HUMINT Snapshot: Working Through Deep Cover Roles

SOFREP recently reported  on a few of the problems that the CIA encountered while spending upwards of 3 billion dollars on a program designed to get our CIA officers to serve in successful non-official and deep cover roles abroad.  These problems are evident not only in the CIA but across the entire intelligence community, especially when considering […]

Jed-21: Beyond Counter-Terrorism (Part 2)

During the planning of the D-Day (formally known as Operation Overlord) invasion of mainland Europe, “the Jedburgh concept was born in the minds of political and military leaders at the highest levels…” (Irwin, xviii). The Jedburghs were to be small, three-man teams which were multi-national in composition. American Jedburghs served under the Office of Strategic […]

Sochi 2014: Russia Preps Force of Nearly 100,000 to Secure Winter Games

Note: This post is part of a multi-part series on the status of Russian security efforts for the Olympics.  The purpose of this series is to keep SOFREP readers informed on the latest developments regarding the games as they draw closer. In preparation for the 7-23 February 2014 Winter Games, Russia has gone to great […]

An American Hostage in Pakistan: Warren Weinstein

Last week, multiple media outlets reported a “proof of life” video for Warren Weinstein, which you see above, courtesy of the terror-nerds of As-Sahab. Weinstein was taken from his home in Lahore, Pakistan on the morning of 13 Aug 11. Most media outlets describe Weinstein as a “government contractor“. Technically, he’s an employee of J.E. […]

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 […]

Global War On Terror Season Two: The Obsolescence of Shooters

Now that you can pick up Season One of the Global War on Terror on DVD at Best Buy, we are rolling into Season Two, live and in HD, in dozens of countries around the world. Season One closed out the Mega-FOB and MRAP portion of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. With it, the […]

Peshmerga Role Expands with Iraqi and Syrian Violence

Since military action began in Iraq in 2003, the Iraqi region of Kurdistan has managed, for the most part, to escape the sectarian violence that has plagued Iraq for nearly ten years. The relative peace and calm came to an abrupt end earlier this month as a series of car bombings struck the Kurdish Capital […]

How The Government Shutdown Creates Opportunities To Recruit US Spies

On October 1, 2013, the President of the United States ordered the Office of Management and Budget to shut down the Federal Government.  In addition to hundreds of government employees being furloughed and the Panda Cam being shut down (gasp!), our national security and intelligence apparatus is affected in ways that could hurt us both […]

A Look At The Moro National Liberation Front

The Moro National Liberation Front is a separatist rebel organization in Mindanao, Sabah, Palawan, and the Sulu archipelago (called Bansamoro Land by the separatists), founded in 1969 and chaired by Nur Misuari.  Misuari had previously founded a Muslim advocacy group called the Mindanao Independence Movement, in 1963, to protest the perceived oppression of the Muslim […]

Russian Special Operations in Dagestan: The Other War on Terror

While much has been made over the last twelve years of American Special Operations Forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, and other locations around the world, Russian Special Operations have been almost completely overlooked. What American and Russian SOF share in common is the War on Terror. Both nations have had to tangle with extremist […]