A Look Back At The Terrorists Jihad Jane And Theblackflag

Counterterrorism magazine published my piece on the terrorists "Jihad Jane" and "Theblackflag."

You can read the piece below:

Homeland Security Investigation's MS-13 Takedown In San Francisco: My Q&A With Christopher Merendino

Counterterrorism magazine published my Q&A with Christopher Merendino, currently the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Office, but from 2004 to 2008, he was the case agent of Operation Devil Horns. 

This law enforcement operation took down an MS-13 clique in San Francisco.

You can read the interview below:

My Q&A With Robert O'Neill, The Navy SEAL Who Shot And Killed Osama Bin Laden, America's Enemy Number One

Counterterrorism magazine published my Q&A with Robert O’Neill, the former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden, the planner of the horrendous 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the world’s most wanted man.

Robert O’Neill is the author of The Operator: Firing the Shots That Killed Osama Bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior.

You can read the interview below:

Intelligence Wars: A Discussion with General Michael Hayden About the CIA And NSA

  

I covered a World Affairs Council of Philadelphia (WAC) discussion with former CIA director and retired Air Force General Michael Hayden (seen in the above Air Force photo) last evening for Counterterrorism magazine.  

The WAC offered the below announcement prior to the meeting:

General Michael Hayden, a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is the only person ever to helm both the CIA and NSA.

For 10 years, General Hayden was a participant in some of the most telling events in the annals of American national security, and now, at a time of heinous new threats and wrenching change, General Hayden joins the World Affairs Council to present an unprecedented high-level narrative of America's intelligence wars.

In his book, Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, he argues that playing to the edge means playing so close to the line that you “get chalk dust on your cleats,” and that by playing back, you may protect yourself, but you will be less successful in protecting America. "Play to the edge" was Hayden's guiding principle when he ran the National Security Agency, and it remained so when he ran CIA. It is an unapologetic insider's look told from the perspective of the people who faced awesome responsibilities head on, in the moment.

Established in 1949 as a forum for discussing differing points of view, the WAC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to informing and engaging people of all ages on matters of national and international significance. The Council provides its members and the greater Philadelphia community with influential speakers.

General Hayden offered a frank, lively and provocative discussion on U.S. intelligence operations since 9/11 as well as the Russian cyber campaign during the past presidential election.

 I’ll provide a link here to my piece on General Hayden when it comes out.

A Warrior Cop Shot In Philadelphia: My Piece On The Inherent Danger Police Officers Face On The Front Lines In The War On Terrorism:

The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International published my piece on a warrior cop shot in Philadelphia and the inherent danger police officers face on the front lines in the war on terrorism.

You can read the piece below:

Note: You can click on the above article and the photos to enlarge.

A Look Back At The Jonathan Pollard Spy Case

With a rumor floating in news circles that Secretary of State Kerry is offering to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard to the Israelis in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners - a truly bad idea in my view - I thought to offer a look back at Pollard's espionage case.

A while back I interviewed Ronald J. Olive, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent who investigated, arrested and interrogated Pollard, for Counterterrorism magazine.

You can read the magazine piece via the below links:

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Fusing Counterterrorism, Crime And Natural Disasters: My Piece On The Delaware Valley Intelligence Center In Philadelphia

My piece on the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center appears in the current issue of Counterterrorism magazine.

"The Delaware Valley Intelligence Center (DVIC) will provide tangible security benefits for our region," said Philadelphia Mayor Nutter during a tour of the $20 million dollar site. "At the most basic level, any first responder in the field with a radio will have the ability to connect with the DVIC and share real-time information with a host of agencies. This is a key step for our City and region, the sixth largest metro region in the Nation, in preparing to respond to emergency situations."

Located on the site of a former Defense Department logistics center in South Philadelphia, the stated primary mission of the DVIC is to collect, integrate, evaluate, analyze and disseminate intelligence about all types of hazards, including terrorist threats, criminal activity and weather events. The DVIC was established to house all of the region's assets together for counterterrorism, crime and natural disasters.

You can read the rest of the piece below:

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Note: The above photo is of Philadelphia Police Inspector Walt Smith, the Executive Director of the DVIC.  

You can click on the above photos to enlarge.     

When It To Comes To Counterterrorism, The FBI Has The ANSIR: My Piece On The FBI's National Security Program

My piece on the FBI's Awareness of National Security Issues and Response (ANSIR) Program appeared in Counterterrorism magazine in 1997.

I interviewed Larry Watson, the national ANSIR program manager, in his office at the FBI's headquarters building in Washington D.C.  

You can read the piece below:

'Fleming': Le Pacte To Co-Produce James Bond Creator Ian Fleming Biopic

 

Variety.com reported that Le Pacte has signed on to co-produce the upcoming film biography of the late great thriller writer Ian Fleming.

Le Pacte, the French distributor of Nicolas Winding Refn’s competition-preeming “Only God Forgives,” has boarded director Duncan Jones’ “Fleming,” turning on James Bond creator Ian Fleming. 

Jones has teamed with Roger Avary to write the script, based on author Andrew Lycett’s “Ian Fleming, the Man Behind James Bond.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/ian-fleming-movie-le-pacte-1200481541/

Andrew Lycett's Ian Fleming, the Man Behind James Bond is a fine biography and I hope the film makers stick to it and don't try to turn Fleming into a James Bond character, like a previous Fleming biopic. 

Fleming was an interesting man and writer. He was a British naval intelligence officer during World War II and a journalist prior to and after the war. He was a world traveler, a womanizer like Bond and he wrote about crime, espionage other interesting subjects.

You can read my Counerterrorism magazine piece on Ian Fleming's wartime expierences via the below link:

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