University Times

Knowledge, speed and a coordinated response are key in preventing acts of terrorism on U.S. soil, said Admiral Joseph Sestak Jr. in his Oct. 20 lecture “The Role of Intelligence in Counterterror Strategy.” Pitt’s Center for National Preparedness hosted the former Pennsylvania congressman in Alumni Hall as its first seminar series speaker for the fall term.

Sestak drew from his experience as former deputy chief of naval operations and as former head of the Navy’s “Deep Blue” counterterror program as he described what he’d learned and what he believes must change in order to better protect the nation.

“It’s no longer capacity, it’s capability based on knowledge,” he said, arguing that although it’s critical that the nation shift away from measuring its defense prowess in terms of size, the political culture has been slow to refocus.

Former congressman Joseph Sestak Jr. spoke on “The Role of Intelligence in Counterterror Strategy” Oct. 20.

Knowledge, Sestak said, “is the real domain of warfare today and in the future.”

Early in the war on terror it became evident that cyberspace was important to prevention. What was most needed, he said, was the ability to procure intelligence rapidly — whether from humans or satellites — then pass it on quickly for joint interagency assessment and possible action.

While some would cut foreign aid and assistance, Sestak touted the value of allies in the information-gathering process: “I don’t think they’ve ever been more critical than they are today.”

Whether it’s information from individuals or organizations, “we need that intelligence from somewhere ‘over there,’” he said, adding that “over there” is where we want to keep, find and destroy adversaries.

That takes money. “When you think about friends and allies, sometimes we have to invest to get a return for our benefit, for our security,” he said.

“There’s no more foreign or domestic policy. There is security policy,” Sestak said in calling for a restructuring of the National Security Council, which he said remains dominated “by those who think about what happens overseas as ‘foreign’ policy.”

Some agencies that play a valuable role are slowed in their ability to respond quickly because they are under-resourced in comparison to defense. “I think this has led to an over-militarization of the global war on terror,” he said.

For instance, quickly imposing financial sanctions — on a nation such as Libya, for instance — might be desirable, but could be slowed by lack of resources if the Department of the Treasury is under-resourced compared to the Department of Defense.

The nation continues to measure its prowess in terms of size: how many ships, airplanes or bases it has. Now, however, “it’s all about the knowledge.”

A plan several years ago to cut the number of Navy submarines in favor of moving money into other areas of knowledge warfare — such as underwater sensor systems to identify vessels on the seas — “went nowhere. Not just because of naval or defense department opposition, but because that is jobs in Groton, Connecticut, and other places where the submarines are built,” he said.

Although knowledge is the most critical element for the future, the culture hasn’t permitted the shift toward it to be as fast as it might, Sestak said.

He argued that the nation must shift from measuring its defense prowess in terms of size “and recognize the new measurement is knowledge, the speed to act in response to that knowledge — not because someone struck us — and coordination so vital among these agencies,” to ensure against terrorist attacks.

—Kimberly K. Barlow