14Charlie

About the author

14Charlie offers 8+ years of experience in defence intelligence and special operations, where he had the privilege of leading and managing small, highly-specialised teams in complex and dynamic environments in support of national-level objectives. He enjoys long walks through the mountains to cast cursed rings into magical volcanoes, and occasionally mounting efforts to blow up moon-sized space stations in his spare time. Opinions are certainly his own. Follow him on Twitter @cstrikesback.

Infographic: Periodic Table of Terrorist Groups

The following infographic is an excellent data visualization product created by the Navanti Group.  It was originally published in October of 2012, but is still a useful tool for anyone looking for a good visual representation of terrorist organizations, as designated by the Department of State’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list.  There will have been a […]

The Social Media Jihad Continues: Ansar al-Sharia Libya Opens Twitter Account

According to recent reporting from the Long War Journal and SITE Intelligence Group, Ansar al-Sharia Libya has announced the opening of its first Twitter feed. And how did they make this announcement?  Take a long, hard guess.  Facebook.  From an analyst’s perspective, this reporting is significant for multiple reasons. First, Ansar al-Sharia Libya is the same […]

Exporting Terror: AQAP’s Continued Relevance to US Counterterrorism Operations

Author’s Note: This is the final instalment of a three-part series on AQAP in Yemen. Part I described the operating environment in Yemen, identified the basic capabilities and background information on AQAP, and summarized basic US counterterrorism efforts.  Part II highlighted the success of AQAP assassinations in Yemen, identified several E-TTPs, and discussed AQAP’s effect on US foreign policy. […]

Is Twitter the New Jihad Battlefield?

According to statistics collected in May of 2013, there are over 554,000,000 active Twitter users.  These are people who use it constantly and rely more on hashtags than actual sentences.  Its reach spans across the globe, from your local Starbucks in the US, to the guy tweeting about suspicious activity near a compound in Abbottabad, […]

Understanding Jihadism: Lessons From the Al Qaeda Training Manual

If you’re looking for some light reading or to get on one of the NSA’s watch lists, this is your opportunity.  Below is a link to Al Qaeda’s renowned training manual, affectionately referred to as the “Manchester Documents,” for your reading pleasure.  While by no means a new document, the intent here is to have […]

Gunned Down: AQAP Assassinations in Yemen

Author’s Note: This is Part II of a three-part series on AQAP in Yemen. Part I described the operating environment in Yemen, identified the basic capabilities and background information on AQAP, and summarized basic US counterterrorism efforts.  Part III will discuss the future of Yemen as it pertains to US counterterrorism efforts and the strength […]

End Game: Syria

The purpose of this article is to provide a strategic framework for a possible US course of action regarding intervention in Syria.  The strategic-level framing was used in order to provide readers with the most all-encompassing perspective; while tactical-level knowledge may be useful for understanding various actor TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures), it does little […]

Knowledge is Power: List of Syria Information Resources

In order to stay as current and informed as possible of both recent events and all other background knowledge in Syria, we wanted to provide a few resources that we find to be credible and on-point.  In the intelligence community, this is what is referred to as Open Source intelligence (OSINT)—publically available and overtly collected […]

Syria: Closer to War, Further From Winning

After two years of bloody conflict, sectarian violence, and finally the unconfirmed use of chemical weapons in Syria last week (round two, allegedly), US options for direct military intervention in the war-torn region are finally coming to light. With extensive worldwide media coverage finally bringing the Syrian civil war into the limelight of American public […]

Afghanistan: Politics By Other Means

The war in Afghanistan lasted almost twelve years, took over 2,100 US military lives alone, wounded almost 19,000 more, cost over 630 billion US dollars, and mobilized a massive multi-national coalition force dedicated to establishing a secure and stable future for a region torn apart by decades of conflict and war. A few days ago […]

Critical Decisions: Facing the Issues in Syria

The White House announced last week that the U.S. would soon be directly (and finally, overtly) arming the Syrian opposition, the first step down a road of further U.S. military involvement, challenging fiscal requirements, and other third order repercussions in the Middle East. There are infinite variables to analyze in the context of Syria’s bloody two […]