The National Security Law Journal & the National Security Institute Present:
THE WAR ON NARCOTERRORISM: IS THE WAR ON DRUGS BECOMING THE WAR ON TERROR?
AGENDA
12:00 PM: Check-in
12:25 PM: Opening Remarks by Annalise Emons
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Panel Discussion
1:30 PM: Closing Remarks from Brittney DePoto
PANEL
Speakers
Dennis Fitzpatrick is a decorated national security attorney and litigator who has been recognized for leading difficult and highly sensitive cases over a 20-year government career. He concluded his government service leading the investigation and prosecution of Alexanda Kotey and El-Shafee El Sheikh, two leaders of the Islamic State unit responsible for the abduction and murder of U.S. journalist sand humanitarian aid workers. Professor Fitzpatrick has worked with nearly every government agency over the course of his career.
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is Professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government, and co-director of CONTRA at George Mason University. Her areas of expertise are border studies, U.S.-Mexico relations, international security, migration studies, and illicit networks. Within the area of migration studies, she is particularly interested in the phenomena of human smuggling and trafficking of migrants. She was recently Principal Investigator of a research grant to study organized crime and trafficking in persons in Central America and along Mexico’s eastern migration routes, supported by the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Dr. Mahmut Cengiz is an Associate Professor and Research Faculty member at CONTRA and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University (GMU). He has extensive international field experience, having provided capacity-building and training assistance to partners across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Dr. Cengiz has also contributed to research projects for the Brookings Institution, the European Union, and various U.S. agencies. Dr. Cengiz is a prolific author, with six books to his name, along with numerous articles and book chapters on topics such as terrorism, organized crime, smuggling, terrorist financing, and trafficking.
Cully Stimson is Deputy Director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Senior Legal Fellow, and Manager of the National Security Law Program at The Heritage Foundation. He is a widely recognized expert in national security law, the law of armed conflict, terrorism, criminal law and homeland security. Prior to joining Heritage in 2007, Stimson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, where he advised Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates on global detention policies and practices.
Moderator
Major Mika’il Ali is a Commandant of the Marine Corps National Legal Fellow assigned to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Office of General Counsel, where he advises on all matters pertaining to the agency’s national security and intelligence mission, with specific emphasis on support to Combatant Commands, Intelligence Agencies, Law Enforcement, and use of Artificial Intelligence capabilities. Maj. Ali is a current member of the Scalia adjunct faculty where he teaches Constitutional Law, National Security Law, and the Covert & Special Operations Seminar. Maj. Ali is also a fellow at The Cyber and Technology Center.
About the National Security Law Journal
The National Security Law Journal is a student-edited legal periodical published twice annually at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. We print timely scholarship that furthers the dynamic field of national security law, including topics relating to foreign affairs, intelligence, homeland security, and national defense. Digital versions of our full issues are available online. We welcome submissions from all points of view, by both academics and legal practitioners, provided that they make significant and original contributions to the field.
About the National Security Institute
The National Security Institute’s mission is to strengthen American national security and U.S. global leadership by educating future leaders and advancing actionable solutions based on practical experience. NSI draws on the expertise of an all-volunteer group of experts who have held senior positions in the intelligence, defense, technology, and law sectors to produce research and actionable policy proposals. NSI experts have the diversity of experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to respond to the developing national security threat landscape, ensuring that its work is timely, fact-based, and geared towards informing and impacting policymakers in a way that works for them.