Business Commons^™

The Tipping Point: Biological Terrorism, Scott Cary

Journal of Strategic Security

This article presents a strategic, operational, and tactical analysis of information currently available on the state of bio-weapons development by non-state actors, primarily Islamist jihadists. It discusses the evidence supporting a practical assessment that non-state actors have begun to acquire, and in the near-term intend to employ, bio-weapons. A pathogen and method of attack specifically designed to achieve the strategic goals of jihadists are presented as functional examples of the problem of the emerging global bio-weapons threat.Is a terrorist attack utilizing biological weapons a real threat? If so, is there a way to predict the circumstances under which it might …

Book Reviews, J. Kelly Stewart, Mark J. Roberts, Jeffery Ahn, Lloyd H. Hoffman, Donald J. Goldstein

Journal of Strategic Security

The Accidental Guerilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. By David Kilcullen.

Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns. By Kathleen M. Sweet.

Executive Measures, Terrorism and National Security: Have the Rules of the Game Changed? By David Bonner.

Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spy techs from Communism to Al-Qaeda. By Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton, with Henry Robert Schlesinger.

Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels who brought Churchill to Power and Saved England. By Lynne Olson.

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Fragility: The Next Wave In Critical Infrastructure Protection, Allan Mcdougall

Journal of Strategic Security

In North America today, we are about to embark on a significant effort to repair, or even upgrade, many aspects of our infrastructure. Many of these efforts are linked to economic recovery packages. Others are based on sheer need. The challenge for decision makers and planners involves ensuring that scarce economic resources are put to their best use. Understanding the concept of fragility plays a pivotal part in reaching that understanding.Fragility, like many other systems—particularly Information Technology (IT ) systems—works on the concept of subjects and objects. Subjects are those entities that seek to exploit the services (or capacity) offered …

The Importance Of Intelligence In Combating A Modern Insurgency, Kevin Reamer

Journal of Strategic Security

Throughout history the world has been plagued by insurgencies. While the underlying causes of each new insurgency have been different, they are all similar in certain areas. This similarity entails that the effective countering of an insurgency can be turned into a science with a set of guidelines to follow based on conditions on the ground. Guidelines are important because insurgencies are flexible and to defeat them the counterinsurgency must be equally flexible if not more flexible. Good intelligence is critical to the success of an insurgency. With their small, poorly equipped forces, the leaders of insurgencies need to know …

Book Reviews, Edward J. Hagerty, Ed Urie

Journal of Strategic Security

Afghanistan: Transition Under Threat. By Geoffrey Hayes and Mark Sedra, editors.

Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge & Power in American National Security. By Richard K. Betts.

Film Reviews, Bart Bechtel

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Al-Qaeda In The Lands Of The Islamic Maghreb, Gregory A. Smith

Journal of Strategic Security

This paper is organized into four chapters that focus on the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The four chapters examine different facets of the collective environment that have allowed AQIM to succeed and even thrive at times. The first chapter begins with Algeria’s war of independence with the French. The second chapter focuses on the nomadic Tuareg people. It seeks to show how the Tuaregs were deprived by French occupiers and how European colonization cost the Tuaregs access to vital trade routes used for centuries. The third chapter will very briefly examine Algeria’s …

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, And The War On Terrorism, Thomas Byron Hunter

Journal of Strategic Security

This paper assesses the parameters and utility of “targeted killing” in combating terrorism and its role within the norm of state self-defense in the international community. The author’s thesis is that, while targeted killing provides states with a method of combating terrorism, and while it is “effective” on a number of levels, it is inherently limited and not a panacea. The adoption and execution of such a program brings with it, among other potential pitfalls, political repercussions. Targeted killing is defined herein as the premeditated, preemptive, and intentional killing of an individual or individuals known or believed to represent a …

Dividing Up Intelligence Education, Robert Clark, Ph.D

Journal of Strategic Security

At this year's annual conference of the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) in Monterey, CA, the keynote speaker posed the question, "How much do you need intelligence education outside the beltway?" Which led to a second question discussed during the conference: "What should such education look like?" In short, what should we be teaching in universities? What should we leave to the intelligence community as training? And what could be done in either or both settings? The first question of any educational effort is:What are we preparing students for?

Short Takes: Intelligence-Service Psychology: A German Perspective, Sven Max Litzcke, Helmut Müller-Enbergs

Journal of Strategic Security

To date, four German volumes in the series "Intelligence-Service Psychology" (Nachrichtendienstpsychologie) have been published. These volumes generated interest in both the German and non-German speaking communities. It was therefore decided to translate some of the basic articles of the series into English (Litzcke, Müller-Enbergs & Ungerer, 2008), making them accessible to a wider range of readers. This article contains abbreviated versions of the articles in the book.

Books Received

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Icworld: An Mmog-Based Approach To Analysis, Kimberly Gill, David Rolston, Wyatt Wong, Robert Pietrusko

Journal of Strategic Security

Intelligence analysts routinely work with "wicked" problems—critical,time-sensitive problems where analytical errors can lead to catastrophic consequences for the nation's security. In the analyst's world, important decisions are often made quickly, and are made based on consuming, understanding, and piecing together enormous volumes of data. The data is not only voluminous, but often fragmented, subjective, inaccurate and fluid.Why does multi-player on-line gaming (MMOG) technology matter to the IC? Fundamentally, there are two reasons. The first is technological: stripping away the gamelike content, MMOGs are dynamic systems that represent a physical world, where users are presented with (virtual) life-and-death challenges that can …

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Strategic Security As A New Academic Discipline, Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D

Journal of Strategic Security

The creation of Henley-Putnam University was an effort to create an academic institution for the purpose of offering degree programs in intelligence management, counterterrorism, and personal protection; subjects that arguably did not exist as academic disciplines when the school was conceived. The experience of two of the co-founders of the school, Nirmalya Bhowmick and Dr. Michael Corcoran, indicated that the training of officers tasked with vital security and intelligence work was carried out by partnering young officers with a training officer to help the new officer learn on the job. The effectiveness of this training depended to a great extent …

Research Note: Using The Iterate And Dots Databases, Peter A. Flemming, Edward Mickolus, Todd Sandler

Journal of Strategic Security

For more than three decades, Vinyard Software's two ITERATE (International Terrorism: Attributes of Terrorist Events) datasets have set the standard in events research for terrorism researchers. It has recently been supplemented by the DOTS (Data on Terrorist Subjects) biographies project, which covers all terrorists, supporters, and other individuals mentioned in the ITERATE project.

Book Reviews, Bart Bechtel, Jeffrey Ahn

Journal of Strategic Security

Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying. By James M. Olson.

The Corporate Spy: Industrial Espionage and Counterintelligence inthe Multinational Enterprise with Case Studies (Abridged Version) by Edward M. Roche.