Ali comments on lack of security barriers during the New Orleans attack | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Ali comments on lack of security barriers during the New Orleans attack

January 2, 2025 BBC
Headshot of Javed Ali at Weill Hall's main staircase, looking off to the side of the frame
Javed Ali (Credit: Michigan Photography)

The Ford School's Javed Ali recently spoke with BBC offering new perspectives on the recent New Orleans attack. Ali shared "It's too difficult to say for certain whether the New Orleans bollards [security barriers] being in place would have prevented such an incident... There must have been a lot of luck involved," Ali added. "That's unfortunately what happens in these types of attacks."

Headshot of Javed Ali

Faculty Expert

Javed Ali

Associate Professor of Practice
Ali is a former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, with over 20 years of professional experience in national security and intelligence issues in Washington, D.C. He served in the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he also held senior positions on joint duty assignments at the National Intelligence Council, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the National Security Council.