Hidden Communications Terrorists Use
A recognition brief on coded language, metadata, steganography, obfuscated text, and ordinary digital platforms that can be abused for clandestine communication.
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Intelligence Tradecraft
Targeting, analysis, source work, judgment, and the craft behind understanding difficult problems.
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Briefing work
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Current assessments and intelligence-style work connected to this subject.
The ISIS Blind Spots We Keep Missing
ISIS’s global spokesman reportedly surfaced in a mud-brick house in Yemen. The bigger intelligence question may be what was recovered inside and what it reveals about…
Read brief10 Warnings Buried in Congress’s New 9/11 Report
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the House Intelligence Committee reviewed what the U.S. fixed, what remains unfinished, and where new intelligence gaps may be forming. These are…
Read briefThe Intelligence Value of a Plane Spotter
A Chinese university student studying in Canada is in U.S. custody after the FBI says he admitted photographing specific aircraft and airport facilities for a contact…
Read briefSomeone Is Studying Europe’s Defense Supply Chain
Just after midnight Monday, an alarm sounded at a WB Electronics facility in Skarżysko-Kamienna, Poland. Local reporting said a masked person carrying a backpack was captured…
Read briefWhat the Heck Happened in Ceuta, Spain?
Tens of thousands of people converged on Ceuta after a legal ruling was distorted online, social media amplified the perception of an open border, and authorities…
Read briefAn Evolved Counterterrorism Strategy
A framework for moving beyond group-by-group disruption toward the shared ecosystems, facilitators, logistics, finance, and technical support that allow threats to regenerate.
Read on the siteWhat People Get Wrong About Intelligence Work
So I wanted to do a more relaxed episode on this because I think there’s a pretty big gap between what people think intelligence work is…
Read briefThe Patterns Before the Blast: What Terrorists Do Before They Strike
When people think about terrorism, they picture the moment of impact — the explosion, the gunfire, the chaos. But that moment is the final phase of…
Read briefChinese Intrusion into an FBI Surveillance Metadata System
Recent reporting indicates that suspicious activity was detected within a system connected to surveillance metadata used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Investigators believe the intrusion…
Read briefAI Isn’t Just a Tool — It’s Becoming a Cyber Espionage Weapon
Here’s a couple clips on this: https://youtu.be/xKfVxHyzB3g?si=vtzJPCSu_89apTLv https://youtu.be/JNn9hnPYXa4?si=trayGOQGVuMx1b0m Intro We’ve all heard the warnings about artificial intelligence — deepfakes, job automation, ethical debates. But here’s the…
Read briefTesting the System: Russia’s Parcel Bomb Probes Inside Europe’s Shipping Network
A cardboard box rarely looks like a weapon. That is exactly what makes this story worth paying attention to. European investigators recently uncovered a covert operation…
Read briefEspionage Off the Radar: Weird, Wild, and Under-Reported Spy Operations
Today, I want to take you into a world most people never hear about—espionage that’s weird, audacious, and happening right now… but off the radar in…
Read briefSomeone Has to Own It: State-Level Counterintelligence & Counterterrorism
There is a structural gap in how we handle counterintelligence and counterterrorism in this country. We default to the federal government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation…
Read briefThe Underrated Threat: When a Resume Becomes a Weapon
For two decades, Western cybersecurity strategy focused on infrastructure. We hardened networks, segmented environments, deployed detection systems, and institutionalized zero trust frameworks. And it worked to…
Read briefIRGC Unit 840: Iran’s Covert Global Threat
IRGC Unit 840 is a secretive part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that mixes intelligence, proxies, and criminal networks to carry out covert operations around…
Read briefNext Door Threats: How Terrorist Safehouses Operate in Plain Sight
Most terrorist attacks in the United States and Western countries do not begin with violence. They begin quietly, inside ordinary apartment buildings and rental homes that…
Read briefFrom Strategic Warning to Strategic Drift
As 2026 begins, it is necessary to acknowledge a fundamental reality: the counterterrorism recalibration called for at the start of 2025 did not occur. Despite clear…
Read briefSymbolic Significance of 2 Rajab 1447 in Al-Qaeda’s Homeland Plotting
Al-Qaeda senior operatives and external operations planners, under the direction of the organization’s second generation of bin Laden leadership, originally plotted the next phase of U.S.…
Read briefAQIS Video Assessment: The Ten Seconds That Matter
AQIS released a six-minute video on December 6th titled From Dasht-e-Leili to the Victory of Kabul. Most people will focus on the usual imagery—martyrs, battlefield losses,…
Read briefBlind Vetting: The Truth About Afghanistan’s Incomplete and Compromised Biometrics
An examination of gaps in Afghan biometric data, the consequences for post-2021 vetting, and the risks created when identity systems are incomplete or compromised.
