Officers Call – Page 127 – Public Intelligence Blog

But them “wolves” are a-changin' — them's becomin' “werewolves”!

Introduction
Big Brother crying “wolf”?
Erosion of credibility of authority
Trust, confidence, and credibility under a regime of total insecurity
Appreciating the Emperor's new clothes — as designed by NSA
Clues for an existential turnaround?
Questionable “existence” of Al-Qaida
Questionable “existence” NSA/PRISM
Cultivation of “terror”, “terrorism” and “terrific”
Ambiguity of “democratic oversight”: institutionalisation of negligence?
Fear of change: engaging otherwise with “werewolves”
Embodying “malware” transformatively: No Security Anywhere (NSA)?
Paradoxical correspondences and complementarity
References

Continue reading “Anthony Judge: “Big Brother” Crying “Wolf”?”

2013/08/08

EXCLUSIVE: Transcript of the Alleged Al Qaeda Call

Offbeat Fun, Officers Call

Exclusive: transcript of the intercepted al-Qaeda phone call that sparked embassy closures

Thanks to our sources in the US State Department, we have obtained the transcript of the al-Qaeda telephone call that sparked temporary US embassy closures in the Middle East and worldwide travel warnings. The conversation between al-Qaeda global leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) makes it clear why the US had no option but to raise the terrorist threat level to its highest code.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Transcript of the Alleged Al Qaeda Call”

2013/08/052013/08/05

Marcus Aurelius: BREAKING – Defense to Protect Hardware Contracts, Savage the People

Military, Officers Call

There is lot of stuff flying around Pentagon these days. There is memo that underlies article next below but I haven't seen it yet, trying to get from Sister service. Irrespective of your opinion of publication, this might be very good week to buy current Army Times (12 Aug 2013) because it has some data and graphics I haven't previously seen about what may be coming. Trends I'm sensing so far:

Hardware is more important than humans.
Sequestration decrements will be largely borne by MILPERS and CIVPERS
Even if sequestration disappeared today, MILPERS and CIVPERS would be principal targets.
DoD is seeking to ((FUNDAMENTALLY)) change, in negative ways, compensation scheme for MILPERS.
DoD will seek to screw retirees under age 55 out of TRICARE coverage
Cart is clearly before horse — DEPSECDEF has relayed SECDEF's guidance to cut HQs by 20 percent without determining what functions will no longer be performed. Long experience is being ignored: downsizing, rightsizing, doing more with less don't work. Less is less and, generally, all you can do with less is less.
SECDEF appears to be disproportionately influenced by one particular retired Marine Reserve GO who also happens to be an executive of one of the big defense contractors.

DOD Memo Provides Specifics for Headquarters Spending Cuts

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: BREAKING – Defense to Protect Hardware Contracts, Savage the People”

2013/08/032013/08/04

Marcus Aurelius: False Embassy Threat a Preamble to War? + Syria Islam Divide Iran Nuclear Israeli Insanity RECAP Update 1.1 — More Prison Breaks?

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 05 Iran, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, 10 Transnational Crime, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, IO Deeds of War, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence

The retired Marine colonel who cued me to this report opined that, “This is a hell of a lot closer to the mark than any Administration or DoS blathering.” I would be totally unsurprised to find him 100% spot-on. I invite your attention to the final para, highlighted. If that is true, the (in)actions of our government may have rendered us incapable, fiscally and operationally, of effective response. Another Task Force Smith, another Kaserine Pass could be the foreseeable result.

Unmasking the embassy threat

Embassy closures are a signal of the rapidly escalated intervention in the region by the US

There is one thing certain about the publicized threat to our embassies; it is not what it is presented to be. To accept the official explanation of a nebulous threat from al Qaeda as the reason for closing our embassies across the Middle East and North Africa is being dangerously naive and simplistic.

