Christine Abizaid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director of the National Counterterrorism Center | |
| Assumed office June 29, 2021 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Christopher C. Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christine Sandra Abizaid |
| Relations | John Abizaid (father) |
| Education | University of California,San Diego (BA) Stanford University (MA) |
Christine Sandra Abizaid (born February 7, 1979) [1] is an American intelligence officer who is the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the Biden administration.
Abizaid earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a Master of Arts in international policy studies from Stanford University.
A soccer player from an early age, Abizaid played forward for the NCAA Division II UC San Diego Tritons women's soccer team. [2] Her 36 career assists are the second most for the team all-time. [3] [4] During her time with the team, the Tritons were California Collegiate Athletic Association and NCAA champions, and in her senior year she was saluted as "best of the best" by the UCSD Guardian newspaper. [3] [5]
Abizaid has worked as a counterterrorism intelligence official in the Defense Intelligence Agency and on the United States National Security Council. During the Obama administration, she served as a senior policy advisor and assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. [6] In 2014, she became the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia.
In 2016, Ash Carter put Abizaid in charge of the Defense Innovation Unit in Austin, Texas. [7] Moving to the private sector, she joined Dell in 2017 as director for supply chain sustainability. [8] [9]
The 2019 Form 990 for the Middle East Policy Council lists Abizaid as a Director. [10] As of December 2022 [ref] she remains listed as a Director on the organization's website. [11]
In 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Abizaid to serve as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center. [12] The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held open hearings on the nomination on June 9, 2021. [13] The full Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote on June 24, 2021. [14]
In 2022, Abizaid participated in a July 1, 2022 Situation Room meeting with President Biden to prepare for a drone strike targeting al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The approved operation took place July 31, 2022. President Biden made a public address confirming the operation had killed Zawahiri on August 1, 2022. [15] [16] [17]
In subsequent testimony to Congress, Abizaid asserted that as a result of Zawahiri's death, the threat of al-Qaeda "is less acute than at any other time since 9/11," and "the most likely threat in the United States is from lone actors, whether inspired by violent extremist narratives, racially or ethnically motivated drivers to violence, or other politically motivated violence." [18] Writers for Lawfare were led to state that following the operation, it was "difficult to believe that [al-Qaeda] can exert the same threat given its leadership depletion". [19]
In 2023, delivering a lecture before the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Abizaid noted that al-Qaeda has yet to publicly announce a successor following Zawahiri's death. Her comments briefly mentioned Saif al-Adel and Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi as possible candidates. [20] [21]
Abizaid, a Lebanese American, is the daughter of John Abizaid, a retired United States Army general who served as Commander of the U.S. Central Command during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and diplomat, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President Donald Trump. [22]
Abizaid disclosed on her 2021 questionnaire to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that she is married to a woman. [23] She was also accompanied to her Senate confirmation hearing by her wife, whom she acknowledged in her remarks. The New York Times noted that she was the first woman and first openly gay person to be confirmed as head of the Center. [24]
In May 2022, Abizaid spoke with Michael Morell for the CBS News podcast Intelligence Matters, affirming her sexual orientation and that she recognizes "that it's important and it's important to be seen in the position that I'm in, that people will look at what I'm doing and will take a representation of that and latch on to it - good, bad or indifferent." [25] The following month, she spoke to an audience at a Defense Intelligence Agency Pride Month event, speaking about having once been closeted at the agency. She commented that, "I could have been more brave and placed more trust in people," and that "frankly, it's just easier," being open. [26]
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri, was an Egyptian-born militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022.
The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All IC agencies report directly to the DNI. The DNI also serves, upon invitation, as an advisor to the president of the United States, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on all intelligence matters. The DNI, supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), produces the President's Daily Brief (PDB), a classified document including intelligence from all IC agencies, handed each morning to the president of the United States.
Joseph Cofer Black is an American former CIA officer who served as director of the Counterterrorism Center in the years surrounding the September 11th attacks, and was later appointed Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department by President George W. Bush, serving until his resignation in 2004. Prior to his roles combatting terrorism, Black served across the globe in a variety of roles with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA.
The Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory was based on false claims made by the United States government, alleging that a highly secretive relationship existed between Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the Sunni pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda between 1992 and 2003. The George W. Bush administration promoted it as a main rationale for invading Iraq in 2003.
Gary Berntsen is an American former Central Intelligence Agency career officer. During his time at the CIA, he served as a Station Chief on three occasions and led several counterterrorism deployments including the United States’ response to the East Africa Embassy bombings and the 9/11 attacks. He was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 2000 and the Intelligence Star in 2004.
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing, a modern complex near Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia. NCTC advises the United States on terrorism.
Joseph Maguire is an American officer who served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Acting Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump. He retired from the United States Navy as a vice admiral in 2010 after 36 years of military service. Prior to retiring from active duty, he was the deputy director for strategic operational planning at National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the fusion intelligence center created by U.S. State Department that oversees domestic and foreign intelligence committees. In accordance to the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, the U.S. State Department established the Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program as an interagency rewards program. The Rewards For Justice program offers money as an incentive for information leading to the arrest of leaders of terrorist groups, financiers of terrorism, including any individual that abide in plotting attacks by cooperating with foreign terrorist organizations. The foreign threat intelligence committee includes the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) governed by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) of the Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secret Service and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S Department of Treasury and the White House. The Rewards for Justice Program directly addresses the foreign threat assessment by identifying entities such as key leaders and financial mechanism of the foreign terrorist organizations.
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) leads national counterintelligence (CI) for the United States government. It is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Michael E. Leiter was the director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), having served in the Bush Administration and been retained in the Obama Administration. A statement released by the White House announced his resignation, effective July 8, 2011. His successor, Matthew G. Olsen, was sworn in on August 16, 2011. In September 2017, Leiter joined international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C. as a partner in its national security practice.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Mission Center forCounterterrorism is a division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, established in 1986. It was renamed during an agency restructuring in 2015, and is distinct from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is a separate entity. The most recent publicly known Assistant Director for Counterterrorism Mission Center was Chris Wood who led the organization from 2015 to 2017.
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On July 31, 2022, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the Salafi jihadist group al-Qaeda, was killed by a United States drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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