Read briefDeception as Doctrine
For groups like al-Qaeda, deception is not optional, it is a weapon of war. Their doctrine makes this clear. Under concepts such as taqiyya and kitman,…
Read briefThe Myth of the Uneducated Terrorist: How Professional Skills Enable Operations in the West
The stereotype that terrorists are poor, uneducated, and socially marginalized is not only inaccurate—it’s dangerous. Time and again, investigations reveal that many extremist operatives are highly…
Read briefFrom Afghanistan to Mogadishu: Hamza bin Laden’s Tactical Plotting — A U.S. Intelligence Blind Spot
Hamza bin Laden, the current leader of Al-Qaeda, continues to direct the group’s plotting and operations from Afghanistan with apparent impunity. Under his leadership, Al-Qaeda has…
Read briefZawahiri’s Deception Playbook: How al-Qaeda’s Mastermind Outsmarted the West
For over two decades, Ayman al-Zawahiri didn’t just evade capture—he ran circles around the West. His success wasn’t rooted in hiding in caves or radio silence;…
Read briefExploiting Women for Operational Support: Al-Qaeda and the Taliban
An assessment of how al-Qaeda and the Taliban are expanding the roles women can play in recruitment, facilitation, intelligence gathering, propaganda, and operational support.
Read briefIntelligence Brief: The Threat of Terrorist Impersonation of Police, Military, and First Responders in U.S. Plots
Terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and ISIS have a long history of employing deceptive tactics, including the use of disguises, to carry out attacks. Both groups have…
Read briefIntelligence Brief: Sweden’s Security Challenges and Immigration-Related Factors
In January 2025 alone, Sweden recorded 32 bombing incidents, marking a sharp increase in such attacks. This alarming trend is closely linked to criminal gang activity,…
Read briefUnderstanding the Origins and Rationale Behind the 2017 Travel Restrictions
Last Saturday, October 26th, after former President and current Republican nominee Donald J. Trump received endorsements from elements of Michigan’s Muslim community, misinformation resurfaced regarding the…
Read briefEvolving Tactics: Al-Qaeda’s Operational Lessons from Guantanamo Bay Detention
The years that our enemy, the high-value Al-Qaeda detainees, spent in Guantanamo Bay provided them with a unique opportunity to study their captors. These terrorists were…
Read briefOne Year After October 7: Exposing the Gaps in U.S. Intelligence
Today, on the one-year anniversary of the October 7th, 2023, attacks in Israel, the profound implications of this tragedy become increasingly clear. The attacks, executed by…
Read briefU.S. Embassy Attack: The Curious Case of Qais Farraj
Who, you ask? Let's explain. On June 5, 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Awker (Beirut), Lebanon, was surprised by an armed assault carried out by terrorist…
Read briefResearch & source work
Go deeper
Investigations, reports, letters, source work, and earlier research that add context.
Northern Taliban Target Deck
A visual target deck mapping key non-Pashtun Taliban commanders, their networks, command structures, and foreign-jihadist connections.
Read on the siteISIS: Know Thy Enemy
A downloadable open-source investigation examining the organization, its networks, and the threat it continues to present.
Open investigationIn the Enemy’s Pocket: Al-Qaeda’s Lord of War
An investigation into the people, relationships, and facilitation networks that sustain Al-Qaeda’s operational reach.
Open investigationOctober 7th: Know Thy Enemy
An investigation into the warnings, networks, and operational relationships surrounding the October 7 attacks.
Open investigationThe Hidden Truths of Benghazi: Lessons from September 10, 2012
Lessons from the intelligence gaps and interconnected jihadist networks that shaped the Benghazi threat environment.
Read articleOutside publications
Published elsewhere
Magazine, journal, and outside publication work that belongs on this path.
The 9/11 Files Show America Heard The Warning And Missed The War
Newly declassified 9/11 files show that warnings about Osama bin Laden and attacks inside the U.S. were reaching the highest levels of government years before September…
Read articleInside the Taliban Intelligence Operation That Killed Hasib Panjshiri
A reconstruction of the Taliban intelligence operation that penetrated resistance contacts, tracked Hasib Panjshiri’s movement, and led to the August 20 ambush in Salang.
