Section » Expert Analysis
Prison Gangs and Organized Crime
The November 2008-April 2009 federal trial of six members of the Barrio Azteca prison gang was indeed one of revelations: Former gang members, policemen and other witnesses testified to the gang’s inner workings and, most significantly, to its connections to Mexican organized crime. It was the first time this information had been aired in the public
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Non State Authoritarian Movements: The Mentoring Challenge
“I’m more willing to come out when I get my message from my commander.” David Koresh Non state authoritarian movements answer to no one and are unfortunately increasing in number. For those who pursue the American dream it is hard to grasp the idea of following a charismatic figure to the death;
A Millennium Challenge for Homeland Security
Among defense insiders, Millennium Challenge 2002 stands out as one of the most controversial red team exercises in American military history. MC2002 suspiciously resembled the looming invasion of Iraq, as it involved a conventional BLUE force facing RED military forces of a small Middle Eastern nation.
Frontlines of Criminal Insurgency: Understanding the Plazas
Mexico, and the cross-border region that embraces the frontier between Mexico and the United States, are embroiled in a series of interlocking, networked criminal insurgencies. These criminal insurgencies are essentially battles for dominance of the plazas, or corridors for the shipment of drugs into
Santisma Muerte: A Troubling Trend in Radicalization
“I don’t know Hakim. This isn’t typical; it’s spreading. I’ve worked here for a few years now and this is different. The inmates are doing some strange religious stuff. We know they are praying, but we don’t know who they are praying to.” LASD Deputy Faith can be a good thing, spurring
The Rise of Cyber-Mobilization
In Gaza, a tentative ceasefire has been declared. But the war in cyberspace continues. Israel and its adversaries have taken to the global cyber commons to wage cyberwar against each other, deploying crowdsourced information militias. The Israeli Consulate and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) extensively
Can Strategy Be Crowdsourced?
Criminal, terrorist, and insurgent networks have become powerful world actors. They utilize network forms of organization to make fast decisions, cover a wide operational space, remain resilient in the face of state reprisals, and have a capacity for learning and self-correction that many top-down organizations
Criminal Netwarriors in Mexico’s Drug Wars
Mexico is imploding in a series of interlocking ‘criminal insurgencies’ culminating in a virtual civil war. Kidnappings, assassinations, beheadings, shoot-outs: Mexico is gripped by combat between drug cartels, gangs and the police. Mexican President Felipe Calderon starkly states: “It’s a
Analytical Approaches for Sensing Novel and Emerging Threats
We are proud to feature this new paper by John Sullivan: Security and public safety agencies must address a range of current and emerging threats. These range from conflicts, strategic crime, terrorism, disease and natural hazards, as well as the confluence of any or all occurring at a given point
Define “Bigger”
(cross-posted at Haft of the Spear) I don’t get Insight Magazine so I don’t know the full story that goes along with this teaser: The U.S. intelligence
