Bipartisan Opposition to Surveillance
Current Events vs. Founding Documents Entry 159 Current Event According to the Wall Street Journal, Sept 12,2012 President Pushes to Extend Surveillance Law The Obama administration is lobbying for renewal of a controversial 2008 surveillance law, warning that the U.S. would lose a critical intelligence-collection tool if Congress allows the measure to expire at year’s [...]
Preventing Another Cargo Bomb Attack
Two parcel bombs en route by air from Yemen to Chicago were recovered in Dubai and Britain on Friday. Investigators believe that al-Qaeda’s top explosives expert from the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, designed the two bombs. The adept construction and sophistication of the bombs revealed that Al-Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot is improving its capabilities [...]
Spy Crisis Raises Questions About U.S. Policy
The recent Russian spy drama has finally come to an end after a prisoner swap in Vienna. Strangely, both sides scrambled to downplay the crisis. When the drama first began, Vladimir Putin strongly criticized the U.S., saying the police were “out of control.” However, he later downplayed the situation, saying, “I really expect that the [...]
The Pakistani Double Game
The London School of Economics released a report early this past week alleging that the Pakistani intelligence agency, the Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), not only funds and trains Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan but plays an active and official role in the Taliban’s executive war council. If this report is accurate, the Pakistani military already possesses [...]
Senior Resignations Upset Reconstruction of Afghan Forces
On 6 June 2010, Afghan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar and the National Directorate of Security chief Amrullah Saleh resigned from their positions in the Karzai government. Their resignations came after an attack on a “peace jirga” meeting to discuss ways to end the war with the Taliban. There were over 1,500 delegates present; fortunately, none [...]
Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago: A Case Study of the July 2009 JW Marriott & Ritz-Carlton Bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia
The Case Study This case study examines the history of the Indonesian terrorist network al-Jemaah al-Islamiyah (JI) and its most deadly and violent splinter cell Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad, particularly through the lens of the 17 July 2009 terrorist bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta. Focus is given the history of both [...]
U.S.-Australia Intelligence Sharing Relationship: From WWII to Modern Day
Download THE U.S.-AUSTRALIA INTELLIGENCE SHARING RELATIONSHIP: FROM WWII to MODERN DAY This essay provides a précis of the U.S.-Australian intelligence relationship, beginning with the UKUSA agreements after WWII and continuing through the Joint Defense Space Research Facility, South American regime changes, the CIA in Australia, the first Gulf War, and Afghanistan and Iraq. Examination is [...]
