Is one thing that i know how women capitalizing on this and also clear that this resurgence has not been in a vacuum. One thing we would like to hear from, where the rs Movement Find areas we cannot and should not vote. When the areas in which we are looking for stability. But do not seen. On land. It is clear that many of the American People are united by the fact that they want to invest in homes. But as new yorker i can tell you this the memory of 911 lives on. Not just a memory of my love 911 and how do we respect the amerin people all of the while to keep them safe. In a move on i also recognize the importance of coalition notices. Natalie watches proactively and robustly, and efficiently and effectively fight the tears. Honey find it and find it with horses. And then how do we fight the terrace threat, not just yesterday pretty were certainly in resurgence. Some appear to have stage. Some in germany were arrested after a plan to attack an air force base. Carrying out mass shooting in the name of the islamic states. The suspect sister shot dead after trying to stab local Law Enforcement officer. This past month, the department of justice released information about terrorist attacks on the pensacola military base was connected with al qaeda group. In addition we would like to hear a Legal Technology committee particular social media companys accountable. Understanding that the most likely case was from somebody radicalized. Often without traveling. When we learn from this and pensacola about how they are communicating. Two decades after the september 11th attack, when a crossroads and drastically changing security environment. Update americans approach to combating terrorism. As new yorker and someone is honored today staying in a bipartisan matter and we need continue to fight terrorism. We think the witnesses and the members being here today and i look forward to making progress on this important issue. Considered your friend and welcome him for his Opening Statement. Thank you chairman rosen thank you for your passion about this. This isnt just a political talking point. You suffered, applaud you and i wish we were meeting in person, i appreciate the committee to discuss the continued threat of terrorism okay declared more in the United States with 1988 mc bombing in virginia. The attack the direct attack on our homeland 2001. There was a split with al qaeda around 2013. Implemented the more violent ideology killing is living minority groups. [inaudible]. Killed 30000 plus foreigners. In over 200 americans. After years of persistent counterterrorism pressure, must have suffered merit major territorial issues however, they did not remain overseas. The fbi testified in multiple occasions that the 2000 investigations between al qaeda and others across the United States print of the past few years, we have seen continued threat that a miniature versions of resources and for terrorist organizations. [inaudible]. Particularly in cyberspace. We had seen a rise in domestic terrorist. Ms the Trump Administration to recognize the challenges keep emerging. And professin focusing on the counterterrorism address these threats instead of losing focus. Fascination, we also challenge with terrorism to me. Military actions and out can send, the american rate the military forces at home. Motion school, its specific that we maintain the abilities for the counterterrorism abilities. Im also very concerned about occasion isis linked in expanding into Southeast Asia and africa. We seen this before after 911, al qaeda was able to spread out when they continue plotting, radicalizing and. Maintaining international community, we need to be sure that these are not turning into operational safe havens. I look forward to hearing what you had to save of the current state of al qaeda and isis and the recommendations and for the counter and terrorist threats pretty and i congratulate him on the birth of his first child. [inaudible]. And my best wishes to you and your family. Thank you my friend. The ranking members, we will go back and forth briefly ran and i apologized. [inaudible]. Thank you mr. Chairman. Kenny explained the voting procedures. We will continue to apply and expected to adhere to the rules of the committee now. Resolution 965. For all members and participating. [inaudible]. Make sure the members can fully participate. Thank you. Should they encounter technical issues pretty. On recognize members for the five minutes of questioning. And by our subcommittee roster and art previous procedures. Member should remain visible at all times on screen. Provided they have been identified. [inaudible]. Member should be able to not have excess background noise. And we may have to manage members who are unable to do that. And then you yourselves and speak clearly. Thank you. Making sure that im seeing in order here with you. In looking at notes here. What should members expect regarding the corn during this event. Technical issues, and prevents him from being recognized, the move to the next available member of the same party. And at the appropriate time, should member have technical issues, on recognize that member at the next later time when the issue has been resolved. Thank you. What should members expect vote. Only one voted time. [inaudible]. Members are reminded standing roles political background. [inaudible]. Zoom cheating, that was the First Time Ever heard that term. [laughter]. I also at want and a few other things. If a person loses connectivity. I believe that is all. With that i asked consent 82, remotes is proceedings there 965 without objection. So ordered. But the sheriff now denies the chairman of the committee. Are you still with us. Ranking member mr. Rogers. Im really honored to a palace of witnesses. Mr. Michael morrow the first witness. Acting director of the Central Intelligence agency and the cia rated at the centers of the fight against terrorism. And weapons of mass destruction and the international inscape. Oversight. Theres no major or minor incident in the last 20 or 25 years. That is not been front and center of. New york