'Pirate Alley' Author to Speak at NPC

Rear AdmTerry McKnight  featured speaker at National Press Club inauguration of Piracy Daily Web publication.

The event will usher in the launching of Piracy Daily which, together with the already-published Piracy Daily Bulletin, is meant to provide critical understanding of a centuries-old (and the first-recognized) international crime against humanity—maritime piracy, a well-known but frequently misunderstood illegal activity that just late last year was elevated for full consideration by UN Security Council.

The inaugural conference, "Maritime Security: Today's Victories and Tomorrow's Challenges," will have as its keynote speaker Rear Admiral Terry McKnight , USN (Ret.), author of Pirate Alley: Commanding Task Force 151 off Somalia.

Maritime piracy is of major concern to the international community as it affects several of the most important world trade routes, with huge financial and other implications for business, global security and the basic rights of law-abiding peoples everywhere.

The event will be held next Tuesday, 8, January from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., in the National Press Club's Murrow Room. A one-hour discussion by RADM (ret.) McKnight, the first commander of multinational Task Force 151 off the coast of Somalia, and three other well-known maritime security experts will be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer period.