Intelligence Transformation: Meeting New Challenges in the Middle East and Beyond

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) James R. Clapper, Jr., undersecretary of defense for intelligence, addressed a Washington Institute Policy Forum on May 19, 2009 as part of an ongoing counterterrorism lecture series sponsored by the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

The following is an excerpt from Mr. Clapper's address. Download a complete transcript of his remarks (PDF).

"We have, you know, a lot of challenges in . . . both Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was there about six weeks ago . . . it was a real interesting and very useful tour for me, since we did a heavy focus on special operations capabilities and locations. . . . The whole political arrangement there, the terrain, the size of the country, the very undeveloped infrastructure, lines of communication, makes for a very challenging, very daunting environmental situation. . . . My own view is that this is . . . built for a classic counterinsurgency kind of thing. I think we're going to win this on a village-by-village, valley-by-valley basis. And there's . . . potential for success, depending on how we manage the whole spectrum of special operations -- not just taking out high-value individuals or high-value targets, but sort of the nation-building thing, providing security locally in Afghanistan. . . . The old saw about all politics being local really applies."

Download a complete transcript of Mr. Clapper's remarks (PDF).