Mumbai Bleeds Again: An Ongoing Security Crisis
The recent bombings in Mumbai, which killed 26 people and injured 130 more, are a grim reminder of how far Indian security has yet to go in effectively maintaining order and eradicating terrorism within its own borders.i Such occurrences threaten India’s stability at a time when it is hoping to establish itself as a leading […]
Somali Piracy: When Short-term Solutions Turn to Long-term Problems
Kidnappings and hijackings off the coast of Somalia have been the topic of sensationalist media attention over the last few years. When Americans Jean and Scott Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Bob Riggle were killed this past February in a Somali hijacking, most saw a one-dimensional report of a crime committed by a barbaric people.[i] The […]
Point-Counterpoint: Wikileaks, The Importance of Information Asymmetry: In Defense of Secrecy
Secrecy is a necessary part of government in the modern information age where an event can happen one moment and be reported to the whole world the next. According to former Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis Mark M. Lowenthal, secrecy is a essential for successful intelligence operations. Classified information collected and retained by […]
Point-Counterpoint: Wikileaks, Open the Vault: Against Government Secrecy
We are fashioned to accept truths, to conform to the narrative of our leaders. To question the authority or legitimacy of the powers that be can be dangerous. Most people accept the rules set out for them by government, even if they do not fully understand or see the supposed benefits of the social contract. […]
Street Corner Counterterrorism: The Role of Police in Combating Terrorism
The United States counterterrorism community has evolved significantly in the nine years since the attacks on September 11, 2001 but questions persist about the intelligence community’s ability to prevent the next attack. Terrorism is just as much, if not a greater threat today than before the attacks. Leon Panetta, current director of the Central Intelligence […]
Public Security in Private Hands: American Intelligence Goes Corporate
In 2006, under considerable pressure from the public to provide information about the use of tax dollars in matters of national security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) conducted the first comprehensive study of the use of private intelligence contractors since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Alarmingly, it found that […]