World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area presents: “The COVID-19 Intelligence Failure: Why Warning Was Not Enough”

Description

The speaker is Professor Erik J. Dahl with the Department of National Security Affairs Naval Postgraduate School Before the COVID-19 outbreak, intelligence agencies and public health experts had been warning for years about the danger of a global pandemic. But those warnings, and the global surveillance and intelligence systems designed to anticipate just such a crisis, were not enough to avert disaster. The pandemic in the United States was further exacerbated by decentralized public health systems and an aversion to scientific advice on the part of political leaders. In his talk, Dr. Erik J. Dahl will discuss his latest book, The COVID-19 Intelligence Failure: Why Warning Was Not Enough (Georgetown University Press, 2023). He will explain how it was possible for the world to be surprised by a threat that we should have seen coming. He will examine the roles that both traditional intelligence services and medical intelligence and surveillance systems play in providing advance warning against public health threats, and how these systems must be improved for the future. Finally, he will argue that the lessons learned from the pandemic will be critical, not only to help us prepare for the next pandemic, but also to help us as we face other kinds of threats. No matter the cause of the next worldwide crisis, we now know that future threats are likely to break out and go global very quickly, and intelligence and warning systems will be needed to anticipate, detect, and respond. Erik J. Dahl is an associate professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, where he is also on the faculty of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. His research and teaching focus on intelligence, terrorism, and international and homeland security. In addition to The COVID-19 Intelligence Failure, Dr. Dahl is also the author of Intelligence and Surprise Attack: Failure and Success from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and Beyond (Georgetown University Press, 2013). He retired from the US Navy in 2002 after serving 21 years as an intelligence officer. He received his PhD from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and holds master’s degrees from Tufts, the Naval War College, and the London School of Economics, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
AGENDA: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 11:15 am: Registration 11:45 am:
Luncheon 12:30 pm:
Program COST: $36 for members $41 for guests
Important: You must provide proof of Full Covid-19 Vaccination in order to attend.
Reservations are due by March 26th. Refunds are not available after the due date listed above.
Register here.