The Drew Forum Presents John O. Brennan
Drew University is pleased to present John O. Brennan, a highly decorated intelligence professional and former senior White House official during the Obama administration. In this thought-provoking talk, he will draw from his decades of national security experience to offer an insider’s look at the state of political discourse in America.
While serving as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017, Brennan managed intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. Before becoming director, Brennan was assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the White House for four years. During that time, he advised the president on counterterrorism strategy and helped coordinate the U.S. government’s approach to homeland security, including its policies for responding to terrorism, cyber-attacks, natural disasters and pandemics.
Brennan spent most of his early career in the CIA’s main analytic arm, the Directorate of Intelligence, specializing in the Near East and South Asia before directing counterterrorism analysis in the early 1990s. From the mid-90s through 2017, he held varied posts, including intelligence briefer to President Bill Clinton and chief of staff to former CIA director George Tenet before moving up the ranks to ultimately become the CIA director.
Today, Brennan delivers insightful and probing examinations of current events as senior national security and intelligence analyst at NBC News and MSNBC.