit by the State Bar of California.

Conference Overview

In the post-9/11 world, dealing with terrorism involves more than international military and intelligence concerns. Legal and public health considerations are also critical, as issues such as preparing for and responding to catastrophic events and addressing the threat of radicalization in domestic Muslim populations become central to broader counterterrorism debate and planning. In these times of emerging threats and technologies, which in turn inspire new laws and new challenges, the 2008 Conference on Terrorism and Global Security brings together legal scholars, law enforcement and intelligence personnel, public health professionals, and national and international terrorism experts to discuss and explore the most pressing issues in the field.

Sponsored jointly by the Los Angeles-Terrorism Early Warning Group (LA-TEW) and RAND, the Conference will include plenary sessions, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions on key topics. Invited guest speakers include public officials, leading legal authorites, public health experts, and counterterrorism experts from the U.S. and abroad. Topics to be addressed include the following (a complete Conference agenda is available here Conference Agenda):

• Legal Issues: Civil Liberties and Counter-Terrorism Civil liberties, torture, privacy rights, the right to trial, and Executive oversight.
• U.S. Domestic Intelligence: Needs and Strategies Current concerns over domestic intelligence in the U.S. and what is required in terms of legislation, organization and other resources.
• Public Health Responses to Catastrophic Events How can the public health system respond to low probability, high consequence events such as a bio-terrorist attack or other major disaster?
• Evolving Muslim Populations in the U.S. and Europe Evolving terrorist threats from growing domestic Muslim populations as well as large-scale illegal immigration.
• Protection of Corporate Infrastructure Multinational corporations are increasingly vulnerable to attack, and need to protect their facilities and workforce against rising threats.

About the Organizers

Now in its twelfth year, the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group (LA-TEW) is an interagency, multidisciplinary task force charged with counterterrorism intelligence gathering and terrorism response coordination for the greater Los Angeles area. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department serves as secretariat of the LA-TEW and group participants include a core cadre of intelligence professionals and the full-range of “first responders,” including police, fire, medical, military and other related agencies. LA-TEW is the oldest and largest terrorism early warning group in the nation and serves as a model for the ongoing federal effort to expand the collaborative interagency approach to countering terrorism to other major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

RAND is a nonprofit organization that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. As the first research institution to be called a “think tank,” RAND has been expanding the boundaries of human knowledge for 60 years and continually seeks nonpartisan solutions to the most pressing challenges of our day. Today, RAND researchers explore solutions to policy problems across a broad range of issue areas including health, education, business, law and science.

RAND's initial focus and unparalleled experience, however, is in the area of national security analysis and for 30 years, RAND has been a world leader in terrorism research and analysis. Conducted through RAND's Center for Global Risk and Security and the Homeland Security Program, RAND's terrorism analysis supports the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies charged with preventing and mitigating the effects of terrorist activity in the U.S. Core competencies include critical infrastructure protection, emergency management, terrorism risk management, border control (particularly ports), first responders and preparedness, domestic threat assessments, domestic intelligence, and manpower and training.

Other Conference Sponsors Include: The Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism (CAST), Terrorism Research Center, Inc. (TRC), National TEW Resource Center, New York University School of Law, USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), Syracuse University, Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT), Center of Medical Multimedia Education and Technology (COMMET), and The Markle Foundation.

Conference Materials

Conference proceedings will be published online, in hard copy and in digital CD form after the conference.

Further Inquiries

For more information, including media inquiries, contact:

• The TEW Conference administrator at conf@terrorstudies.org or 310-552-7533, fax: 310-557-2839.
• The RAND Center for Global Risk and Security: Director: Gregory F. Treverton or Administrative Assistant: Stephanie Jackson