Blogs of War (Page 8)

The San Bernardino Attack, Small Scale Terrorism, and ISIS

The San Bernardino Attack, Small Scale Terrorism, and ISIS

The San Bernardino attack is an odd one in many ways but understanding it is critical as this model of small scale attacks, directed at soft targets, and using readily available weapons is going to be a persistent and growing threat.

Islamism and Democracy: Finding Models for the Middle East and Preserving Our Own

Islamism and Democracy: Finding Models for the Middle East and Preserving Our Own

In episode 29 of Covert Contact Brookings Institution senior fellow and author of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East [http://www.amazon.com/Temptations-Power-Islamists-Illiberal-Democracy/dp/0190229241/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_pap_title_0&sr=] Shadi Hamid

Podcast App Recommendations: Overcast & Pocket Casts

Podcast App Recommendations: Overcast & Pocket Casts

There are countless ways to follow your favorite podcasts but Overcast [https://overcast.fm/] is my personal favorite. If you’re on an Apple device and you want to subscribe to Covert Contact [http://covertcontact.com/how-to-subscribe-to-the-covert-contact-podcast/] it’s an excellent choice. Pocket Casts [http://www.shiftyjelly.com/android/pocketcasts]

A Special Thanksgiving Podcast

A Special Thanksgiving Podcast

Normally I’d spend this day surrounded by friends and family. I hope that’s what many of you are doing. But today I have some kind of bug. It’s nothing serious, just a minor cold, but I have relatives with compromised immune systems and I’m staying home

Turkey Shot Down a Russian Jet - Where Do We Go From Here?

Turkey Shot Down a Russian Jet - Where Do We Go From Here?

Putin called today’s downing of a Russian Su-24 by a Turkish F16 a “stab in the back [http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/middleeast/warplane-crashes-near-syria-turkey-border/index.html] ” but it this was certainly not an unproved attack. In fact it follows countless warnings from Turkey that violations of its

What You Are Getting Wrong About ISIS

What You Are Getting Wrong About ISIS

Northeastern University professor and terrorism theorist Max Abrahms excels at poking holes in the conventional wisdom and he joins me again in episode 26 to do exactly that. I initially asked Max to discuss his recent piece in Harvard Business Review Why People Keep Saying, “That’s What the Terrorists

Discussing Espionage with Former Double Agent Naveed Jamali

Discussing Espionage with Former Double Agent Naveed Jamali

In episode 25 of the Covert Contact podcast I’m talking to Naveed Jamali, former double agent, and co-author of How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double Agent [http://www.amazon.com/How-Catch-Russian-Spy-American/dp/1476788820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&

Discussing The Paris Attacks and Europe’s Security Challenges with William J. Tucker

Discussing The Paris Attacks and Europe’s Security Challenges with William J. Tucker

William J. Tucker joins me again for a high level look at the Paris attacks and the impact that instability, chiefly in Syria, will have on the region. Failing states and the mass migration of refugees will continue to put immense pressure on dozens of governments. There is no framework,

Phil Walter on Life After War

Phil Walter on Life After War

Phil Walter joins me to talk about his transition from the the battlefield, to home, and eventually into a role where he has the opportunity to work on national security policy. I’m thankful to Phil for sharing his personal story because I think it might help others who are

Preview: The Impact of War

Preview: The Impact of War

Last night Phil Walter [https://twitter.com/philwalter1058] and I discussed the impact that war has had on him. We spent an hour discussing how he copes with the inevitable lasting changes that war brings and how those changes have impacted his work in government since. I’ve made a

Covert Contact Podcast Update

Covert Contact Podcast Update

I’ve been hard at work on the podcast and it is going to be the focus of my efforts for the foreseeable future. Guests are already being booked for January and I’m excited about the lineup. Much of the work is occurring behind the scenes. Over the past

Supporting Independent Art in Afghanistan: Francesca Recchia Updates from Kabul

Supporting Independent Art in Afghanistan: Francesca Recchia Updates from Kabul

Regular Covert Contact listeners will recognize Francesca from episodes 9 [http://covertcontact.com/2014/11/28/art-in-afghanistan-francesca-recchia-updates-from-kabul-episode-9/] and 17 [http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/18/life-and-art-in-afghanistan-with-francesca-recchia-episode-17/] . This episode follows the same general format. We discussed the mood in Kabul, the emergence of ISIS and AQIS, and I asked her about

The Damascus Cover and the Psychology of Spies with Howard Kaplan

The Damascus Cover and the Psychology of Spies with Howard Kaplan

Howard Kaplan wrote his debut espionage novel, The Damascus Cover [http://www.amazon.com/Damascus-Cover-Jerusalem-Spy-Book/dp/0990526305/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446524012&sr=8-1&keywords=the+damascus+cover] , nearly forty years ago. He joins me to discuss the book, the recently completed the film

The Podcast is Back: Future Plans, How To Follow Along, and How You Can Get Involved.

