Forum: Terrorism: What is the Threat to America?

You are invited to a forum/discussion title Terrorism: What is the Threat to America? on Thursday, December 3, 2015 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Montana Tech Student Union Building in the Big Butte Room.

Terrorism is a crisis of public order and safety. As recent events in France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Mali demonstrate, no area, not even Montana, is free of terrorism’s threat. Terrorism is a threat to American national security. Terrorism and the fear of terrorism, threatens not just our physical safety, but our collective emotional well-being, our political values, our social order, social structures and fabric and our economy. Citizens need to become aware of the nature and extent of the terrorist threat, the causes of terrorism and steps that can be taken to combat terrorism. This forum will explore the threat of terrorism to the United States.

Topics to be covered include: 1. The Definition of Terrorism. 2. The Old versus the New Terrorism. 3. A Brief History of Terrorism. 4. The Goals of Terrorism. 5. The Causes of Terrorism. 6. The Dimensions of the Terrorist Threat to America. 7. Future directions of the Terrorist Threat to America and Allies. 8. Lessons the United States can learn from our Allies Experience with Terrorism. 9. Strategies for Dealing with Terrorism. 10. The Syrian Refugee crisis.

An open discussion will follow the presentations.

About the Speakers Dr. John W. Ray is a professor of political science and public policy in the Liberal Studies Department at Montana Tech.  He received his PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin. He has made presentations in the area of national security at conferences in places such as Oxford University in England and in Cairo, Egypt. He has received several research awards from national associations and authored numerous articles and made numerous presentations in the area of political science and public policy, political philosophy, international conflict and international relations.

Dr. Chris Danielson is an associate professor of history at Montana Tech, with a doctorate from the University of Mississippi.  He is a specialist in the civil rights movement and a native of Houston, having earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Houston.  He is the author of two books on race relations, and has received recognition from Montana Tech and the Mississippi Historical Society for his research.  He has previously taught at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and has extensive experience in teaching U.S. and international history.

The Forum is sponsored by the Montana Tech Liberal Studies Department.