city and 11. I thank you sir for keeping us safe. [inaudible]. The undersecretary for acquisitions. Former acting assistant secretary of department of senate defense. [inaudible]. Yes embassy of pablo. Extraordinary service, thank you for that. Senior fellow at the defense of democracy conducting research. Has been described having knowledge and serve as a trainer for the fbi counterterrorism advisor to Rudy Giuliani in 2008. Without objection, into the record now ask each witness to summarize statements for five minutes. Good morning. Chairman rose, and members of the subcommittee. Its going to be with you today. Is it extraordinarily important and honor to be invited as her staff knows, i jumped at the opportunity. Screech talk to you about what our nation still faces with al qaeda and isis. Not really want to emphasize that word still. I fear that our country that we are losing focus on terrorism. In large part because most american thanks al qaeda and isis, they were defeated. In the idea isis was defeated. This is that there part of most americans, non homeland, is no longer possible. And i believe that those perceptions are wrong. Dead wrong. And thats why i think this hearing is so vitally important. Iceman 33 years at the agency. I spent the first 15 of those focusing on a different issue. But in the last 18 years, and assignment of seeking responsibility, covered the world. But my focus was almost entirely on counterterrorism rated in my testimony and will read through, of all of my tent testifying. With terrorism, and being in the wrong place the wrong time. But each defense that i went and asked personally, really seared into me, the nature and the importance of our counter in terrorism work. I lived and breathed its the last 18 years my career. It defined my career. That was before 911, i in 1998, i walked into a situation where he was on staff with al qaeda and thats where i first learned about the group for the first time. I really want to spend little time on lessons that was 18 years did. With the obligations of those lessons are today. There are four that i want to share with you. The first is that terrorism is a symptom. It is not the disease. I think its very important for us to remember that. And until we fix this disease, we will be doing with decisions, with the creation of terrorists and their actions for a long time to come. I have real doubts whether we going to be able to deal with that disease so i really believe that our childrens generation in my grandchildrens generation and maybe your sons generation is still going to be fighting this fight. And at the end of the day, we cant capture and cure your way out of this. Thus an important aspect of keeping ourselves safe. So going to solve the longterm problem. The second Lesson Learned is that this could well be the most important mr. Chairman. Terrorist groups, once you get the intel in the military excess in our place, their extranet easy to degrade. There also very easy to rebuild. We seen it time and time again. And whether they are in situation mode, the being degraded or in rebuild mode. It depends on on things but the most important thing it depends on is the degree in counterterrorism upon the group. When the pressure is there, and was relieved, tense to immediately shift to rebuild mode. The income to implementation of those pretty obvious. In the third Lesson Learned is in is impossible i think to overstate the importance of physical safe haven through terrorist group. Jewish they can feel relatively safe and secure print a place from which they can strategize train plot. Therefore absolutely critical that we deny sanctuaries in these groups. When clean dont do that, history clear that the threat increases dramatically including the threat to the homeland. In the last Lesson Learned is that the smartest of terrorists are creative and they are innovative. Not too many. We you would put in the category of extraordinarily bright and capable with those that are, are very dangerous. A examples abound included the first to continue using aircraft as guided missiles. The folks in yemen who came up with innovative ball designs. Underwear models, cartridge forms, suicide vests. Stephen experimenting putting explosive devices and human bodies through surgery. To the isis fluid quality style propaganda is a real danger to us. In the radical for americans. And creative category they found a way around the immigration defenses that we put into place after 911. And they did that consciously predict that resulted in the first foreign directed terrorist attack on the homeland attack. That was just several months ago. I think implications the week need to be a weekly imaginative thing thinking about what they may be doing and try to get in front of them. When i put all of these moments together, the strong conclusion do we need to stay focused on foreign terrorist groups. On the plans and capabilities. We need, our allies and partners to continue to keep pressure on them. And make sure they continue to be degraded. I think thousand to think about talk about this. Its very hard but how do we play a role in getting out the disease rather than just dealing with the symptoms. Looking around the room, as many specific concerns. South asia middle africa. Them and concluded my Opening Statement by pointing out two issues. Particular concerns me. The first is isis in syria. Despite our discussion, which was critically important and needed to be done people did that should be given enough a lot of credit for it. Youll know that isis is on the rebound. In the middle east. It is reconstituting. Isis attack in enright are on the rise. In iraq predict including in just a few weeks ago. Just an hours drive from baghdad. And in the authority recently arrested semite isis to conduct an assassin in germany and already acquired weapons they were in the process of acquiring explosives when they were arrested. If this is just me that isis may be the process of rebuilding. And they have capabilities in europe and devastating effects in terrace in 2015 and 2016. The second thing you worry