without further ado, i would like to introduce john gannon. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. our panel, in comparison to the last one, which i thought was very well done -- terrific panel, very substantive -- it was a natural segue two hours. we looked at your panel as more focused on operational issues and ours as focused on reform. we could not have a more distinguished panel. to my right, michael leiter. i always like to look at bios to learn things i did not know. he was a navy pilot and then moved on to assistant u.s. attorney in virginia. he is a graduate, by the way, of columbia a university and then harvard law school -- columbia

i also want to recognize john gannon, who has had a long and distinguished career in the intelligencemunity and is now at the bae systems. john will be moderating a panel at today's conference. our group also includes homeland security advisor fran townsend, former secretary of homeland security tom ridge, former energy secretary spencer abraham. we have two former attorneys general, dick thornburgh and ed meese, and several former members of congress including jim turner and dave mccurdy. i think the two of them are here this morning with us. and our newest member, former secretary of agriculture dan glickman. our group exists to be a constructive resource to the congress and the executive branch, an independent, bipartisan voice on the national security matters. now let me turn to the introduction of director james clapper. just chatting with him a few minutes ago he has spent 46 years, i believe he told me, in the intelligence world. but not only that, he comes from a family of intelligence people. and so i can't think of anyone more familiar with the world of intelligence than the