 IA FORUM ARTICLES |
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| IA-Forum speaks with Chris Taylor, Senior Vice President for Global Strategy at Mission Essential Personnel, U.S. national security culture. By Cynthia Iris (07/01/2009) |
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| Author analyzes the use of terms related to privatized military and issues related to their varied definitions. By Shaun Randol. (06/02/2009) |
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| Terrorists in Cyberspace |
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| Paper that examines using the internet to discover the organizational structure of Islamist terrorists. By James Mitre (12/2004) |
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| EDITORIALS |
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| Excessive Secrecy Constipates Information Flow |
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| Discusses overclassification and pseudoclassification of information; and proposes reforms to facilitate information sharing. By S.R. Brophy. (4/19/2007) |
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| FEATURED ELSEWHERE
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| As a holder of a temporary seat, Brazil can either facilitate or complicate consensus on the UN Security Council. Equally important, Brazil will play a role in ensuring that sanctions against Iran, if passed, get implemented successfully. By Matias Spektor. (Foreign Affairs - 03/04/2010) |
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| Rather than assassinate Iranian citizens abroad, which proved a constant irritant between Iran and host countries, the Islamic Republic has developed much more sophisticated mechanisms to control its exiled population. By Ali Alfoneh. (The American Enterprise Institute, 12/08/2009) |
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| This Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum assesses the likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran, the policy options available to diminish that likelihood, the implications should it take place, and measures that can be taken to mitigate the consequences should it occur. By Steven Simon. (The Council on Foreign Affairs - Nov 2009) |
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| The author examines numerous ways to improve the analysis sector of the U.S Intelligence Community. By Kenneth G. Lieberthal (Brookings Institute, 9/15/2009) |
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| In this comprehensive report, Kenneth Katzman discusses the challenges facing US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. By providing a thorough overview of the primary actors and relevant history, the report contextualizes the current war effectively. (CRS, 6/17/2009) |
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| The current conflict in Afghanistan may hold parallels to the Soviet's war in the 1980s, especially with regard to Pakistan's role as a safe haven. However, there are many substantial differences between the two conflicts as Bruce Riedel points out in this informative report. (Brookings, May 2009) |
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| 40th edition of SIPRI Yearbook provides comprehensive data and analysis of military spending, armaments, security, conflicts, non-proliferation and arms control around the world during past year. (SIPRI, June 2009) |
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| The Taliban and al Qaeda may not pose enough of a threat to the United States to make a long war in Afghanistan worth the costs, writes John Mueller. (Foreign Affairs, 04/15/2009) |
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| Although governments remain justifiably concerned about the possibility of CBRN attacks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials warn Congress of the greater likelihood of ‘low tech’ attacks on ‘soft targets’ similar to those in Mumbai. Terrorists may choose these rather than more complex attacks because, quite simply, they work. (Press Trust of India, 1/9/09) |
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| Many U.S. intelligence officials see the Islamist extremist presence in Britain as a primary threat to U.S. security. MI5 and CIA have been cooperating on the Islamist terror threat since 9/11, however more recently the U.S. has increased its intelligence presence in Britain recruiting assets within the local Pakistani community. By Tim Shipman (Sydney Morning Herald, 1/5/09) |
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| To better utilize the IC to inform policy decisions, Obama should allocate time for regular intelligence briefings, receiving them with a healthy skepticism while at the same encouraging intelligence officers to provide critical assessments without fear of reprisal. By Frank Procida (Council on Foreign Relations, 1/5/09) |
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| While Leon Panetta has administrative, management and political ability as well as a career untainted by association with Bush’s policies, some question Obama’s choice of the former White House Chief of Staff as CIA Director given his lack experience within the Intelligence Community. By Pamela Hess (Associated Press, 1/5/09) |
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| Secretary of Defense asserts that the U.S. cannot modernize its conventional forces to deal with future near peer threats at the cost of disregarding the capabilities necessary to deal with the type of wars it is currently engaged in. The U.S. must synchronize its military and civilian efforts and build the capacity of allies and partner nations. By Robert Gates (Foreign Affairs, Jan-Feb 2009) |
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| Pro-Islamist elements of Pakistan’s largest intelligence service, ISI, have been a conspicuous part of the directorate for 30 years, purposely positioned by the government to employ Islamic conservatism to deal with corruption and religious and ethnic conflict. It remains uncertain whether Pakistan’s newly elected civilian government will be able to dismantle them. (Strategy Page, 12/15/08) |
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| A CSIS report lays out recommendations for cyber security to be used by incoming president Barack Obama. Among its recommendations are a comprehensive national security strategy for cyberspace and the creation of a cabinet-level post to coordinate cyber security efforts. By Siobhan Gorman (Wall Street Journal, 12/8/08) |
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| Although some note that bureaucratic turf wars are more structural rather than personality-driven, the appointment of the well respected Joseph Demarest as Asst. Director in Charge of the FBI’s NY Division is seen as likely to improve cooperation between the NYPD and FBI on terrorism threats. By Judith Miller (City Journal, 12/11/08) |
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| The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai by militant Islamists, resulting in more than 170 deaths, may lessen the prospects for an Indo-Pakistani détente, which many consider a crucial element in stabilizing Afghanistan and engaging Al-Qaeda. By Jim Lobe (Global Intelligence News / IPS, 12/4/08) |
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| In order to protect lower Manhattan from terrorist threats, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau establishes a command center near Wall Street partly modeled on London’s “ring of steel” surveillance measures. By Tom Hays (Associated Press, 11/18/08) |
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| Intelligence officials note that trends such as regional instability may be accelerated by the current global economic crisis. A shift to a more Asia-centric globe could also gain momentum. On the home front, the financial crisis may make the US vulnerable to attacks by Al-Qaeda, especially at a time of political transition to a new administration. By Joby Warrick (Washington Post, 11/15/08) |
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| Despite civil liberties advocates’ hopes for a swift overturn of Bush’s intelligence policies, Obama is likely to make few decisions until a full review of the outgoing administration’s programs can be completed. Advisers say he is apt to take a moderate and pragmatic approach to intelligence issues. By Siobhan Gorman (Wall Street Journal, 11/11/08) |
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| Some predict that in order to maintain flexibility and not hamper the ability of intelligence and military to combat terrorists, President-elect Obama is unlikely to rescind Bush’s directive allowing covert action in countries that the US is not engaged in war with. By Pamela Hess (Associated Press, 11/11/08) |
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| The spread of the terrorist threat across the globe is identified by Michael Vickers (ASD/SOLIC&IC) as the long-term strategic challenge in the GWOT. He asserts it is primarily an intelligence war and its main instrument is a “global counterterrorism network” that has a ubiquitous presence; using a network to fight a network. (Washington Institute PolicyWatch 1421: Special Forum Report, 11/4/08) |
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| In a continuing effort to achieve a more unified intelligence community, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a directive requiring intelligence agencies to supervise the level of sensitive compartmented information that employees can access by using a common database. By Ben Bain (Federal Computer Week, 11/4/08) |
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| A report by two former Treasury Department intelligence officials includes an analysis of the evolution of terrorist financing since 2001. They contend that a viable counterterrorism strategy must also comprise efforts to counter terrorist financial flows that include “regular and ongoing reassessment”. By Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson (Washington Institute Policy Focus #89, 11/08) |
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| Former CIA director R. James Woolsey discusses oil dependence as a multidirectional national security threat. He asserts that reducing foreign oil dependence matters less than a reduction in domestic transportation oil demand. By Stephen D. Solomon (Scientific American Earth 3.0, 10/08) |
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