The Society shall present annually for the University, the Alumni, and the Public, the Philomathean Annual Oration, to be delivered by a prominent scholar or personage. An annual Alumni Reception shall immediately follow the Oration. The Second Censor in the fall semester shall be in charge of organizing and arranging the Annual Oration for that academic year. (Philomathean Constitution By-Law 9)

To see information about past Philomathean Annual Orators, please click here

Philomathean Society Annual Oration 2005

Missing the Hydra:
A View of the Failing Wars
Against Al Qaeda and Iraq

Malcom W. Nance,
Counter-Terrorism Specialist

Lecture and Q&A
Tuesday, April 5
5:00 PM
Logan Hall G-17

For over 20 years, Malcom W. Nance has served the United States intelligence community as a collections operator, cryptologist, interrogator, and master instructor. He recently served in Iraq as Director of Special Readiness Services International (SRSI), his private security consulting firm.

Malcolm W. Nance is a 20-year veteran of the US intelligence community's Combating Terrorism program. He is a ten times decorated combat veteran who has served as an intelligence collections operator, cryptologist and interrogator. He has spent 17 years deploying on anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism intelligence operations in the Balkans, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in direct support to the Special Operations Command as well as assignments at the principle agencies of the Intelligence Community. He has eye witnessed numerous terrorist incidents and participated in response operations from the two American Embassy and US Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon; the TWA 847 hijacking; the Achille Lauro Marjacking, the Libyan Air Raid, the millennium bomb plot, the attack on the USS Cole and the September 11th attacks and over 20 suicide bombings in Iraq.

Retiring as a master instructor at the US Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School in Coronado, California he trained select Special Operations personnel at the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival school (ATAHS) in resisting torture and exploitation. In 1998 he created and led the official terrorism training team formed to simulate the Al Qaeda organization and its attacks.

On the morning of 9/11 he was a rescuer at the Pentagon crash site and participated in the investigation of the World Trade Center attacks.

In the Global War on Terrorism he served in Afghanistan where he conducted intelligence operations in Nangahar province (Jalalabad-Tora Bora) and year in Iraq as a security director at the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. There he studied the Iraqi resistance and Al Qaeda’s involvement in the insurgency.

He is author of four books including:

  • The Terrorist Recognition Handbook– A Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities
  • The Terrorists of Iraq - The Lethal Tactics of the Iraqi Insurgents 2003-2005
  • Al Qaeda 3.0 “Combat and the Call” – The Terrorist Tactics of the Bin Laden Jihad
  • Terrorist Tactics – Organizations, Weapons, Operations and Strategies of Modern Political Violence Groups 1960-2005

He has a BA from New York State University’s Excelsior College and speak five languages including Arabic, Pashto, French, Italian and Spanish. Today he is Director of Special Readiness Services International (SRSI) a Washington DC-based anti-terrorism/counter-terrorism consultancy supporting the intelligence community.

 

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last updated: tue 29-mar-05 8:58
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