Read investigationCongress Just Admitted A Key 9/11 Security Gap Remains
Twenty-five years after 9/11, one of the border-security reforms recommended by the 9/11 Commission remains unfinished: a comprehensive biometric entry-exit system.
Read articleUkraine’s Spy Agencies Just Started Shooting at Each Other
A shootout between Ukraine’s SBU and military intelligence exposed something more dangerous than bureaucratic rivalry: a breakdown in operational deconfliction during an active intelligence war with…
Read articleThe Terrorist On Campus
A convicted ISIS supporter returned to Old Dominion University after federal prison. The university never knew his terrorism history until after he attacked an ROTC classroom,…
Read the investigationThe Cost of Ignoring Weak Informational Signals
Major crises rarely arrive without warning. The challenge is recognizing when scattered signals begin pointing in the same direction and acting while meaningful options still exist.
Read the articleThe Signals Before the Storm
What Al-Qaeda’s public behavior can tell us about organizational confidence, strategic warning, and meaningful change.
Read articleSources: Taliban May Have Set Up Former Afghan Intel Officer
John Rossomando quotes Sarah Adams regarding Jaan Shah Safi, Taliban intelligence reporting to the United States, ISKP, and the danger of Taliban disinformation.
Read the articleThe Commons
Put it to work
Practical guidance from The Commons for turning lessons into capability.
Information in the Fog
How to verify urgent information, avoid spreading rumors, recognize manipulated content, and rely on trusted local sources.
Read the briefWhen the Plan Stops Fitting
A brief on avoiding assumption lock, training with imperfect information, and building adaptation into preparedness.
Open briefSurveillance of Churches in the U.S.: Awareness, Reporting, and Security Measures
Churches across the U.S. have been experiencing a concerning trend of surveillance activities. These incidents typically involve one to four individuals entering religious establishments and attempting…
Read the briefBooks & enduring work
From the shelves
Books, collaborations, and other enduring material that helps round out the subject.
The British Agent
Simon Conway’s current espionage thriller brings together a veteran American spymaster, stolen air-defense missiles from Ukraine, a terrorist cell, and a British agent operating undercover.
View bookSpies and Lies
Alex Joske examines Chinese intelligence and influence networks through open-source research into the Ministry of State Security and its global fronts.
View bookSolitary Agents
David Goodman follows MI5 and MI6 trainees through a covert exercise that becomes something much more dangerous.
View bookInside the CIA: Secrets & Spies
Sarah contributed to the National Geographic series and its episode examining the hunt for Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah Lang.
View the episodeThe Cormorant Hunt
Michael Idov’s espionage novel follows a renegade CIA officer pulled into an infiltration mission involving extremist networks and political intrigue across Europe.
View bookThe Sisterhood
Liza Mundy’s history of the women who transformed CIA operations, analysis, and modern targeting.
View bookBlack Ops
Ric Prado recounts a career spanning the Cold War, the Bin Laden Task Force, and the CIA’s Special Activities Group.
View bookFirst Casualty
Toby Harnden tells the story of Team Alpha, Mike Spann, and the first CIA mission sent into Afghanistan after September 11.
View bookLife Undercover
Amaryllis Fox offers an intimate memoir of clandestine work, family, identity, and the human side of intelligence operations.
View bookThe Targeter
Nada Bakos recounts the analytical and targeting work behind the campaign against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
View bookA Woman of No Importance
Sonia Purnell restores Virginia Hall’s extraordinary story of spycraft, resistance, and service during World War II.
View bookBeirut Rules
Fred Burton and Samuel M. Katz examine the abduction and murder of CIA Station Chief William Buckley and the rise of Hezbollah’s war against America.
View bookThe President’s Book of Secrets
David Priess traces the history of the President’s Daily Brief and the people who have prepared and received it.
View bookThe Art of Intelligence
Henry A. Crumpton reflects on clandestine service, counterterrorism, and the responsibilities of intelligence work.
View bookClass 11
T. J. Waters offers a firsthand account of joining the CIA’s first post-9/11 Clandestine Service training class.
View bookFirst In
Gary Schroen’s first-person account of the CIA team sent into Afghanistan after September 11.
View bookSee No Evil
Robert Baer’s memoir of CIA field work in the Middle East and the institutional choices that shaped the fight against terrorism.
View bookThe Book of Honor
Ted Gup investigates the lives behind the stars on the CIA Memorial Wall and the human cost of secret service.
View bookKeep the thread
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