Intelligence

Turkey-Syria-Kurdish Fronts Heat Up

By Ross Wilson

Reports that Turkish F-16s will fly reconnaissance flights along the Syrian frontier highlight rising alarm over border security and suggest a further internationalization of the civil war in Syria with implications for it, Turkey, and the region’s Kurds.

The NSA Isn’t the Only One Watching You

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the House narrowly defeated a measure proposed by Rep. Justin Amash that would have dramatically curtailed the National Security Agency’s ability to collect phone records. While concerns about the breadth of the NSA’s surveillance are far from behind us, privacy advocates will do themselves a grave disservice if the NSA remains the sole […]

Three Hops and You’re Out

By James Joyner

Revelations that the government’s ability to access American citizens’ phone records without probable cause is much broader than previously contemplated got Congress’ attention last week, drawing rebukes and warnings from both sides of the aisle.

Mr. President Missing in Action?

By Harlan Ullman

Regional crises abound. Massive protests in Egypt that ended the flailing Morsi government to continued bloodshed from Afghanistan to Syria are representative of these crises.

Roundtable Discussion with Admiral Dennis Blair

On June 7, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East co-hosted a roundtable conversation with former Director of National Intelligence, Admiral (Ret.) Dennis Blair on the role of the armed forces in fostering democratic development around the world.

Social Media: A Revolution in Military Affairs

By William Edwards

With the two year anniversary of the “Arab Awakening” recently behind us, the emergence of social media as a tool of social change in modern conflict became clear. The use of Facebook, Twitter, and now YouTube has shown revolutionary thought. In particular it demonstrated that anyone could arrange military support in an encrypted communications environment […]