A daily, open source, around the world tour of international security-related news.

By Professor Joseph B. Varner

Continue reading "Global Security Brief" »

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Despite powerful anti-American feelings and support for Iraqi fighters, 63% of Syrians still favor Syria working with the United States to help resolve the Iraq war.

This was a key finding from a phone poll conducted in Syria by Terror Free Tomorrow.

Read Ken Ballen's commentary piece from the Wall Street Journal.

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By Aaron Richman

This Intelligence report includes information from open and closed intelligence sources. Not all information is able to be verified; however, the TAM-C is actively evaluating the reporting to establish its accuracy and to determine if it represents a possible link to terrorism.

Continue reading "Actionable Intelligence Round Up" »

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Senate pulls an all-nighter to push for a vote on withdrawing troops from Iraq. Think Progress is live-blogging the filibuster.

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By Bob Jaffin

Tornado disasters in Iowa…ice storms in Washington…fires in California … Snow and flooding in New England. One common feature is that the local police and fire, along with the National Guard, are undermanned when responding because too many first responders are off fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Local National Guard armories have been stripped of hardware and assets in order to sustain the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which means the first-responders are also under-equipped.

This highlights the larger issue of public service and volunteerism in this country.

Continue reading "Volunteers Needed" »

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Timothy Brown, a 20-year veteran of the United States Army, wrote an interesting article for the Global Politician about the shifting sectarian dynamics in Iraq. It's a bit long, but a very interesting read.

Excerpt:
The March 2003 United States invasion of Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, reversed 300 years of Turkish Ottoman, Sunni based monarchial and military rule in the country. The toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Baa’th Socialist Party of Iraq, and moreover, the total evisceration of the governmental structure, set in motion the decentralizing centrifugal forces of sectarianism.

Read the entire article at Global Politican online.

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This Intelligence report from the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response includes information from open and closed intelligence sources.

Not all information is able to be verified; however, the TAM-C is actively evaluating the reporting to establish its accuracy and to determine if it represents a possible link to terrorism.

Continue reading "Actionable Intelligence Briefing - June 25 to July 2, 2007" »

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By John A. Cote MSSI, CPP

In Iraq today the real problem is not the number of troops we need to complete the job there, but rather how to implement a strategic exit plan which takes into account the many complex issues which created the Iraq crisis in the first place.

Continue reading "The Real Problem of Iraq" »

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By John A. Cote MSSI, CPP

President Bush’s New Iraq plan met with resistance the moment it was unveiled to the world. A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 52 percent of Americans disapproved of the plan with 61 percent not agreeing to the increase of 20,000 troops in Iraq.

Continue reading "New Iraq Plan" »

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A video was posted Thursday on the Web that shows members of a well-known and highly organized Islamic insurgent group preparing and launching four rockets loaded with chemicals at a U.S. military base near Samarra, Iraq.

The Counterterrorism Blog has a link to the video.

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By John A.Cote MSSI, CPP

Could a major military strike in Iraq be in the very near future? It seems that all the ingredients have been added into the mix for such an event to take place.

The newly appointed Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has to make a big splash in order to set the tone of his tenor. To do that, he needs help facilitate a rather large and significant policy shift in Iraq.

Secretary Gates has essentially stated that we are losing the war in Iraq and that a major overhaul to the U.S. war strategy is needed to break the endless cycle of violence occurring every day throughout Iraq.

Currently, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is steaming its way toward the Gulf to relieve the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise strike group, which was in the region supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Having two complete battle groups in the region is thought to be a show of force to Iran.

But what if there were other reasons why two battle groups were there?

Lately the name Muqtada al-Sadr has been thrown around the Pentagon as the current public enemy number one in Iraq. Could a major Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile (TLAM) attack on the leadership of al-Sadr's group be in the cards?

Such an event would serve as the major policy shift needed in Iraq, because if successful, it would send a major message to anyone trying to interfere in the restoration process of Iraq.

In the early hours of the current Saddam Hussein. Why not try a decapitating blow to the al-Sadr Army by sending in a TLAM strike on all major players in the al-sadr Army other wise known as the Mahdi?

The first battle of Fallujah referred to as Operation Vigilant Resolve held in April of 2004 resulted in an unsuccessful attempt by the U.S. to recapture the city. November 7, 2004 saw a second attempt by the U.S. to recapture the city of Fallujah in Operation Phantom Fury which ended in January of 2005 resulting in another U.S. pull back.

I am sure with having all those troops in the city fighting, quite a bit of intelligence was gathered on the make up and location of the Mahdi Army. It could be this very intelligence which is being analyzed and reviewed right now as you read this article, which is used to program those TLAM’s in order to make a bold U.S. Statement.

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President Bush released a statement following his meeting with the Iraq Study Group Wednesday, saying that the report "gives a tough assessment on the situation in Iraq" and that he plans to "take every proposal seriously."

Calling the war in Iraq "grave and deteriorating" in their report, the group cautions that there's no clear path to success in this situation, but there's definite room for improvement.

Click here to read the report: The Way Forward
Watch or listen to congressional testimony on the report.
(source: C-SPAN)

Some recommendations found in the report:

By John Cote MSSI, CPP

Many people watch the headlines and see all the carnage in Iraq, but do not make the association of how that war is affecting them. The radical Islamists in Iraq are learning how to fight the worlds most advanced and well equipped military. Each day they engage our troops over there they learn more about our fighting tactics and strategy. Iraq has become the world's largest terrorist training ground in the world.

Continue reading "How Does the Iraq War Affect Me?" »

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