The Podcast is Back: Future Plans, How To Follow Along, and How You Can Get Involved.

Podcasting [http://covertcontact.com], especially when you lack any particular talent for it, is hard work. But it’s rewarding and worth the effort so I’ve managed to shift some projects around and re-prioritize things to put the podcast first. The only visible aspect of this reorganization will be

Matthias Pfau: Tutanota and the Battle Against Mass Surviellance

Matthias Pfau: Tutanota and the Battle Against Mass Surviellance

Matthias Pfau [https://twitter.com/matthiaspfau] is co-founder and developer of the encrypted email service Tutanota [https://tutanota.com/]. Tutanota is part of what can be considered a post-Snowden development movement that aims to short-circuit government mass surveillance capabilities. I spoke to Matthias to discuss his project and where he

Government Email Problems, Wikileaks, Russia, Drone Leaks, NASA Security and Other Counterintelligence Nightmares

Government Email Problems, Wikileaks, Russia, Drone Leaks, NASA Security and Other Counterintelligence Nightmares

The Covert Contact podcast kicks off again with an admittedly rambling, but hopefully entertaining, start as I review a number of high profile security issues with counterintelligence pro William J. Tucker. We look at the hack of DCIA John Brennan’s AOL account [http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/

Violence in Israel Continues as Leaders Fail to De-Escalate Latest Crisis

Violence in Israel Continues as Leaders Fail to De-Escalate Latest Crisis

Brooklyn Middleton is an American Political and Security Risk Analyst currently based in New York City. She has written for Al Arabiya and has also published in Turkish and Israeli publications. She recently finished her MA thesis on Ayatollah Khomeini’s influence on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, completing

The Toshiba Chromebook 2: An Amazing Chromebook, Good Linux Laptop, and Decent MacBook

The Toshiba Chromebook 2: An Amazing Chromebook, Good Linux Laptop, and Decent MacBook

I went shopping for a laptop yesterday, with a fairly high budget and thoughts of a new MacBook, but came home with a $300 Toshiba Chromebook 2 instead. Now obviously a Chomebook gives up something to any Mac in terms of capability but my decision was possible because my laptop

Encrypted Communication Has Never Been Easier - Security Never More Challenging

Encrypted Communication Has Never Been Easier - Security Never More Challenging

Just over two years ago I decided to spend some time digging into an emerging class of encryption tools that were making a solid run at simplifying the notoriously cumbersome use of PGP.

The Linux Foundation's Linux Workstation Security Checklist

The Linux Foundation's Linux Workstation Security Checklist

Konstantin Ryabitsev’s high-level security recommendations for Linux Foundations systems administrators [https://github.com/lfit/itpol/blob/master/linux-workstation-security.md]is probably not the kind of document that most of you would read. In fact, I’ve known a shocking number of SysAdmins who wouldn’t take the time to

The Return of the Gold Dinar: What is ISIS Up To?

The Return of the Gold Dinar: What is ISIS Up To?

ISIS is extremely proud of their latest video but, trust me, it’s a bit of a snorefest. But, to be fair, it’s also very different. The horrific violence they’re known for is there but only in comparatively small doses. Instead they’ve opted to take a lot

William M. Nolte: Counterintelligence after Snowden

Counterintelligence

William M. Nolte: Counterintelligence after Snowden

On February 7, 2014, William M. Nolte, Former Director of Education and Training at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, discussed "Counterintelligence after Snowden" at The Institute of World Politics.

Windows 10 Dogged by Privacy Concerns

Windows 10 Dogged by Privacy Concerns

While developers are increasingly embracing encryption and building apps with privacy as a key selling point our operating systems are moving in the opposite direction [http://www.forbes.com/sites/davealtavilla/2015/08/27/worried-about-windows-10-phoning-home-with-personal-data-shut-down-what-you-share/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Technology&

Letters from Operation Desert Shield

Letters from Operation Desert Shield

I was digging through some old boxes this evening and found some letters that have been stashed away for twenty-five years. The letters themselves don’t reveal much but it struck me how that time, the lead-up to the first Gulf War, was just so different. That war had its