MI5 has their Able Danger moment: MI5 is facing an internal revolt by officers alarmed about intelligence failures and the lack of resources to fight Islamic terrorism. To illustrate their concern, agents have leaked more top secret documents to The Sunday Times because they want a public inquiry into the “missed intelligence” leading up to…

If I remember right, somewhere deep in the IC reform legislation was a provision for the creation of an “Intelligence Reserve” . . . Sec 1053 of S.2845 to be exact. I thought of this as I read this latest item from Inside the Army (subscription): In his latest challenge to Pentagon policy, the chief…

I am reminded of some old Army training . . . or was it Computer Science . . . Hmmm. Anyway, the thrust of the lesson was a little math that helped determine how many cooks one needed to make broth (figuratively speaking), but not spoil it. The vigilant Ms. Gorman drives the point home…

(Update below) It comes as no surprise to some that elements within our intelligence services play politics. This is not a new phenomenon, but one that has come to a head in the aftermath of the war in Iraq. Now that we have acknowledged the 800 lb gorilla, what in the world should we do…

Roll the clock back to the late fall of 2001 and remember all the kooky, crazy schemes that everyone knew al-Qaida was getting ready to unleash; bulk purchases of personal electronics, shady characters trying to learn crop dusting, swarthy men talking about weddings while standing outside of skyscrapers . . . we’ve got to do…

No kidding?

. . . gets the hammer: In the late 90s Julie Sirrs, late of DIA, traveled to Afghanistan to put eyes on the goings on. She found out first hand what the Taliban and al-Qaida were all about and even managed a meet with the Lion of the Panjshir. For sounding off against the commonly…

My, my, look at all the Americans the NSA terrorist surveillance program might be snooping on. Where IS our sense of decency? (Update I): Let’s not forget this guy. (Update II) Or this guy (here illegally, but looks good on paper/in databases)

James Dunnigan reminds us that the non-shooting war is still raging: There’s a Cyber War going on between China and the rest of the world. The problem is, there’s enough proof to know that China is behind an increasing number of Internet based attacks, but not enough to call China out on it. It began…

Change in the name of efficiency is certainly an admirable goal, though the language of MBAs doesn’t always translate well in the world of intelligence. The Energy Department is downgrading its counterintelligence unit in what officials say is a “hostile takeover” by the intelligence office. […] “This [consolidation] is ostensibly for better efficiencies,” said one…