Showing posts with label International Affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Affairs. Show all posts

Friday, May 31, 2013

INFOGRAPHIC: Syria's S-300s

You may heard by now of the S-300 missiles Russia has pledged to sell to the Syrian regime. There has been a great deal of speculation from the White House and other interested entities as to whether this could prolong or even send the crisis in an even greater spiral. In an effort to provide you with the facts about the S-300, I included this pretty cool infographic from a Twitter user who has demonstrated a wealth of knowledge when it comes to missiles and all things that go "boom":


Water Wars - It Has Nothing To Do With Kevin Costner


Glass Half Empty: The Coming Water Wars


While most of the developing world has focused on oil being the resource that fuels most global conflicts, many groups have voiced concern we're missing a very important resource that is rapidly depleting - water. That's right, folks. The resource we all need to sustain our lives is going away very quickly in some places where conflicts are already occurring due to resource depletion and lack of supply to meet demand. There are LOADS of reasons why this is and I don't want to fill this space with conjecture and debate on topics I'm sure we could pontificate on endlessly. I included the infographic above for you to look at to give you some situational awareness. I've also included some links and the video below that describe the issue in greater detail. Have a look at any of these. What are your thoughts? Do you think this is something we need to concerned with? Is this something security practitioners need to be aware of when operating outside of the developing world or in water-depletion areas?




Water Wars Resources

http://www.mideastnews.com/WaterWars.htm

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/dark-side-of-natural-resources/water-in-conflict.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/06/2011622193147231653.html

http://www.globalwaterforum.org/resources/lectures/international-water-politics-short-lecture-series/

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

HOT: Real-time US Drone Strikes in Pakistan (You Should Bookmark This)

Real-Time U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan

I found this "gem" on a site called visual.ly which hosts a variety of infographics. The data was compiled fromdata from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism which "provides a live-updated database of U.S. covert drone strikes in Pakistan. There are other sources for this information, including New America Foundation and The Long War Journal, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages." This has been the best resource thus far in terms of keeping track of drone strikes in Pakistan.

Why should any security professional be concerned with these strikes? These strikes are often done to eliminate "high value targets" (HVTs). It would be prudent for a security professional to understand when and where a strike has occurred in order to prepare for reprisal attacks on any resources deemed important to the United States government. This could also provide needed intelligence on a subject of interests in an environment where you do constant threat intelligence and analysis. It does a great job as well of illustrating the continued and progressive use of "unmanned aerial vehicles" (UAVs). Becoming aware of the technology and its real-world deployments and challenges, could aid a security professional in determining their applicability to their threat landscape. I HIGHLY recommend bookmarking this page for future reference, as the data will change day-by-day.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Have You Seen Former FBI Agent Robert Levinson?

Former Special Agent Robert Levinson missing since March 2007
Robert Levinson is a former FBI agent who has gone missing since March 2007 in Iran. He was acting as a private investigator looking into cigarette-smuggling. There has been contact with the hostage-takers and Robert Levinson's family. There are some experts who have noted the sophisticated tradecraft involved in the transmission of these messages from the hostage-takers. They conclude this points to Iran clearly. The Iranian government contends they had nothing to do with this. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadnejad has stated, "Our security officials and agents have expressed their willingness to assist the FBI, if the FBI has any information about his travels around the world." It's curious he would make such a statement. What would his "travels around the world" illuminate for the Iranians? Ahmenijad has a history of playing coy whenever the Iranians have ever been directly linked with any nefarious activities. It's like asking your child to tell you who broke lock on a drawer you were keeping his Christmas presents and they reply "I would be happy to help you find the lock if you would tell me what the lock was protecting."

Here's an example of the messaging sent to Levinson's family.



Levinson supposedly met with Dawud Salahuddin, an American fugitive who converted to Islam and later assasinated an Iranian diplomat in the US. Salahuddin describes himself as a close friend with whom he "shared hotel room on Kish on March 8. Iranian officials in plain clothes came to the room and detained and questioned Salahuddin about his Iranian passport, Salahuddin said. On his release a day later, Levinson had disappeared, and the Iranian officials told Salahuddin he had left Iran." Salahuddin then says something that caught my eye - "I don't think he is missing, but don't want to point my finger at anyone. Some people know exactly where he is," Salahuddin told the newspaper (Financial Times). "He came only to see me." Salahuddin is in a very tricky spot. Levinson was meeting him to network with Iranian officials who might provide leads for a cigarette company that retained Levinson's services. Salahuddin can't go into further details because of his delicate situation there - he's political in Iran and has supported reformers who oppose the current regime. If the Iranians did take Levinson and Salahuddin knows something, I would suspect he's not going to say much for fear of endangering his safe-haven. 

Fred Burton, the VP for Intelligence at Stratfor, has put out a video talking about hypothetical investigative techniques US authorities have engaged in since they received the messages from the hostage-takers. It is interesting to note the correlation between the imagery analysis to find terrorist groups via their messaging and the analysis that goes into locating a hostage like Levinson with similar messaging. His video is below.




I have several readers in Iran.  So I'm going to post Levinson's picture and biographical data as well as a link to his family's blog.

header_kidnapping.png
Kish Island, Iran
March 9, 2007 

ROBERT A. LEVINSON

levinson_r3.jpglevinson_r1.jpgMIST photo.jpg
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth:March 10, 1948Hair:Gray
Place of Birth:Flushing, New York              Eyes:Blue
Height:188 cm (74 inches) - at the
time of his disappearance
Sex:
Race:
Male
White                                      
Weight:104 kg (230 pounds) - at the
time of his disappearance
Citizenship:U.S.
Remarks:                Levinson wears eyeglasses. He is believed to have lost a significant amount of  weight, possibly 50-60 pounds.

THE DETAILS

Information is being sought regarding United States citizen Robert A. Levinson, a retired FBI Special Agent, who went missing during a business trip to Kish Island, Iran, on March 9, 2007. Levinson retired from the FBI in 1998 and worked as a private investigator following his retirement. Levinson traveled to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007, working on behalf of several large corporations, and his whereabouts, well-being and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance have been unknown since that time. 

REWARD

The United States Government is offering a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery and return of Robert A. Levinson 


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If you have any information concerning Robert Levinson, please contact the FBI Tip Line at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact your nearest American Embassy or U.S. Consulate


Field Office: Washington Field Office





Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Who's More Advanced - Syrian Rebels or DARPA?

Every revolution starts almost the same way.  Rocks are thrown, then Moltov cocktails. Rebels amass small arms.  And then they get "creative".  The same can be said of Syrian rebels who have converted just about every piece of armament they've captured into another weapon.  Take for instance, their use of cluster bombs to manufacture rockets.  Wired Magazine did a piece with video from the rebels on just how this is done.
The fuses from cluster bombs get recycled in makeshift weapons foundries for use inside Qassam-style short-range rockets. Taking a page from Hamas in Gaza, the Syrian rebels are now manufacturing their own rockets — much as they have other weaponry — even though gulf Arab states keep a weapons pipeline flowing.

Back at the foundry, the intact fuse has its benefits. The rebels remove the tail fin from the cluster bomb, leaving the main charge, and then attach a homemade rocket motor.

They've even started manufacturing tanks.  That's right. You read it correctly.  They have designed their own "tank".  It's built from a disassembled car and uses on-board cameras with an video game console controller.  Yup. The Syrian rebels may be more advanced than DARPA.


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