Reference: Deep Secrecy–Complete Draft

Articles & Chapters, Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Ethics, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy
Abstract & Download
Abstract & Download

Phi Beta Iota: David Pozen, JD Yale 2007, has provided advance access to the complete draft on his paper forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review, and we are both appreciative of this offering, and impressed–deeply impressed–by this seminal work.  At a time when the U.S. “security clearance” system is so totally hosed up (and 70,000 clearances behind) that we might do better with with “spin the bottle,” the author is highlighting the reality that most of the secrecy we buy with $75 billion a year in taxpayer funds is not really that important–not only have others, such as Rodney McDaniel, made it clear that 809% to 90% of all “official” secrecy is about turf protection and budget share rather than national security, but it is administrative secrecy rather than “deep secrecy” that is leveraged by a very few with their own informal system for assigning trust, generally at the expense of the larger mass of uninformed individual who are treated as “collateral damage” that is of little consequence.  The download options are at the top of the linked page

See also:

Continue reading “Reference: Deep Secrecy–Complete Draft”

Reference: Corruption Perceptions Map

09 Justice, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, White Papers
Full Source Online
Full Source Online

Phi Beta Iota: Kudos to Australia, Canada, the Nordics and the Netherlands, and probably Singapore too small to shine here.  The USA has less to be proud of, between corporate corruption of Congress and what one author calls The Cheating Culture.  Other books on corruption in the USA can be seen at Banks, Fed, Money, & Concentrated Wealth (31); Capitalism (Good & Bad) (117;  Censorship & Denial of Access (23; Corruption (71);Crime (Corporate) (26); Misinformation & Propaganda (85); andPower (Pathologies & Utilization) (80).

Reference: Counterintelligence Open Source

Director of National Intelligence et al (IC), Methods & Process
Original Source Online
Original Source Online

September 2009.

Just noticed.  A fine first effort that also provides a snap-shot of where the Open Source Center is now.

For more advanced thoughts, see Librarian's Paradox as well as Handbooks and Historic Contributions.

Seven Presentations from the Counterintelligence Open Source Symposium:

Continue reading “Reference: Counterintelligence Open Source”

Reference: Berto Jongman Recommends

05 Civil War, 09 Terrorism, Media Reports, Monographs
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

Today's recommendaitons:

Who's who in the Somali insurgency: A Reference Guide

Interview with Maajid Nawaz:Becoming a Muslim Radical

New Quilliam report: British prisons are incubating Islamist extremism

Selected Translation of the LIFG Recantation Document

Amazon Page
Amazon Page

Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field. Antonio Giustozzi gathers a renowned cast of journalists, experts, and academics to answer the most pressing questions regarding the Taliban today. Each contributor possesses extensive knowledge of the insurgency's latest developments, decoding its structure and organization as it operates within specific regions and provinces. They analyze the new Taliban as it expands, from the mature south, where they hold sway, to the southeast, where they struggle to penetrate, from the west and northeast, now in the initial stages of infiltration, to the provinces surrounding Kabul, which have been unexpectedly and quickly occupied.

Amazon Page
Amazon Page

Empires of Mud: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan 2002-2007. Warlords are charismatic leaders who exploit weak authorities to gain control of subnational areas. Nevertheless, warlords do in fact participate in state formation, and this book considers the dynamics of warlordism within the context of such debates. Antonio Giustozzi begins with aspects of the Afghan environment that are conducive to the fragmentation of central authority and the emergence of warlords. He then accounts for the phenomenon from the 1980s to today, considering Afghanistan's two foremost warlords, Ismail Khan and Abdul Rashid Dostum, along with their political, economic, and military systems of rule.

Reference: Gangs in the US Military

08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, Commercial Intelligence, DoD, Government, Military, Peace Intelligence
Assessment Report
Assessment Report (2007)
Briefing with Notes
Briefing with Notes
Briefing without Notes
Briefing without Notes

Phi Beta Iota: We have been highlighting our couinterintelligence deficiencies since the 1990's, primarily focused on the need for religious counterintelligence, but also on the need to recognize that sub-state and non-state groups are legitimate threats in and of themselves.  Today the US military it thoroughly penetrated by multiple networks from Opus Dei and the Mormons to radical Islamics and plain street gangs happy to not only receive advanced training, but access to easily stolen weapons–one of the dirty little secrets of the US military is how little control it has over the primary weapon of mass destruction on the planet, small arms (which we also like to sell liberally to anyone with cash and especially dictators).

Continue reading “Reference: Gangs in the US Military”

Reference: Chinese Information Warfare

02 China, Monographs

Full Report Online
Full Report Online

Phi Beta Iota: Read the report and draw your own conclusions.  On balance we give it a C+ [this is actually a complement]  in part because it cost too much to get to this point, neglects all Chinese and other language sources, neglects or is unaware of the non-military capabilites, and is completely lacking in context–the Chinese are NOT emphasizing attack IW as much as capture and exploit IW, in all the languages we do not comprehend, and for the purpose of waging peace and conquering, with soft power, the entire Southern Hemisphere.  Our two-pager on Chinese Irregular Warfare is free and more policy-relevant.  See also:

Journal: CINCPAC Slams IC on China

Reference: Information Operations (IO) Newsletters

Review: Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power Is Transforming the World

Review: The Second World–Empires and Influence in the New Global Order

Reference: United Nations Terrorism Desirata

09 Terrorism, Communities of Practice, Peace Intelligence, United Nations & NGOs

Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

Recommended by Researcher Berto Jongman.

2009-11-15 UN Overview of Terrorism Research Desirata Gestation

2009-11-15 UN List of Terrorism Research Priorities

Phi Beta Iota: Researcher Berto Jongman is a disciple and most respectful student of the work of Alex Schmid and more recently, the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) practices of Researcher Arno Reuser, who leads one of a handful of military OSINT teams that are truly on the bleeding edge of accomplishment and global access (analog & unpublished as well as the obvious).

Continue reading “Reference: United Nations Terrorism Desirata”