Michael Chertoff

Americans should be grateful that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have not succeeded in attacking this country since Sept. 11, 2001. But gratitude should not lead to complacency. According to Michael Chertoff, the threat of a terrorist attack "has not abated ... and we can't turn the page on it." Terrorists will continue to try to damage the United States over the next five years in a number of ways. Secretary Chertoff assesses the threats facing our country and talks about what is being done to foil terrorist plots.

The balance between privacy and national security has been a major debate, most intensely since the attacks of 9/11.  Chertoff founded the Data Equilibrium project to explore legislation and policy to protect our nation and our privacy.  In this speech, Chertoff discusses the challenges the need for one poses to the other and what we can do as a society and what we can expect from our government.

With respect to terrorism, the cyber-security threat could have a potentially serious impact on the safety and well-being of American citizens. The most publicized threats to U.S. cyber-security are from people hacking into systems, but Secretary Chertoff asserts the U.S. needs to be prepared to deal with a full spectrum of threats, including individuals compromising systems from within and the security of supply chains. While chemical, IT, and banking and finance sectors face a particular concern about the collateral consequences of a cyber-attack, Secretary Chertoff identifies a systematic strategy for dealing with reducing, if not eliminating cyber-security issues for business and industry.

Based on the speaker’s extensive involvement in homeland security, this speech explores non-state security threats over the decade to come. The speech discusses dangers posed by: Al-Qaeda and allied organizations; Hezbollah and Iran; the problematic relationship between terror groups and anti-American governments in South America; transnational criminal groups such as MS-13; and the increasing threat of drug cartels in Mexico. The speech also covers current National Security and Homeland Security strategies, and addresses security challenges posed by foreign investment in sensitive domestic industries (based on the speaker’s experiences as a member of the U.S. Commission on Foreign Investment in the United States). Finally, the speech will focus on vulnerabilities in a global environment, including supply chain disruption and cyberwarfare.

From the standpoint of a senior official involved in managing many of the major crises since 2001, this speech explores strategies for managing risk and addressing crises. The speech draws upon the speaker’s experiences as Head of the Department of Justice Criminal Division and as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security in managing the responses to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and subsequent plots (including the 2006 UK airline plot); the Enron and corporate accounting scandals; and natural disasters from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, as well as the California wildfires; and Midwestern flood and tornadoes. The speech describes lessons learned in terms of preparedness; resiliency and response in exceptionally high-profile media environments, covering questions such as: “How much preparation is enough? What is the role of the private sector? How do we decide when our information flow is disrupted? How do we maintain credibility with the government, stakeholders and the public?

Legal and illegal migration is one of the most significant international issues in the 21st century, and certainly is a durable public issue in the United States. This speech explains the roots and effects of the current controversy over illegal immigration. Based on the speaker’s experiences as Secretary of Homeland Security in designing the currently successful Secure Border Initiative and in negotiating the 2007 bi-partisan Senate comprehensive immigration proposal, this speech provides an inside look at the policies, practicalities and politics of one of the salient public policy issues of the decade. The speech will analyze what worked and what didn’t in the 2007comprehensive immigration bill and suggests a likely way forward. It analyzes likely trends in enforcement, and the prospects for increased legal immigration, especially for high-skilled workers. Based on the speaker’s experiences with international counterparts, this speech will also put immigration in the larger context of global migration.