Speaking at the Global Philanthropy Forum Conference in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the audience that the State Department's doors are "wide open" to engage and collaborate with civil society organizations. The April 22, 2009 speech served as another platform for Clinton to promote her "smart power" strategy that emphasizes an increased role for aid and development in American foreign policy.

Members of the private task force charged with making recommendations to help guide recent national, state and local law enforcement  information sharing efforts addressed the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security on April 21, 2009, agreeing with civil liberty advocates that more must be done to protect privacy and free speech amid the effort to detect terrorist plots.

A March 2009 report from the Fourth Freedom Forum tracks the growing disconnect between international and United Nations efforts to include civil society in Security Sector Reform (SSR) and counterterrorism programs implemented by many governments, including the United States.  Oversight or Overlooked?

Months of deteriorating relationships between the FBI and major American Muslim organizations came to a head when revelations of a FBI informant posing as a convert in mosques became public in February 2009. The incident, combined with the FBI's disengagement from communications with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has lead several American Muslim advocacy groups to consider a suspension of ongoing outreach with the FBI. The growing tension was raised during a Senate hearing where FBI Director Robert Mueller was questioned about the Bureau's conduct about investigating Muslim organizations.