By Ashley Sidebottom, staff writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – A special episode of the weekly television program “Dialogue on Public Issues” on Campbellsville University’s TV-4 (Comcast Cable 10) will feature Max Wise discussing “9/11 and the War on Terrorism.”
John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, will interview Wise, assistant professor of political science at CU and former employee of the FBI, regarding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
In this special episode, Wise will discuss and assess the six years since those attacks and the continuing War on Terrorism.
Wise, who received his bachelor of arts in political science and history from Campbellsville University in 1997 and a master of arts in international politics and national security from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky in 1999, served on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, as well as the Field Intelligence Group and the HAZMAT Response Team.
He was also chosen to serve as the primary terrorism representative for the state of Kentucky in 2006.
Wise is in the process of obtaining an advanced graduate certificate in Homeland Security from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
“Professor Max Wise brings to the subject of ‘9/11 and the War on Terrorism’ a great deal of knowledge and expertise,” Chowning said.
“In addition to his graduate studies in international relations and homeland security, his years of work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation enhance his overall understanding of the subject,” said Chowning.
“September 11, 2001 is a date that all of us will long remember. It has defined our nation and our world for the past six years,” Chowning said. “It is appropriate that we pause to talk with Professor Wise on the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and the continued war on terrorism. We know our viewers will be interested in this important topic.”
“I have been fascinated by the study of terrorism,” said Wise. “Ever since the Oklahoma City bombing and the Aum Shinrikyo cult, I have been intrigued by the movites and ideology that would set someone off to commit a terrorist attack.”
Wise said he would give law enforcement an “A” in the war on terrorism after 9/11.
“We have not had an attack, and we have foiled what could have been some plots on our soil and abroad,” Wise said. He said cooperation and intelligence sharing between federal, state and local has increased three-fold.
“Our intelligence community has strengthened its analytic capability to be able to
perform better analysis,” he said.
Chowning asked Wise about the fact of, six years later, the United States not having captured Osama Bin Laden. He asked Wise if it really matters and if the U.S. needs to really target Bin Laden.
Wise said, “Yes, I guarantee it matters to the people on the front lines fighting the war on terrorism and to the family members who have lost loved ones on 9/11, or for any event involving an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack. He is public enemy number one.”
“However, a capture or death of Bin Laden will not end our struggle against radical extremism,” said Wise.
“Al-Qaeda has spread to an ideology and it does not matter whose face is on the cover to sell magazines. If someone has the intent, the threat will always be there.”
The dates and times for the show are as follows: Sunday, Sept. 9, 8 a.m.; Monday, Sept. 10, 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, Sept. 12, 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
For more information about the show, contact Chowning at (270) 789-5520 or Jim Wooley, director of broadcast services, at (270) 789-5210.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,310 students who represent 100 Kentucky counties, 32 states and 28 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South and eighth in the South for “Great Schools, Great Prices.” CU has been ranked 15 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his ninth year as president.