Dr. David Priess served during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations as an award-winning intelligence officer, manager, and daily intelligence briefer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as desk officer at the State Department. He obtained his PhD in political science from Duke University and has published articles in journals such as Security Studies, Middle East Policy, and the Mershon International Studies Review, as well as book reviews and eclectic articles in outlets ranging from Forward to Skeptic. Dr. Priess is currently director of analytic services for Analytic Advantage, Inc., offering specialized training, mentoring, and consulting services to the intelligence community, other government offices, and the private sector.

Copyright: @ 2016 by David Priess – Published in the United States by Public Affairs, a Member of the Perseus Book Group.

Summary of Book

Every President has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found
their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power.

Since John F. Kennedy’s presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top-secret document is known as the President’s Daily Brief (PDB’s), or within national security circles, simply “the Book.”

Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W, Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief.

The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels.
David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president’s book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision-making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character-rich stories revealed here for the first time.

Ruslan Pukhov is the cofounder and director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), a private Moscow-based think tank, founded in 1997. Pukhov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1996 and attended the French-Russian Master d’Etudes Internationales Sciences Po as a postgraduate student in 1996-1997, while serving as a researcher for the Conventional Arms Project (PIR Center). Pukhov has been a member of the Public Advisory Board of the Russian Defense Ministry since 2007.

Christopher Marsh is a Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. He teaches courses on the topics of operational art, counterinsurgency, international security and strategy, and morality and war. Previously Marsh taught international terrorism and irregular warfare at the US Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt Field. And prior to that he was a full professor of political science (with tenure) at Baylor University. Marsh is the president of the Special Operations Research Association (SORA) and editor of its professional journal, Special Operations Journal (www.specopsjournal.org).

Copyright: http://cast.ru/eng/news/cast-s-new-book-about-special-operations-forces-is-out.html

Book Summary

Elite Warriors: Special Operations Forces From Around the World (edited by Ruslan Pukhov and Christopher Marsh) is the latest book from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), a Moscow-based think tank focused on military and security issues. Presenting a collection of essays by leading military and security analysts, Elite Warriors offers a detailed assessment of the organization and capabilities of a selection of special operations forces from around the world. Including countries Algeria, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine.Elite Warriors gives a comprehensive breakdown of the current composition, roles and chain of command of the various types of elite forces within each country. Also included are details concerning personnel recruitment and training, weapons and gear, brief histories and select combat records. Elite Warriors is an ideal reference for anyone interested in the unique role that these special forces play in their respective countries.

“New Horizons of Muslim Diaspora in North America and Europe” is the title of a new book edited by the Moroccan university researcher and author Moha Ennaji. The book, which is in 282 pages, has recently been published by the US prestigious publishing house Macmillan-Palgrave.

The book explores the situation of the Muslim communities in North America and Europe, with the participation of sixteen international experts and scholars. In addition to its theoretical perspective, the book includes an empirical dimension and case studies about Muslims in Canada, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Britain, for the purpose of comparison. Read more

Stephen E Arnold’s career includes work at Halliburton Nuclear Utility Services and Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He built and sold several stary-up ventures including The Point Internet Service. He and his team built the online system for the Threat Open Intelligence Gateway (TOSIG) for the US government. He is the author of The Google Legacy (2005), Google Version 2 (2007), and Google: The Digital Gutenberg (2009). In 2015, he published Cyber OSINT: Next Generation Information Access. He is a Summa cum laude graduate of Bradley University and he has completed work on his PhD at the University of Illinois. Read more

The Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) joined as Partner the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals East Asian Region (IACSPSEA). Read more

Edited by John M. Nomikos and Joseph Fitsanakis

Summary

The region that covers the Balkans and the Mediterranean has historically served as a bridge between the East and the West, between Europe, Asia and Africa. Historically these areas have witnessed the interaction and collision of various empires, religions and civilizations. The last three decades, the Balkans and the Mediterranean region, have experienced a plethora of security challenges. Starting from the disintegration of Yugoslavia to the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring, ethnic cleansing, political turmoil, fundamentalism, organized crime, terrorism, illegal immigration and foreign interventions have largely shaped the regional security agenda. Despite the fact that there is a vast literature that addresses the security challenges in these regions, a text that provides insight into intelligence developments that have taken place over the past years, was lacking. Read more

