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Category Archives: Intelligence
Things to Consider: Iraq War at 20
Everyone (and their dog) is writing/commenting about the Iraq war 20 years later. I doubt more accuracy is achieved in these tales after 20 years. Everyone seems to think they were central to events. Some of them were.[1] My perspective was also partial, … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, Chemical Weapons, Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, Sunni, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, Iraq Survey Group, Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, United Nations, WMD
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Death of Choice – Aymen al-Zawahiri
The US “took the shot” on 31 July that killed Aymen al-Zawahiri, the identified leader of Al-Qaeda. Zawahiri had been hunted by the US since the 9-11. It took a decade to find and kill Osama bin Laden. It took … Continue reading
Nuclear Weapons and Alcohol Do Not Mix
Lot’s of analysts are creating analyses of Vladimir Putin. What drives him? What are his objectives? Is he psycho? The fact is, no one really knows. Analysis that was likewise wobbly surrounded Saddam in his day. It was off the … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, Intelligence, Lavrov, nuclear weapons, Putin, Ukraine, WMD
Tagged DEFCON 3, Nuclear Alert, Nuclear Weapons, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, WMD
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Putin: Lessons from Saddam
Is Lavrov the New Baghdad Bob? Saddam’s Saddam’s last information minister and a former foreign minister was Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf–better known in Western Press as “Baghdad Bob”. He was ridiculed for his blatant incorrect statements about the American led invasion … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, Intelligence, Iraq, Lavrov, NATO, nuclear weapons, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, WMD
Tagged PutinLavrov, Ukraine
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Taiwan is to Xi Jinping as Ukraine is to Vladimir Putin…
This analogy is too simple, but helps to think about the vise jaws that the Biden Administration now finds itself between. The similarities: Both Xie and Putin have maneuvered to be in power for the foreseeable future. The duration of … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, China, Cyber Threat, Elections, Intelligence, NATO, Russia, Ukraine
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Bill Burns – A Glimmer of Hope
Finally there is some ground for imagining a glimmer of hope in Afghanistan. CIA Director Bill Burns is reported to have met with Taliban leadership in Kabul Monday. Burns is exactly the right person with, hopefully, the right amount of … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, China, Intelligence, Russia, Terrorism
Tagged Afghanistan, Bill Burns, China, Russia, Taliban
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Afghanistan: Looming Tragedy – Will President Biden Blame Bad Intelligence?
President Biden visited the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Tuesday (27 July). In his public remarks he praised the Intelligence Community (IC) and promised to never politicize their work. Sounds promising and clear-cut. But reality is never that … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, Intelligence, Iraq, NATO, Uncategorized
Tagged Afghanistan, Bill Burns, Mary Louise Kelly, National Public Radio, President Biden
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The New CIA Director
Ambassador William J. Burns is a great and timely choice to head the CIA. He will assure that the Administration has the intelligence collection and analysis for the critical security issues facing the United States. He is a long time … Continue reading
Posted in Allies, China, Cyber Threat, Elections, Intelligence, Iran, Russia, Uncategorized, WMD
Tagged Bill Burns, China, Russia
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Asteroid Near Miss (?): Monday, 2 November 2020
Indications and Warning – You won’t get anywhere else Based on European Space Agency database (drawing on JPL and many other sources), on Monday, 2 November 2020 Near Earth Object (NEO) 2018 VP1 will pass very close to earth(est. 62,000 … Continue reading
Posted in Asteroids, Elections, Intelligence, Space
Tagged Asteroid Impact, Elections, Space, Trump
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Understanding the Dataverse: Beirut Explosion and the future of Intelligence Collection/Analysis
As a thought experiment to see what’s coming in intelligence collection and analytics, consider the forensics associated with the recent Beirut disaster. The event itself was obviously detected instantly by witnesses all over the city. And instantly, decision makers needed … Continue reading
Posted in China, Cyber Threat, Financial Wars, Industrial Policy, Intelligence, NSA, Space, Ukraine
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