Speaker biographies
Michael Isikoff has been an investigative correspondent for Newsweek since 1994. Before joining Newsweek, he had been a reporter at the Washington Post since 1981. He has written award-winning articles on a variety of issues, including the war on terrorism, the Abu Ghraib scandal, campaign-finance and Congressional ethic abuses, presidential politics, and other national issues. He is the author of the New York Times best seller Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story (Crown Press, 1999).
Michael A. Ledeen, a resident scholar at AEI, is an expert on U.S. foreign policy. His research areas include state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Italy, U.S.-Chinese relations, intelligence, and Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). A former consultant to the National Security Council and to the U.S. State and Defense Departments, he has also written on leadership and the use of power. He is the author of The War against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened, Where We Are Now, How We’ll Win (St. Martin's Press, 2002).
Andrew C. McCarthy is a legal commentator and terrorism expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From 1993–96, he served as the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor during this time, he conducted the legal proceedings against the jihad organization of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. Following the September 11 attacks, he supervised the U.S. Attorney’s Anti-Terrorism Command Post in New York City. From 1999–2003, he was the chief assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District’s satellite office. Mr. McCarthy writes extensively on legal, social and political issues and is a frequent contributor to National Review Online and Commentary magazine.
Stuart Taylor, Jr. is a senior writer and columnist for National Journal as well as a contributing editor to Newsweek. An experienced journalist, Mr. Taylor previously held positions at the American Lawyer (1989–97), the New York Times (1980–88), and the Baltimore Sun (1971–74). From 1978–80 he was an attorney at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
R. James Woolsey, director of the CIA from 1993–95, has been vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton since 2002 in the firm's global strategic security practice. Previously, Mr. Woolsey was a partner at the law firm of Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C., where he practiced for twenty-two years in the fields of civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution. During the twelve years he served in the U.S. government, he held numerous positions, including posts as ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in Vienna, 1989–91; under secretary of the Navy, 1977–79; and general counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, 1970–73. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as delegate at large to the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) and Nuclear and Space Arms Talks (NST), and served in that capacity on a part-time basis in Geneva from 1983–1986. As an officer in the U.S. Army, he was an adviser on the U.S. Delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) in Helsinki and Vienna from 1969–70.
View Event Details
