Fred Burton - Blogs of War

The Poisoning of Sergei Skripal

Fred Burton joined me shortly after the attack on Sergei Skripal. We look at the many implications of this brazen attack, security issues surrounding it, and the need for a serious response.

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Protecting the British Royal Family

Fred Burton, former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent joins me to break down some of these security efforts and the challenges he faced on the job.

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The Crypto Wars: Update from the Australian Front

Australian freelance journalist, commentator, and broadcaster Stilgherrian is back to discuss the battle over encryption and the seemingly irreconcilable differences between governments and privacy advocates.

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From CIA Case Officer to Rookie Cop

Former Air Marshall and CIA Case Officer Patrick Skinner has become a become a police officer in his community in an effort to drive change. We discuss the transition and what he is learning in episode 81.

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The Kurdish Problem

Phillip Smyth joins me to look at the complexities surrounding the Kurdish drive for independence and how that looks to play out given the recent setback.

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Propaganda, Influence, and Disruption

A look at recent developments in the social media component of the investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election and what the evidence says about our ability (or inability) to identify and address modern propaganda.

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Australian Cyber Policy

Episode 78 wraps up a full month of focus on Australian defense perspectives with a look at cyber policy with the highly-regarded freelance journalist, commentator, and broadcaster Stilgherrian.

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Australian Approaches to Counterterrorism

Levi West, the Director of Terrorism Studies at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, joins me for a wide ranging discussion on Australian counterterrorism programs.

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Australian Special Operations Forces

In episode 76 we’re taking a look at Australia’s special operations forces. We discuss how SOF are utilized, structured, and how they compliment and differ from similar forces in the United States.

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.”