This piece is the first in a brief series of publications that examine activity by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in Syria and Iraq. ISIS is active on both sides of the border, executing complex attacks in Deir ez-Zour and organizing local … [Read more...] about Syria: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham and the “Cleansing” of Deir ez-Zour
Contributor:
Jihadis Returning/Redeploying from Syria
Several years and many thousands of jihad fighters from at least 70 countries joining the Syrian blood-bath has finally raised the alarm that Syria has replaced Afghanistan as the new training ground for al Qaeda and its like. Western law … [Read more...] about Jihadis Returning/Redeploying from Syria
Putin’s Regime and the Russians
The original foreign policy neocons were right to argue that the character of a country’s political regime could tell one a good many things about the motivations behind its foreign policy. How the U.S. could have ended up with a 21st-century … [Read more...] about Putin’s Regime and the Russians
Putin, Bluffer-in-Chief
The current extremely successful campaign of aggression by Russia’s dictator-candidate Vladimir Putin illustrates two of the fundamentals of geopolitical history: * A demagogue’s capability of achieving remarkable results through bluff. * How … [Read more...] about Putin, Bluffer-in-Chief
Weekly Briefing – May 3 – 10, 2014
U.S. National Security's Achilles Heel - The Electromagnetic Spectrum - - Rachel Ehrenfeld - On December 23, 2013, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency issued a solicitation “to … conduct satellite system performance modeling, satellite system … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing – May 3 – 10, 2014
U.S. National Security’s Achilles Heel – The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Over the past four years bills on cybersecurity, Electromagnetic Pulse threats, and other forms of "purposeful interference" with U.S. cyberspace have been introduced only to go nowhere. By now it has been well established that EMP, whether in the … [Read more...] about U.S. National Security’s Achilles Heel – The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Washington’s Cyber Worries
Washington's political gridlock is behind Congress' three failed attempts to pass legislation to increase the nation's cybersecurity. The executive branch's frequent lip service either disguises a lack of understanding that an attack on U.S. … [Read more...] about Washington’s Cyber Worries
Al Qaeda and the U.S. Intelligence*
Left: The Late Abu Khaled al-Suri On April 30, 2014, the State Department issued its latest Country Reports on Terrorism. Dealing with 2013, it confirms what we have known for some time: that the numbers of terrorists and acts of terrorism are … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda and the U.S. Intelligence*
From Osama to Obama: The Decline of the Pax Americana
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will take you there.” -- Chinese Proverb... It all began in September of 2001. When on January 1, 2000, the United States entered the twenty-first century, it was not only the richest and most … [Read more...] about From Osama to Obama: The Decline of the Pax Americana
Benghazi: Deja Vu All Over Again – Hiding the Threat of Islamic Terrorism
A video sharply critical of Islam and Mohammed, "Innocence of Muslims", was first posted to the Internet in July 2012. Two months later, still a week prior to the anniversary of the attacks in America on 9-11, there had still been little reaction … [Read more...] about Benghazi: Deja Vu All Over Again – Hiding the Threat of Islamic Terrorism