On March 17, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan passed away at the age of 71. An examination of Dagan’s career illuminates how creative thinking and bold approaches can enable intelligence organizations to adjust to changing environments, while at the same time demonstrating that the use of power has its own limitations. It also sheds light…
Category: Military History
PMC News: Eric Prince and His Proposed Private “Air Force”
You probably remember Blackwater, the notorious U.S. mercenary company that rose to fame — or infamy, as it were — during the Iraq war. You might also remember Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater in 1997. Prince had no choice but to sell his company after a spate of shootings involving Blackwater…
Espionage Files: Pakistani Intelligence Possibly Financed 2009 CIA Outpost Bombing
Pakistan’s powerful spy agency may have provided the funding for a deadly 2009 suicide attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan that ranks as one of the deadliest days in the agency’s history, according to a newly declassified State Department cable. The heavily redacted cable, sent about two weeks after the attack on Dec. 30,…
On this Day in History: “No Survivors” The 22nd Anniversary of Eagle Flight
On this day, 22 Years Ago, in Northern Iraq, One of the WORST “Blue-on-Blue” or “Friendly Fire” Accidents in U.S. Military History Occurred. (USAF Photo: U.S. Military personnel inspect the wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter (Eagle 2) in the Northern Iraq No Fly Zone during Operation Provide Comfort, April 16, 1994.) “They came to…
World War II History: 10 Tales from the Real Life “Inglorious Basterds”
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds tells the story of a group of Jewish commandos who go around killing Nazi officers for revenge. While the movie is obviously fictional, there were groups of Jewish commandos who operated during and after World War II against the Nazis. Their exploits are not as bloody as the Tarantino…
Military Weapons From The Past: The Suppressed M3 “Grease Gun”
The U.S. Army’s M3 submachine gun from World War II drew inspiration from the British STEN. Likewise, the suppressed M3 followed the suppressed versions of the STEN — the Mk. II and Mk. VI. The U.S. Office of Strategic Services formed in June 1943, modelling itself on the British Special Operations Executive. Like the SOE, the…
Espionage Files: Naval Espionage in an A2AD Age
U.S. Navy Lt. Edward Lin, a native of Taiwan, speaks about his path to US citizenship at a naturalization ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii, in this US Navy handout photo taken December 3, 2008. Lin, a US Navy officer with access to sensitive US intelligence, faces espionage charges over accusations he passed state secrets, possibly…
World War Two Books Worth A Damn: Church of Spies
“There’s a man who leads a life of danger To everyone he meets he stays a stranger With every move he makes another chance he takes Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow Secret agent man, secret agent man” So said Johnny Rivers in the theme to the ’60s show Secret Agent. Mark Riebling…
American History: The Plains of Abraham and American Independence
“The French presence in Canada stood between the American colonies and any thought of independence. ” BEST KNOWN AS a clash between French and British armies, the Plains of Abraham was also an American battle. One in every three soldiers in the British army at Quebec had been recruited in the American colonies. Hundreds more Americans…
Brush-Up On Your History: Top 10 Forgotten Foreign Attacks on United States Territories
Citizens of the United States take pride in the fact that—other than events like 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and the War of 1812—their country has remained relatively unscathed by wars that have ravaged the rest of the planet. However, the United States is not as invincible as it believes, and it has actually come under attack…