Guest Posts Carlos In my office, visitors are surprised to see that I have a copy of one of my own books signed by Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as “Carlos the Jackal.” The book is
Covert Contact Iran in the Age of Trump Phillip Smyth is a researcher at the University of Maryland who focuses on Iran-backed Shiite proxy groups. He is also well-known for his Hizballah Cavalcade project on Jihadology. In episode 70 Phillip joins
Covert Contact Securing Data, Communications, and Identity with Keybase Keybase is a small but ambitious company that aims to make cyrpto available and virtually seamless for everyone. Their approach to this problem, a massively challenging one that hasn’t really been cracked
Islam Egyptian, Muslim, American My friend Angie Gad joins me for episode 68 of Covert Contact to discuss growing up as a first generation Egyptian-American Muslim. We cover a lot of ground in this episode including her
Terrorism The Manchester Attack The past few months have been extremely busy. I joined the Institute for the Future as a 2017 Future for Good Fellow (more on that later), spent time in Iceland with the IFTF
Covert Contact Intelligence Analysis: Feedback, Bias, and Other Challenges Dean Baratta, Chief of the Analysis Bureau at New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, is part of a team that continues to take risks and do really interesting work. I
Art Warren Ellis at Google I'm a huge fan of Warren Ellis, his no-nonsense views on technology, and the way he weaves it all into his work. He is able to sweep away the hype while clearly and
Covert Contact Counterintelligence in the Trump Era William J. Tucker, regular contributor on counterintelligence topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, joins me to discuss the unprecedented challenge the Trump presidency poses to both U.S. counterintelligence and the
Updates Blogs of War Gets a New Look (and a New Platform) Regular readers might remember the blog moving from Wordpress to the Silvrback platform in 2015. I loved Silvrback's minimalism, use of markdown, and low administrative overhead. Damian Sowers, Silvrback's creator, sold the company
Guest Posts Dereliction of Duty Considering Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster's recent appointment to the position of National Security Advisor, it is prudent to revisit his book Dereliction of Duty. While examining many records declassified just before he
Covert Contact Exploring Divergent Options with Phil Walter Divergent Options is a new effort to build a body of concise analysis (1,000 words or less) on national security topics from a global talent pool. The project was launched by Phil
Iraq Ambassador Lukman Faily on Iraq's Future, the Travel Ban, and ISIS Lukman Faily served as Iraq’s ambassador to the United States for three years. He left that post, and the Iraqi Foreign Service, in 2016. A lot has transpired since our last chat
Covert Contact Understanding the Pace and Scope of Technology Driven Change with Andrew Trabulsi Covert Contact is back after a bit of break! Andrew Trabulsi, entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur, joins me again for
Updates Covert Contact Returns - And Other News Covert Contact returned today with a new episode that was originally recorded (but not released) in October. Andrew Trabulsi joins me to discuss the challenges inherent in forecasting technology-driven change and we close
Estonia Estonian Defense League: Standing Against Russian Aggression Despite the Odds Tiny Estonia has only one potential path to war but it is a terrifying one: Estonia, a NATO member with a population of 1.3 million people and a standing army of about
Diplomacy Book Excerpt: The Embassy: A Story of War and Diplomacy The Embassy is a graphic, cinematic retelling of the harrowing climax of the Liberian civil war and the U.S. and West African role in ending it. Through interviews with the Ambassador and
Covert Contact Russia, Trump, and Hillary: What a Debate In episode 62 I look at what may have been the most bizarre presidential debate in U.S. history. Covert Contact regular William J. Tucker joins me later in the show to discuss
Updates Podcasting the 2016 Insanity Podcast episodes for the first and second presidential debates are up. My thoughts are mostly confined to the national security elements and fairly reserved. That’s more of a reflection on my weariness
Covert Contact Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: The First Debate I’m a little under the weather but here is a short wrap-up of last night’s debate. Subscribe to Covert Contact via iTunes, RSS, or dozens of other podcast directories to have
Covert Contact Putin’s Struggle for Relevancy and Power with William J. Tucker Covert Contact regular William J. Tucker joins me for a quick look at Putin’s outlook and the challenges he faces despite domestic political wins, successful rounds of international meddling, and attempts to
Covert Contact Citizen Soldiers: Service and Sacrifice with Wendy R. Anderson Wendy R. Anderson, Managing Director of Military and National Security Initiatives at Strong Eagle Media, joins me to discuss her company’s amazing new documentary Citizen Soldier and her previous work inside senior
Covert Contact Inside the President’s Daily Brief with David Priess Dr. David Priess delivered the Presidents Daily Brief during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and has produced the definitive history on the subject with The President’s Book of Secrets:
Covert Contact Fragmented Realities with Robert Rath Freelance writer and Zam.com columnist Robert Rath joins me in episode 57 to review the latest advances in virtual and augmented reality. Augmented reality, in the form of Pokemon Go, has captured
Guest Posts Jihad: As It Was Truly Intended The author of this post is a friend and analyst who holds a master's degree in international relations with a focus on conflict resolution in the Middle East. She has interests in the
Russia Talking Russia, Trump, and the 2016 Election with William J. Tucker Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William J. Tucker joined me on Covert Contact Sunday evening to dig into the 2016 election insanity from a counterintelligence perspective. The DNC email hacks
