Beware of Boko Haram's Resilience
While claims last week by a Nigerian army spokesman that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was “fatally wounded” in an August 19 airstrike should be […]
Opinion
Divergent Growth in Africa
Downward growth revisions for Sub-Saharan Africa over the past year have tended to highlight the continued impact of external stimuli on the sub-region. The IMF’s […]
Why Nation Building is Needed to "Halt the Spread of Radical Islam"
Before Donald Trump speaks out again on the subject of nation-building, I suggest he – or his staff – study what the Pentagon terms “Building […]
Syria: No End In Sight
As the Syrian civil war progresses with no end in sight, Rob Richer, former Associate Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA and member of […]
Open Up Intelligence Briefings to Third Party Candidates
American exceptionalism comes in many forms. When it comes to intelligence, there has been a unique tradition in the United States for more than 60 […]
Facing the New Reality of Homegrown Terrorism
“If you know the enemy and know yourself,” Sun Tzu once wrote, “you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” When it comes […]
The New Frontier in Terror Fundraising: Bitcoin
When I worked as a counterterrorism analyst for the CIA, I always looked out for signs of terrorist groups adapting their methods. Now, as someone […]
The Budget Certainty Congress Denies the Pentagon
“Superficial and emotional” was the way retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey described the current presidential campaign discussion of military affairs in an interview […]
A Persistent and Resilient Adversary: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The history of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is a tale of 1001 nights that catalogues every dimension of frustration in combatting terrorism: […]
Tom Clancy Duty and Honor: A Coming of Age Thriller Without the Geopolitical Intrigue
Duty and Honor is the latest in the multi-volume series by Tom Clancy and his successors featuring Jack Ryan and his son Jack, Jr., who […]
In Afghanistan, Special Operators Continue to Burn Both Ends of the Candle
Things aren’t going so well in Afghanistan these days. The Obama administration plans to reduce America’s presence there by only about half as much as […]
Is the Least Educated Employee Your Weakest Link?
Given the growth of the cyber-threat matrix, many IT system users have found that conventional defenses—firewalls, anti-virus applications, blocking software, and malware detection regimes—are only […]
Trump's "New Approach" to the Mideast is Already Going On
Listening to the U.S. presidential campaign, you would hardly know there is a real war going on in the Middle East, involving thousands of American […]
Daniel Silva's The Black Widow: Eerily Reminiscent
Daniel Silva’s The Black Widow is the most relevant to contemporary events and most chillingly prescient of all his celebrated novels. Gabriel Allon, the art […]
Iran and Hezbollah Remain Hyperactive in Latin America
As the summer Olympics continue in Rio, Brazilian and international security forces are poised to stymie any terrorist plot that might threaten the games. According […]
Russia's Checkered History of Intelligence Sharing with the U.S.
On July 15, the United States and Russia announced a tentative agreement on Syria which, according to media reports, would establish a joint command center […]
Stirring Up His Audience
Donald Trump is a provocateur as well as a mythmaker, two qualities that should disqualify a presidential candidate and would be extremely dangerous if he […]
Protecting the Arsenal of Democracy from Insider Threat
Two summers ago, I made a $5 wager with my son that the United States would be exchanging shots in anger with China within five […]