a great deal about his al qaeda in afghanistan. The taliban today is militarily and politically stronger than it any time since 911. And i believe the telamon is peace negotiations with the United States as shown is exactly what we want to hear in order to encourage us to leave the country. I dont believe what theyre saying about what their intentions are. In fact i believe that their intention is to keep absolutely capable is to overthrow the current Afghan Government and reestablishing dictatorship. Natalie taliban will provide safe haven to al qaeda and that it will not do what is necessary to prevent alec data from being a significant threat to the United States of america. Ties between the two groups are just too close. Years and years of fighting sidebyside and years and years of shedding blood together years and years of marriages the children these two groups are not in my mind inseparable. To sum up, i believe strongly that we need to stay on this watch we are going to be hit g get. I cannot emphasize that strongly enough. That concludes my opening remarks i look forward to your the committees questions. Think is much again. Thank you. I associate myself with everything you said and then some. Going talk a little bit more thousand of these issues. Honorable members of the subcommittee. It is an absolute privilege to be here and talking today is really critical issue of potential threats is coming still as we said from isis and al qaeda. As well as from other groups that were not discussing here today. Never the less exists in a pop up now with regularity all of the world. Missing how witnesses the of assembling, an effort to contain the threat of terrorism on the past years. And to ensure that the homeland and all of them, have grappled with i think when mike was trying to very will give you picture of that is the key questions of how numberone the investor tax and protecting our borders. How will be in the start oversee borders. It cant all be ours. And unfortunately, we dont have the resources. We dont have the ability as you mentioned the germans and that is just one. But we find ourselves now after a subject to loan the resource issues nuggets in the new minute. We dont have the resources on her own to be doing this. Nor should we portray that way. We really need to give it to things that are beneficial to us but them as well. In a number of the attacks that we see, are not necessarily the homeland. But they are associating with us because they happened in paris, in places where where our people are afraid and happen in places where we care about what happens in the democratic society. The key question is how we can enlist them in the efforts. And i think how we can perhaps or whether we can do anything we can to destroy the causes of these terrace problems. That question has been in an intention certainly in the u. S. Government sprayed and even outside of the government as well. I wish i could tell you that there was an easy way to do that and that we have made some progress in it i will tell you personally, i dont think that is the case. He was really important to try to grapple with that question. In the distant departments coordinator for a position is designed to centralize all of these efforts on terrorism and divided ways on the secretary of state of this matters will coordinate leslie through National Security is a with other important institutional players on the Homeland Security. As the beginning 2014. And quite frankly, nobody even with the Market Intelligence is really hard a feature of global terrace. I left the job in 2016 to become the acting assistant secretary for Political Military Affairs the state developed department. World had changed pretty dramatically. Instead about a year or year and a half, and far from small from the first iraqi war to an absolute global threat. On its own way as the trend 20 and is now. I noticed a strange kind of analogy really has some power because the idea is we never knew that Something Like this could hit us in that way. Whats the difference pretty amanda so lethal. More people even think about this. But thats very interesting ways, isis was something very different. I think the answer lies in the tools and methodologies and utilizes successfully by any other group. Had to do with social media. Social media became what i would consider Hunting Ground for signing up and isis foreign component. I think actually determine mentioned in this in his Opening Statement. The billing support outside of iraq really is. Two. Absolutely this syria problem remains in isis is there. Guess what. Its a feature parity everywhere. How did that happen pretty those countries where the recruitment was especially large scale. Absolutely completely unprepared for these approaches. Unable to muster that kind of flexibility to push back. The most part my will you stay certainly democratic elements, neither comfortable nor is propaganda or counter propaganda machines. Theyre just not good evidence. Was document and pushback from social media approach but how do you push back and isis ability to recruit. It so easy. Its also easy pretty just cant hire somebody. Underlying lack of trust in what we say as a government, and then unfortunately gives us a handicapped right from the start. Im running out of time here so i dont go to islamabad to do what is a gun, theres this question of what is what we do now for going to address this. The basic question comes back to resources. If you going to do anything, whatever it is we do, we have to decide if its a priority for us strategically. We looked at all the things we wanted to do and we decided that for good or for bad, our ability to contain or the russians or chinese all of the world doing things that we do want them to do. Brainpower competition is now become our number one priority. Thats fine. Thats when you take up resources that unfortunately used to beat to some measure terrorism problems. They were always going to have to constantly be reevaluating where we are with these issues and how much effort and resource and energy and presence to sen