Renowned author and one of the foremost authorities on terrorism Bruce Hoffman will make an appearance to discuss the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel at the upcoming annual Center for Homeland Defense and Security Alumni Professional Exchange (APEX) Continuing Education Workshop in February.
Hoffman’s presentation, “Lessons for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security from the October 7 Attacks,” is scheduled for the first morning of the three-day APEX event set for Feb. 20-22 in the Barbara McNitt Ballroom in Hermann Hall at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.Â
CHDS senior faculty member David Brannan, who studied under Hoffman at St. Andrews University in Scotland and has worked with him for about 30 years, said Hoffman has “an unbelievably good vantage point from which to view this particular conflict,” noting that he is an Oxford-trained Doctor of History and is recognized as the “historian of terrorism” and the “keeper of the evolving definition of terrorism.”
Brannan said Hoffman has been “very focused” on the attacks since they occurred and “what it means to Israel, Palestinians, the region and globally,” as well as witnessing the impact on American Jewish populations.Â
Hoffman is a Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism & Homeland Security, Council for Foreign Relations, and Professor, Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
He is the author of Inside Terrorism, which was originally published in the late 1990s, now includes three editions, and is described by Brannan as an “insightful history of terrorism” and the “discipline’s seminal analytical text.”
Most recently, Hoffman co-authored a book called God, Guns, and Sedition.
Brannan, who teaches the Unconventional Threats course at CHDS, will also make a presentation during the three-day event entitled “Modern-Day Sedition, Indicators and Warning Signs,” which is set for Thursday, Feb. 22 at 2:35 p.m., the final presentation of this year’s APEX.
The event will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 20 with registration and coffee service at 8 a.m., followed by a welcome address from interim CHDS director Jodi Stiles at 8:30 a.m. and opening remarks from NPS President Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau (Ret.), as well as a workshop overview from CHDS Association President Elaine Jennings. FEMA administrator and CHDS alum Deanne Criswell is scheduled to give the keynote address.
Other highlights from the three-day event include:
- Welcome Reception on Monday, Feb. 19, at the Dust Bowl near the Wharf in Monterey from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Network Reception hosted by the CHDS Association at the Monterey Yacht Club on Wharf II on Tuesday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Presentation of the CHDS Founders Award and the CHDS Alumni Service Award on Wednesday morning, Feb. 21
- Presentation of an award to retired CHDS Director Glen Woodbury on Thursday morning, Feb. 22
