David Isenberg: The True Cost (Locally) of Military Strikes Against Iranian Nuclear Targets + Iran Nuclear Meta-RECAP

The Myth of “Surgical Strikes” on Iran By David Isenberg TIME Battleland | October 18, 2012 For all the years that the world has focused on the confrontation between Western nations and Iran, oceans of ink have been spilled over many aspects of its nuclear program — the quantity and quality of its enriched uranium, …

Berto Jongman: Debka Alternative – Iranian Drone Big as a Helicopter, Captured Intact, Revealed Huge Gaps in Israeli Air Defenses

An alternative account. Israel & Iran at (Cyber) War  – How the “Beast of Kandahar” Was Looted by the “Mongrel of Tehran” Not quite an airplane, a helicopter or even a drone, the unmanned Iranian aerial vehicle that ambled into Israeli air space Saturday, Oct. 6 was one of oddest flying objects seen in international …

NIGHTWATCH: A Brief History of Indicators Analysis

Special Comment: A Brief History of Indicators Analysis Compilation, examination and analysis of indicators of a nation’s war preparations, collectively, are the oldest structured analytical discipline in continuous use by elements of the intelligence agencies since 1947. The discipline began in World War II and British defense intelligence maintained it ever since. After World War …

Mini-Me: CIA-Blackwater in Somalia . . . .

Huh? This Story Of A CIA-Backed Somalia Anti-Piracy Squad Is Unbelievable Michael Kelley Business Insider, Oct. 5, 2012 An attempt by CIA-connected trainers to create a sophisticated counter-piracy force in Somalia turned into hundreds of half-trained and well-armed Somali mercenaries being left to their own devices in the desert, Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt of The …

Parag Khanna and Frank Jacobs: The New World – More Small Nations, New Economic Zones, High-Speed Rail, Singapore to Vladivostok to London — While the Americas Decline

The New World Frank Jacobs and Parag Khanna The New York Times Sunday Review, September 22, 2012 IT has been just over 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the last great additions to the world’s list of independent nations. As Russia’s satellite republics staggered onto the global stage, one could be …

Mini-Me: CIA Loses Official Cover Site in Benghazi — No Plan B + RECAP

Huh? Deadly Attack in Libya Was Major Blow to C.I.A. Efforts By ERIC SCHMITT, HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT WASHINGTON — The attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans has dealt the Central Intelligence Agency a major setback in its intelligence-gathering efforts at a time of increasing …