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On August 17th, internationally recognized former FBI agent Ali Soufan visited the Wellsboro Rotary.

Soufan is an honors graduate of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and received a Master of Arts in International Studies from Villanova University. During his distinguished career in the FBI as a Supervisory Special Agent, he investigated international terrorism cases including the East Africa embassy bombings, the attack on the USS Cole, and the events surrounding 9/11. Soufan carried high-level negotiations and received numerous awards throughout his career, such as the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence and a commendation from the U.S. Department of Defense. Matt Baker, a lifelong friend of his from Mansfield, states that Mr. Soufan is “singularly probably the person in the entire world who came closest to preventing 9/11.”

Outside of his career within the FBI, Soufan has worked globally as a speaker and panelist, even appearing before the United Nations Security Council. He has also contributed to national newspapers and appeared in documentary films and series such as The Report (2019) and Netflix’s Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (2019). His book, The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda (2011), is a New York Times Bestseller and has recently been fully declassified.

Additionally, Soufan is the Executive Director of the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS), located in Lusail, Qatar. This institute focuses on elevating security standards globally and on training students to handle modern, complex diplomatic situations. The QIASS also offers intensive courses in over thirteen languages, ensuring that students achieve an advanced level of proficiency in them.

Soufan spoke about his experience with 9/11 and his investigations of al-Qaeda at the Wellsboro Rotary meeting. At the time of the tragedy, he had been tracking the al-Qaeda members who had boarded the planes heading towards the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Addressing the current state of global terrorism and the social unrest of the United States today, Soufan encouraged communities to “have hope and not to give in to all the pessimism and the false news and the partisanship and the divide that people are trying to create. […] Don’t give in to the divide.”