Former Chief of CIA Clandestine Operations, Thomas Twetten, spoke at a forum held Thursday in the Pegasus Ballroom by the UCF Office of Global Perspectives.
Twetten stated that after 9/11 he started speaking in order to help explain what American intelligence does and to demystify the spy part of it.
Twetten held his position for nearly six years, working closely with the Near East Division and contributing to the development of the Predator drones the U.S. Air Force still uses today.
"The idea of the Predator drone was to provide the other parts of the intelligence community with a drone that would stay up in the air for over twenty four hours or so. Nobody was doing that in 1991 because they were still thinking ‘Cold War'" Twetten said.
Twetten's lecture focused on the purpose of the CIA and its interactions with Afghanistan leading up to 9/11.
"You could easily ask, OK the war ended in 1989, why didn't you fix Afghanistan? It might not be where it is [now]," Twetten said.
He answered this question by comparing the state of Afghanistan's government to "Humpty Dumpty. He said that based on what he saw of the Mujahideen commanders he didn't think the government could be put back together.
Twetten went on to talk about the invasion of Iraq in 2003, stating that the U.S. lost its moral high ground and that its actions were part of the worst chapter in American policy since WWII.
According to Twetten, words would not be enough for the U.S. to get over its mistakes in the Middle East, and that the actions described in Obama's speech in Cairo would need to be put into practice.
Twetten commented that the U.S. invasion has subsequently led up to Muslim humiliation and feelings that the U.S. is after hegemony and control of oil resources. He stated that these ideas are what have helped develop Bin Laden's appeal and that appeal remains until the United States takes action.
Twetten also commented on the state of the Middle East today and that we now have a situation where, in many parts of the Middle East, Muslims are killing Muslims.
Professor Ted Reynolds, who introduced Twetten, said he just met Twetten but was excited to have him speak.
Sara Butler, a political science major, said she was very interested in the current happenings in the Middle East.
"It's nice to know how we got there and what we're doing to get out," she said.
Ben Keller, who was there for a Middle Eastern Studies class, said he was happy he had the opportunity to hear Twetten speak.
"It's interesting to hear how it all works on the inside," he said.
Twetten ended his lecture with a question and answer portion in which he was asked what he thought would be our next big concern when it comes to fighting terrorism.
"Islamic radicalism won't go away soon...If you look out ten and twenty years from now, I'm really worried about China and Imperial Russia ruled by a former KGB officer," Twetten said.
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