PODCAST: Broken Mirrors, Episode 1

"Nil terribile nisi ipse timor" In this episode, Tom Quiggin and I take a hard, realist look at the concept, and tactic, of terrorism. In the first segment, we look at how the tactic of terrorism is structured, and how it can, and has, been employed. At the strategic level, terrorist attacks are both rational and embedded within a narrative that supports and justifies them. In the second segment, we look at the operational processes of a terrorist campaign. In particular, we look at how the responses to terrorist attacks can actually serve the purposes of the group using the tactics of terrorism. In the third segment, we talk with Mubin Shaik who helped to crack one of the major domestic terrorist plots in Canada (the Toronto 18), and is now involved in studying and working in the area of deradicalization. For the full show notes for this podcast, check out brokenmirrors.ca. Marc Tyrrell is an anthropologist teaching at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). He is a Senior Research Fellow with the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies.

31 Okt 201349min

In this podcast, we take a look at a rarely discussed, structural vulnerability in advanced societies: the payments and settlements system. We first put this system in the historical context of economic warfare, then look at some potential forms of attacks, followed by a discussion with Michelle Couturier about possible local defensive measures. The vulnerability of the advanced economies to economic warfare attacks is increasing as we use primarily fiat currencies, the largest part of which exist in digital formats only with little to no reserves. At the same time, we have allowed the functioning of our local, national and international economies to migrate over at a complex network of computer systems of dubious heritage and stability. The central nervous system of our economy is now the international payments and settlements which is jointly run by a series of Central Banks and Financial Institutes. We focus the discussion on a simple proposition: what bankers are allowing to happen (consciously or not) at Central Banks and Financial Institutions (FIs) is far more fearsome than what terrorists have planned in the past. A failure of their jointly operated payments and settlements system would do more systemic damage to the advanced economies than any terrorist attack has done to date. This failure could result from an exterior attack by a state or group, an insider threat, or from technical failures in an overly complex system. For the full show notes for this podcast, and accompanying papers, check out brokenmirrors.ca. Photo Credit: Mike Gifford, Flickr.

4 Okt 201350min

Last night, some of Washington's finest national security minds met me at the cabinet room in the Jefferson Hotel bar to talk shop. Elbridge Colby, William Rosenau, and Afshon Ostovar - all of the Center for Naval Analyses - were joined by surprise guests ("surprise" because they didn't know they were meeting me for a podcast) Brian Fishman of the New America Foundation and Bill Braniff, the executive director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). We talked about President Obama's and President Rouhani's speeches at the United Nations, whether or not Rouhani's election means there is a real opening on the Iranian nuclear program, the Syrian civil war, why the attack in Nairobi has gotten so much more press than the church attack in Pakistan, and what the Elizabeth O'Bagy PhD scandal says about the think tank sector's ability to "self-police." Photo Credit: B Rosen, Flickr

25 Sep 20131h

Last night, Eli Lake of the Daily Beast and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a WOTR contributor, joined Senior Editor Mark Stout and me at the Jefferson Hotel, where we discussed some of the more pressing issues in foreign and security policy over drinks in one of their luxurious Cabinet Rooms: The impending attack on Syria and what this says about President Obama's foreign policy. Is there an Obama doctrine? Does the government keep too many secrets? Why? Since we had a journalist and a former CIA analyst at the table, this was a fun one. Good times were had by all. Have a listen.

28 Aug 201350min

On Friday, I sat down for a great talk over drinks with Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, and Robin Simcox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. I got to hear their insights into a number of emerging and evolving challenges in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, and more. Once again, we were at the fantastic American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London. Enjoy! Photo Credit: Grant Williamson

19 Aug 201345min

Last Thursday I invited Emile Simpson and Kathleen McInnis to join me at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London to talk about Emile's book, "War from the Ground Up: Twenty-First Century Combat as Politics." After navigating the impressive drinks menu (priorities), we had a great discussion about Afghanistan, COIN, and the changing face of warfare. Have a listen! Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk

1 Aug 201333min

This is Part Two of my session with Lieutenant Colonel Brian A. Payne and David Kasten of the U.S. Army Irregular Warfare Center (AIWC) at the Jefferson Hotel bar here in Washington, DC. Did you listen to Part One? If not, you missed out on bands in Haiti, coffee in Bosnia, training for human based skills, and lessons learned in war and over BBQ. In Part Two, Brian, David, and I talk 9/11 and everything (war) that came after. Tune in for your counter-insurgency fix. Does COIN have a future in the Army? Tune in. Nothing Brian and David say here represents the opinions of the AIWC, the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense or anyone else. Photo Credit: Cameron Russel

31 Juli 20131h 2min