Sunday, August 9, 2015

Intel and Counterterrorism

Article - "The Limits of Counterterrorism". The Obama administration has a robust (some observers believe) counterterrorism strategy while it attempts to avoid significant involvement in costly wars (a difficult feat to accomplish given today's security environment). However, one commentator believes that the counterterrorism strategy is not enough. He believes that the " . . . United States should devote particular attention to defense institution building (DIB). Too often counterterrorism assistance is seen as a technical capacity issue, when poor governance is usually the root of the problem." This is excellent analysis by Daniel Byman - a foreign policy editor of Lawfare Blog. Read his August 2, 2015 article. www.lawfareblog.com/limits-counterterrorism

Intel Contract w/ U.S. Army. CACI International, Inc. has been awarded a prime position on a multi-million dollar contract to continue support to the U.S. Army's CERDEC I2WD program. Under the terms of contract CACI will offer a broad range of solutions and services for intelligence, electronic warfare, and information system development. Read a CACI news release dated August 3, 2015.

Army Hiring Counterintelligence Agents. The Army's community of counterintelligence is growing. Currently there are openings in the Counterintelligence (CI) enlisted school.  Enlisted CI agents serve around the world, investigating threats of all types alongside CI officers and law enforcement officials from multiple agencies. Their skills and experience, plus a top-secret security clearance, can create a path to a post-service career with the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security or similar organizations. (Army Times, August 3, 2015).

FBI HRT. The website We Are The Mighty profiles the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) in "This is the FBI's dream team of elite counterterrorism operators", July 24, 2015. www.wearethemighty.com/fbi-hostage-rescue-team-2015-07

EU Counterterrorism Policy. Marc Pierini examines the EU's CT policy in Adjusting the EU's Counterterrorism Policy, Carnegie Europe, July 31, 2015.

State's CT Bureau. The Department of State (DoS) has a counterterrorism bureau but it appears it has not been fully funded or staffed. Read more in "State's Counterterrorism Bureau Still Needs to Evaluate Countering Violent Extremism Efforts", Homeland Security Today, July 27, 2015.

Book Review: The Great War of Our Time. Another former CIA agent, Michael Morell, has penned his memoirs providing us with an inside look of the period leading up to the 9/11 attacks and the long years after. He highlights the CIA successes (initial invasion of Afghanistan supporting the U.S. Army's "Green Berets") as well as its failures (saying that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction justifying the stupid invasion of Iraq in 2003). Read a review of his book in "A Soldier of the Great War", by Gabriel Schoenfeld, Lawfare Blog, August 6, 2015.

Book: Relentless Strike. This book is about the secret history of the Joint Special Operations Command or JSOC. This organization has been at the forefront of America's fight against the forces of terror and in the war against insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. The author, Sean Naylor, is a noted defense observer and has wrote about special operations in books and news reports for many years.

Site Exploitation, ATP 3-90.15, July 2015. An important part of intelligence gathering at the tactical level (and at other levels as well) is proper site exploitation of sensitive items that can provide intelligence. The Army has released a publication on this topic.
http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/atp3_90x15.pdf

Perspectives on Terrorism. The journal has released its latest issue (August 2015) with a focus on ISIS that provides readings which will help you understand the Islamic State (structure, ideology, goals, tactics, etc.). www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot

SF / CIA Legend Profiled. At age 71, Billy Waugh was in Afghanistan as a member of a CIA team sent in shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Read more in "This 85-year-old Special Forces legend has one of the most badass military resumes we've ever seen", We Are the Mighty, August 7, 2015.

Paper - Counterterrorism Strategies: Leadership Decapitation vs Mid-Tier Elimination. A key component of counterterrorism strategies is kinetic - the use of armed drones by the CIA or hit-teams of the U.S Army Special Forces (or Special Mission Units or SMUs like JSOC) to capture or kill terrorist leadership. The author of this paper examines the both approaches (killing top leadership vs mi-tier leadership) and concludes with three major policy implications for examination.
www.strausscenter.org/images/ISP/Nichols_Phil.pdf

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