One of the darkest times for U.S. intelligence during the Cold War was a less than two-year period in the late 1960s when American espionage, especially its Naval element, was battered by unexpected attacks and loss of life. Oddly, none...
-
-
Cold War Disaster: The Loss of USS PUEBLO
-
Gaza and the Utility of Force
The recent winding down of the latest round of fighting over Gaza, the week of stand-off strikes which the Israelis have termed Operation Pillar of Defense, ought to raise questions for all Western militaries about what exactly force is for...
-
Poland’s “Agrobomber” and European Terror
Last week the Polish government announced the thwarting of a terrorism plot that is worrisome in its audacity and in who was behind it. In a country with minimal experience of terrorism, the discovery of a sophisticated homegrown bomber seeking...
-
Croatia Gets Its Generals Back
Last week the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague overturned one of its most controversial verdicts. Last year’s convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, two of Croatia’s top generals, on war crimes charges were...
-
The Wilderness of Mirrors
Greg Treverton, a brainy wonk who has worked on the high margins of the U.S. Intelligence Community, famously explained that puzzles and mysteries are fundamentally different: the former, with their pieces, can be solved, while the latter, with inexact pieces...
-
The Real Housewives of CENTCOM
All of three days ago I offered my analysis of the emerging Petraeus debacle. Over the last seventy-two hours so many unpleasant details have popped up which are shocking to even a moderate cynic like myself that I don’t want...
-
Love Demands Sacrifice
As we celebrate Veterans’ Day – technically it was yesterday, November 11th, but we’ve done this extend-the-weekend thing; as a Federal employee I thank you – it is time to think, one day per annum, about the nature of sacrifice,...
-
Terrorism versus Fake Terrorism, Part II
One of the regular issues this blog tries to shed light on is the shady problem of provocation in counterterrorism. When intelligence services systematically penetrate terrorist groups – which is, bar none, the most effective way to defeat them –...
-
ALL IN: The Unraveling of Dave Petraeus
Yesterday saw a remarkable story break: the surprise resignation of CIA Director David H. Petraeus over an extramarital affair. Any day this would have been a biggie, since CIA directors seldom leave the job with so detailed a press release...
-
One more comment on the election
For Republicans seeking a upside to Tuesday’s bad news, there’s the positive development that Karl Rove, at long last, may be laughed out of public life for his bizarre FoxNews meltdown. He ought to be expunged anyway, for giving the...