2014 Aspen Security Forum Announced - July 23-26

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program announces the 2014 Aspen Security Forum, taking place July 23–26 at the Institute's Aspen Meadows campus in Aspen, Colorado. In its fifth year, the forum will explore issues ranging from the threat of weapons of mass destruction, the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the future of warfare, to Congressional oversight and the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil liberties. The forum will welcome more than 80 top-level current and former government officials, industry leaders, noted print and broadcast journalists, and leading thinkers to examine the key issues in homeland security and counterterrorism. The New York Times and CNN are this year's forum media co-presenters.

"The fifth annual Aspen Security Forum will continue its longstanding focus on terrorism and counter-terrorism issues as they affect homeland security. And, the forum will continue also to feature discussions on the hot button traditional foreign policy and national security issues of the day," said Clark Ervin, director of the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program.

"Each year, the need for a top-level convening on the issues of homeland security becomes even greater," said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. "As the threats get more complex, it's important to have a smart nonpartisan understanding of what we must do."

Confirmed speakers for the 2014 Forum

• Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey
• US Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno
• US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert
• Defense Intelligence Agency Director General Mike Flynn
• North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command Commander General Charles Jacoby
• Transportation Security Administration Administrator John Pistole
• House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul
• House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Director Arati Prabhakar
• Department of State Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism Tina Kaidanow
• New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton
• General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Robert Litt
• US Permanent Representative to NATO Ambassador Douglas Lute
• National Security Agency General Counsel Raj De
• Department of State Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins
• Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Danny Russel
• Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Andrew Weber
• National Security Council Senior Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan Jeffrey Eggers
• National Security Council Senior Director for WMD Terrorism and Threat Reduction Laura Holgate
• Department of Homeland Security Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Director Huban Gowadia

Foreign Ambassadors speaking at the 2014 Forum

• Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the US Peter Ammon
• Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the US Tiankai Cui
• Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the US Eklil Hakimi
• Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani
• Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the US Sergey Kislyak
• Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the US Mohamed Tawfik
• Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the US Sir Peter Westmacott

Live video and daily video highlights from the Security Forum will be posted at http://aspensecurityforum.org/media/ and event updates will be featured at https://twitter.com/AspenSecurity and www.facebook.com/aspeninstitute.

For a complete list of currently confirmed speakers, registration information, and sponsorship details, please visit www.aspensecurityforum.org.

Sponsors for the 2014 Aspen Security Forum to date are IBM, Intel Security, Microsoft, Raytheon, and Target.

About The Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute's Homeland Security Program works to heighten public awareness as to the nation's continued vulnerability to terrorism, and to persuade the nation to take the necessary steps to close the gap between how secure we should be and how secure we actually are. For more information, please visit www.aspeninstitute.org/security.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

SOURCE The Aspen Institute