Intelligence oversight to be focus of UGA forum on March 8
Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, in association with The Policy Forum of the UGA School of Public and International Affairs, will present “Oversight or Overlook? Intelligence in the Modern World” on Wednesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. in the UGA Chapel. A reception will follow in Demosthenian Hall.
Questions making headlines in today’s news will be at the center of the forum. These questions include: Is secrecy the enemy of democracy? Are there circumstances when the Central Intelligence Agency or president should have the authority to bypass legal procedures such as wiretapping citizens without a warrant? Other critical issues surrounding the structure of an intelligence system and questions of its supervision will also be discussed.
The forum will feature a professor of political science at Villanova University, David M. Barrett, and a panel of UGA intelligence experts moderated by Loch Johnson, a UGA public and international affairs professor who was special assistant to the chairman of the 1975 committee that exposed governmental abuses of domestic spying. Panelists are Powell Moore (ABJ), senior congressional and presidential aide and Donald Rumsfeld’s first assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs (2001-04), and Michael Speckhard, the university’s CIA scholar-in-residence.
“It is David Barrett’s research at the Russell Library that sparked interest in having a campus forum for discussing the timely subject of modern intelligence gathering and oversight,” said Sheryl B. Vogt, director of the Russell Library. “Most of us could easily believe the CIA has little oversight, but during the early years, Congress certainly appeared aggressive in monitoring the agency. Considering today’s events in light of that historical context will no doubt engage our panel and audience in a lively conversation.”
Barrett used collections in the Russell Library to research two of his previous books, Lyndon B. Johnson’s Vietnam Papers and Uncertain Warriors: Lyndon Johnson and His Vietnam Advisers. His most recent book, The CIA and Congress: The Untold Story from Truman to Kennedy, provides a provocative account of relations between American spymasters and Capitol Hill.
In addition to his congressional service, Loch Johnson is the author of three books on the activities of the U.S. intelligence agencies. Most recently, he was a co-author of Who’s Watching the Spies?: Establishing Intelligence Service Accountability, which examines the intelligence systems of nine diverse countries, including the U.S., Norway and South Korea, and presents the strengths and weaknesses of each.
“I believe, and the evidence shows that, given recent experiences with terrorism, clearly even the most democratic societies have a legitimate need for secrecy,” Johnson said. “The secrecy has often been abused, however, and strong oversight systems are necessary to protect individual liberties. We certainly saw that in this country in 1975 and the lessons of that era about the importance of checks and balance in the secret world of intelligence should not be forgotten.”
A native Georgian, Powell Moore began his Washington career in 1966 on the staff of Sen. Richard B. Russell. He subsequently served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan. Prior to serving the current Bush administration in the Department of Defense, Moore was chief of staff to U. S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee. In 2005, he joined McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP's Washington, DC office in the firm's national government affairs practice as managing director of federal government relations.
Michael Speckhard is the CIA’s officer-in-residence at the University of Georgia, teaching courses on national security-related topics. He has been with the CIA 15 years, providing analysis on a wide variety of issues, such as Caspian energy, Islamic extremism and democratic revolutions. Prior to his CIA life, Speckhard served nine years in the U.S. Army, serving tours abroad in Asia and Europe as a Chinese-Mandarin and Russian linguist.
The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies serves as a center for research and study of the modern American political system with particular emphasis on the role of Georgia and that of the U. S. Congress. The Russell Library seeks to document fully the dynamic relationship of politics, policy and culture—where public interest intersects with the three branches of government at the local, state, regional, national and international levels—through the papers, archival records and material culture of individuals and organizations. The Russell Library is also dedicated to developing and presenting public programming and educational materials that facilitate and encourage research, raise public awareness of the Library and its collections and services, and provide learning opportunities for the communities it serves.
The Policy Forum is the School of Public and International Affairs’ central arena for political debate and discussion, and for lectures on public affairs. To encourage broad participation in the forum, SPIA will invite distinguished scholars; heads of state; leaders in business, labor, politics, and the media; key federal, state and local government officials; community organizers; and faculty, staff and student leaders. In addition to individual lectures, the Policy Forum will sponsor panel discussions, television and radio programs, and documentary films related to public issues.
