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GOLDEN CANDLE AWARD: Mr. David Kaplan

OSS '04: To Mr. David Kaplan, for his extraordinary exploitation of legal and ethical sources of information in the pursuit of investigative journalism on behalf of U.S. News & World Report. His studies of North Korean government corruption and of Saudi Arabian government sponsorship of terrorism, represent the best practices in his field.

Today he is Editorial Director for the Center for Public Integrity, one of our Righeous Sites (click on Cover Photo to go to the Center). In addition to overseeing the Center’s editorial work, he serves as director of its International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Below is the core story as he told it personally at OSS '04.

2004/12/212009/08/01

2004 Knapp (US) Al-Qaeda Use of the Mass Media in InfoWar/Netwar; The Distortion of Islamic Concepts and Practices by Muslim Extremists; Diversity in Islam

Analysis, Civil Society, Government, Historic Contributions, History, Methods & Process

Very frew “all-source” intelligence analysts in the US secret world impress us, in part because they will never actually be “all-source” until we get a grip on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT); in part because the secret world refuses to engage with 95% of the real-world and therefore will always lack of the historical and cultural perspectives that only multinatational information-sharing and sense-making networks can provide; and in part because half of them are very young and right out of school, with rotten tools, 1950's management chains and editing practices, and “no way out.”

On this page are three briefings from an individual that is the exception to the rule. This individual represents all that a perfect analyst should be, to include a non-negotiable demand for access to all relevant information in any languaage and any medium. This analyst gives force to the adage that one analyst with a brain is worth a thousand “analyst” bodies who only know how to cut and paste what they are spoon-fed by badly managed classified collection systems with no strategic perspective.

2004/12/202009/08/01

2004 Marlatt (US) Military Librarianship in an Academic Environment

Academia, Historic Contributions, Methods & Process, Military

Greta Marlatt is one of the librarian “top guns” at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monteray, California. The photo leads to her official page at NPS.

She is known for many fine accomplishments but among them is her continuously updated bibliography on intelligence and public policy.

The HTML version online does not appear to be available at this time (Aug 09).

Below is her presentation to OSS '04,

2004/12/192009/08/07

2004 Mazzafro (US) Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Global Issues

Briefings (Core), Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Historic Contributions, Threats

GOLDEN CANDLE AWARD: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

OSS '04: To the JHU-APL, and especially to Capt Joseph Mazzafro, USN (Ret) and Dr. Michael Vlahos, for sustained excellence in the integration of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) into their complex all-source analytic efforts in support of the Department of Defense. Aided by the Gibson Library, they have set a new standard.

JHU-APL has always been a special place for special people to work in a manner that allows for the crossing of boundaries. In the world of public intelligence in the public interest, two have stood out–Capt Joe Mazzafro, USN (Ret), who speaks truth to power in a manner most compelling, and Michael Vlahos, more on him on his own page.

Over the years Capt Mazzafro has, in our view, demonstrated integrity in discerning and reporting the truth, that is sorely lacking in too many quarters. He does this on force structure, on strategy, on personnel, not just on sources & methods. Below is hie contribution to OSS '04.

2004/12/182009/08/01

2004 Mutton (CA) on OSINT Burden Sharing

Budgets & Funding, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Historic Contributions, Policy

2004/12/172009/08/01

2004 Palmer (US) Achieving Universal Democracy by Eliminating All Dictators within the Decade

02 Diplomacy, 10 Security, 11 Society, Government, Historic Contributions, Peace Intelligence, Policy, Threats

Ambassador Mark Palmer is one of the most thoughtful, focused, practical, and hence impressive professional diplomats we have ever encountered. His book, Defeating the Real Axis of Evil, made a profound impression on all of us thinking about how to create a prosperous world at peace, and was the final nail in the coffin of U.S. foreign policy–no foreign policy that relies on supporting 42 of 44 dictators can possibly have morality, legitimacy, reciprocity, or transparency, all vital attributes if we are to nuture humanity toward clarity, diversity, integrity, and sustainability. Our review of the below book is entitled: Single Most Important Work of the Century for American Moral Diplomacy, and was posted November 30, 2003. We still believe that.

Below is his presentation to OSS '04.

2004/12/162009/08/01

2004 Ray (US) Values in America and the New Political Compass

11 Society, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Historic Contributions

Paul Ray came to our attention as a result of his writing, with his life-long partner Sherri Ruth Anderson, CULTURAL CREATIVES: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World.

In 2004 he was well into his new work, and had introduced the avant guarde to the “New Political Compass,” which can be seen in full page color size at www.oss.net/PIG where it is the third side in from the cover. Clicking on his photo above leads to the 2004 article that captured a great deal of respect everywhere except within the two-party tyranny that has been “Running on Empty” and in “Breach of Trust” since at least the 1970's. Below are his two presentations to OSS '04.

Category: Archives

2004 Kaplan (US) The Saudi Connection: How billions in oil money spawned a global terror network