This is much more serious than what we are being told, but not for the reasons we are being given. We are seeing the consequences of a long running “Cold War” on two major fronts of political conflict that could escalate into military engagement with proxy nations of world super powers. The world, and life as we know it, could change in an instant should we awaken one morning to the news of bombs flying across the Middle East. That is a very real possibility, as we are now in a heightened proxy war environment. We are standing in a thick forest of dry tinder, and the smallest of sparks could ignite a conflagration the likes of which we have never before seen.

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: False Embassy Threat a Preamble to War? + Syria Islam Divide Iran Nuclear Israeli Insanity RECAP Update 1.1 — More Prison Breaks?”

2013/08/012013/08/01

Marcus Aurelius: Benghazi Testimony, Non-Disclosure, Rotten Communications

Ethics, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call

The shuffle continues.

Retiring Marine colonel tells Congress he wasn't involved in Benghazi response

A retiring Marine colonel who commanded a special operations unit in Africa during the deadly 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, told Congress on Wednesday that an elite four-man team under his command was kept in the Libyan capital that night to prevent attacks there.

Col. George Bristol’s statement corroborates previous testimony by his subordinate officer, Army Lt. Col. S.E. Gibson. Gibson told the House Armed Services Committee in June that, contrary to previous media reports, he was not ordered to “stand down” by higher headquarters in response to the Benghazi attacks. Rather, Gibson’s team was told to stay in the city of Tripoli to defend Americans there in the event of additional attacks and to help survivors being evacuated from Benghazi, Bristol said.

Read full story.

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Benghazi Testimony, Non-Disclosure, Rotten Communications”

2013/07/28

Marcus Aurelius: Al Qaeda is Back! and The Future of Al Qaeda — Shared Bottom Line? Everything the USG Does Enhances Al Qaeda Appeal!

01 Poverty, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Terrorism, IO Deeds of War, Lessons, Officers Call

Al Qaeda Is Back

Jailbreaks in Iraq. A surge in Syria. A growing presence in Lebanon. The terrorist group’s influence is on the rise, says Bruce Riedel.

TheDailyBeast.com, July 26, 2013

Two spectacular al Qaeda prison breaks in Iraq, freeing over 500 of its members in two separate prisons simultaneously this week, demonstrate the group is back with a vengeance. Al Qaeda’s Iraq branch is also the moving force behind the jihadist success in Syria. The resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq has sobering implications for what is likely to follow the drawdown of NATO forces in Afghanistan for the al Qaeda mother ship in Pakistan.

Read full article.

The Future of Al Qaeda

PDF (88 Pages): 2013-07-28 Future of Al Qaeda

EXTRACT:

Th e speed of change throughout the Middle East and North Africa since 2011 has demonstrated that a policy of Soviet-era containment manifested since the Cold War by support for repressive dictatorships that suppressed, rather than emancipated their populations, catalysed the appeal of Al-Qaeda. Instead, as the Arab Spring has shown, populations desire economic growth, employment and good governance in the place of the defi cient development outcomes, conflict and militancy that characterise life in so much of this region. As the recently released US National Strategy for Counterterrorism elucidates, a comprehensive approach to tackling Al-Qaeda must include “objectives such as promoting responsive governance and respect for the rights of citizens, which will reduce Al-Qaeda’s resonance and relevancy.”149

2013/07/112013/07/11

Robert Young Pelton: Suing Eric Prince — and Publishing “His” Ghost-Written Book Online Free If He Does Not Pay His Ghost-Writer(s)

07 Other Atrocities, Commerce, Corruption, Offbeat Fun, Officers Call

“I will be suing Erik and the publisher and putting the entire pre-CIA vetted book online.”

Blackwater Book Flap

Former Navy SEAL Eric Prince faces ghost writer's lawsuit

Jeff Stein

AND Magazine, 11 July 2013

The author of The World's Most Dangerous Places is threatening to take Eric Prince, founder of the notorious Blackwater private security firm, to court.

Continue reading “Robert Young Pelton: Suing Eric Prince — and Publishing “His” Ghost-Written Book Online Free If He Does Not Pay His Ghost-Writer(s)”