When it comes to terrorism, US foreign policy, US military operations, the true nature of Islam and the extent of Islamic radicalization, there are no shortages of opinions. As a survivor of the 9/11 attacks and a former US soldier, I certainly had my own. But when it came to discussing Islam intelligently, I had more questions than answers. Frustratingly, most interviews I’ve … [Read more...]
Why A New Organization Is Needed Within The Intelligence Community
Why A New Organization Is Needed Within The Intelligence Community by Kerry Patton “If you look back today over the last 25 years, it is a fact that we have had a progressive degeneration of our intelligence community in general; in particular in the field of human intelligence.” —Paul Bremmer _____ After the heinous attacks against the United States on 9-11-2001, the US … [Read more...]
Don’t Fear Islam, Fear “Prislam”
Don't Fear Islam, Fear "Prislam" by Christopher Paul MeyerIn the wake of continued ISIS threats, the country is understandably concerned about when and where ISIS will strike in the US. Especially when there are 900 active investigations into ISIS-related activity in all 50 states. But since I gave away my Magic 8 ball when I was seven, my guess is as good as yours when … [Read more...]
Special Forces, Entrepreneurship: The P.A.C.E. Business Plan
To quote one of my more colorful and influential Special Forces instructors during the train up for SF selection, who we will call ‘Mike’, “Have a plan. And have a plan for your plan... because you are ignorant and your first plan sucks.”In the old days of Silicon Valley it was required to have a detailed business plan before pursuing external investment. However, in … [Read more...]
This Week’s “Under the Radar” Global News
Folks,I remember when System of a Down released, “B.Y.OB.” I remember driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, tanned from a day at the beach and a belly full of surf and turf while Serge Tankian screamed, “And we all live in a fascist nation!” That was 2006. I remember thinking I liked SOAD more for their music than for their astute grasp of political philosophy. On that … [Read more...]
The Ugly Truth About Torture
Morals are a construct. We are not born with them, we learn them based on societal agreed upon rules. We evaluate our standards against what is common. Morals change; what is acceptable today is unacceptable or not tomorrow and so forth.Before you get all riled up about whether or not someone was bent around the edges a bit in order to coerce information from … [Read more...]
A Green Beret “Red Teams” A Terrorist Attack on America (Part 3)
Editor's Note: This is the third of a three-part series on this subject. Make sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 in order to have a full sense of this story. _____ Most Dangerous Course of Action (MDCOA) Take Out the Power GridIs it a realistic and legitimate threat, or conspiracy nut's unrealistic pipe dream? A report in 2012 from the National Research Council's: … [Read more...]
A Green Beret “Red Teams” A Terrorist Attack On America (Part 2)
Editor's Note: This is the second of a three-part series. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 3 in order to have a full sense of this article. _____Type of Attack: Organized State/Non-State Sponsored AttackThe list of enemies of the United States is a long one, and many, if the right opportunity presented itself, would not hesitate to attempt to do us harm. From … [Read more...]
A Green Beret “Red Teams” a Terrorist Attack on the US (Part 1)
This is Part 1 of a three-part series by former Special Forces soldier Loren Schofield. _____ As a Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant (18 Fox), it is part of the job to understand the enemy and learn everything you can about him so you can try to predict what they will do. Part of this is playing Red Team during Course of Action (COA) development, and some of it comes into … [Read more...]
National Security: Americans Can’t Handle the Truth?
American citizens do not have an inherent, unrestricted right to know what the government does in the shadows on their behalf, and no amount of fist-shaking will grant them access to classified information without a bona fide need to know. The government has a responsibility to safeguard secrets; if the American public knows something, then the enemy knows it. The importance of … [Read more...]