As I write this, the U.S. Congress is trying to determine whether it should fund the Federal government’s activities in the new fiscal year, which begins at midnight. Partisanship on both sides is about to obstruct essential services that citizens...
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Vivat Helvetica
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Understanding Iran’s new spy story
Today Ha’aretz has a detailed report on the recent roll-up of an Iranian intelligence operative who two weeks ago was unmasked and detained by Israeli counterintelligence. As this revelation comes just two days after President Obama’s historic phone call with...
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Conflict Records Research Center: Update
Nearly two months ago this blog told the sad tale of how, through a lack of funds and vision, the Department of Defense was about to axe the Conflict Records Research Center (CRRC), one of the bright spots for increased...
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Obama Enabling Russia’s Mideast Rise
In Monday’s National Interest, Brent Sasley argues that our view of America’s deal with Russia on Syria’s chemical weapons—insofar as it is a “deal” at all—is unnecessarily alarmist. “It’s not clear,” Professor Sasley writes, “that Russia [poses] a challenge to...
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The Coming Age of Special War
The last couple weeks have witnessed one of the most significant periods in decades in the annals of diplomatic history. Having deeply mishandled the domestic side of the Syrian crisis, the Obama administration proceeded to worsen matters by, in effect,...
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America’s Middle East Policy Collapses
The United States and Russia have now averted U.S. military action against the Syrian regime for Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians. Is the agreement reached by Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov on September 9 a diplomatic...
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There’s Disaster, then there’s DISASTER
The last week has seen dramatic shifts in the U.S. position on Syria, the Middle East region and perhaps the world. A couple weeks back I predicted imminent TLAM strikes on the Assad regime’s chemical weapons infrastructure “barring some strange...
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So you want to know about NSA …
Thanks to Ed Snowden and the Summer of SIGINT there are several billion people on earth who have now heard of the National Security Agency. Going back to the vaunted days of “No Such Agency” is impossible for NSA, and...
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Snowden, NSA, and Counterintelligence
Ever since the remarkable case of Edward Snowden broke into the limelight at the beginning of the summer that’s now winding down, I’ve had a great deal to say about it here, on Twitter, and on radio and television. As...