Wendy Chamberlin, a former high-level counterterrorism official during the Clinton administration, was the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the 9/11 attacks, having just come home from her embassy office when her daughter summoned her to the TV set.
Chamberlin, 62, now president of the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., remains an expert on the region and terrorism and still helps shapes American policy for both. In that respect, she is one of several experts interviewed for the new documentary, SOS: State of Security, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February and is being screened locally this week.
Directed and produced by Michele Ohayon, the documentary examines the American security structure prior to the 9/11 attacks and U.S. policy changes since. Focusing on former White House security advisor Richard Clarke, who famously apologized to the victims’ families for failing to prevent the attacks, the film criticizes the intelligence community’s previous over-dependence on technology in favor of human intelligence gathering and foreign expertise. It also spells out the state of the American intelligence apparatus today, as well as its diplomatic efforts in stopping terrorism.
The film is being screened at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Carnegie Arts Center in Covington and will include pre-screening dinner and a post-screening discussion with Ohayon and Chamberlin. The Foreign Policy Leadership Council of Cincinnati sponsors the event.
Read Dave Malaska's interview with Chamberlin here.