Fragoulis S. Fragos
(Fragoulis S. Fragos was born in 1951 in Komotini, Greece. In 1970, he was admitted to the Hellenic Military Academy from where he graduated in 1974 in 1st place as a 2nd Lieutenant before joining the Infantry. He served in the Special Forces and served as a paratrooper until retirement. He is a graduate of the Hellenic Army War College and the NATO Defense College (NADEFCOL). For six years he served as Defense Attaché in the Greek Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. He served as the Director of the Inter-service Military Intelligence Directorate of the Hellenic Joint Chief Of Staff during the Olympic Games (2004). He has also served as Commanding Officer of the Infantry and Lieutenant General and Commanding Officer of the Mechanized Infantry Division, Army Corps, 1st Army, as well as Inspector General of the Hellenic Army. He served as the Defense Minister in the government of the Prime Minister Mr. Panagiotis Pikramenos (May – June 2012). He is Honorary Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff as well as an Honorary citizen of the prefectures of Rethymno, Amyntaio and Orestiada. His Undergraduate and Graduate studies took place at the Panteion University; he is also a Phd holder, gaining his Doctorate from Ionian University, in Geopolitics & Geo - strategy. He speaks English, Turkish and Russian, and is married with two children. In 2010, his study on the battle of Mara thon was published: “Without Cavalry. Battle of Marathon (490 BC) 2500 Years”, and was immediately translated into English. The German translation is currently being prepared). Read more

By The Former Director of the Mossad

DANNY YATOM
(Major General (Ret.) Danny Yatom was born in Netanya in 1945. In the IDF he served in the special forces and received a Medal of Bravery. He also filled many roles in the security forces and government, including head of the IDF's Planning Directorate, commander of the Central Command, military secretary to defense ministers Arens and Rabin and prime ministers Rabin and Peres. Mr. Yatom served as director of the Mossad and as head of the Military-Political staff at the prime minister's bureau under Ehud Barak. He was elected to the Israeli parliament twice as a member of the Labor Party and graduated from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in mathematics, physics and computer science. He is married to Tova, and they have five sons and six grandchildren)...Read more

By Evripidis Stylianidis

Copyright: @ 2016 Minoas Publishing Company, Greece - Publication in RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 28 July 2016.

Thrace, due to its geopolitical importance and the composition of its population, will either bear the brunt of the recovery of the Greek economy and the return of Greece to the role of a regional leading power, or, because of the indifference and mistakes of the Athenian center, will become the most serious national issue of the country in the coming years. In this study, we present...Read more

Ehud Eilam
(Ph.D., analyst of Israel’s national security, is a former civilian researcher for the Israeli military. He resides in the United States)

Copyright @ 2016 Ehud Eilam. All Rights reserved. McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, USA.

Israeli has fought many wars since its founding in 1948, from conventional military conflicts with Arab forces to irregular clashes with guerrilla and terror groups. A study of these confrontations reveals strategic and military patterns.

Written by a former member of the Israel Defense Forces, this Book compares the wars fought in Lebanon against the Palestine Liberation Organization (1982) and against Hezbollah (2006), and in the Gaza Strip (1956, 1967, 2008-2009, and 2014)...Read more

Globalytica, in conjunction with International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) and IAFIE-Europe, is offering those attending IAFIE's 12th Annual Conference in Breda (The Netherlands) a unique opportunity to earn certificates in Strategic Foresight Analysis and Critical Thinking and Effective Writing. The workshops will take place at the Apollo Hotel in Breda on June 22, 2016, from 0900 - 1630. Randy and Kathy Pherson will each lead a workshop. Click on Course Offerings 

BEYOND CONVENTIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES

An increasingly uncertain global security context, the rise of Daesh, Russia-NATO tensions and the refugee crisis form the backdrop of the 2016 Security Jam between April 25-28. This global brainstorm is held entirely online and in writing only. It unites thousands of experts on security, human rights and development from government, international organisations, NGOs, academia, business and the media to develop innovative solutions to global security challenges.

The Jam will feed into the EU's thinking on a new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy and into NATO's upcoming Warsaw summit. Your recommendations will be shared with decision-makers and experts around the globe. Read more