MI5 chief: Threat to British security is now the highest since 9/11

MI5 chief: Threat to British security is now the highest since 9/11

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct The head of Great Britain’s equivalent of the FBI says the threat from radicalized Islamist recruits is posing the highest threat in over a decade to British security. Andrew Parker, head of MI5, the UK’s domestic security, in remarks posted on the MI5 website, detailed his concerns: […]

Russia expands its diplomatic-military-commercial footprint in the Middle East

Russia expands its diplomatic-military-commercial footprint in the Middle East

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Russia is using a broad repertoire of economic, diplomatic and military tools to expand its influence in the Middle East, taking advantage of the Obama administration’s broad disengagement there. Once described derisively by Barack Obama as a “local power,” Russia is demonstrating considerable interest and skill in […]

‘Dark money’ on rise in Russia, average bribe reportedly doubles

‘Dark money’ on rise in Russia, average bribe reportedly doubles

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Citing an estimate by the Russian Interior Ministry, the nation’s federal law enforcement arm, the pro-government newspaper Izvestiya claims the average bribe this year in Russia is almost double that of last year. Such estimates are subject to great uncertainty but the price of doing business in […]

Slaughter in Tunisia spurs British to prioritize counter-terrorism

Slaughter in Tunisia spurs British to prioritize counter-terrorism

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Stung by the death last month of 30 Britons among 38 murdered while on holiday at a beach resort in Sousse, Tunisia at the hands of Islamic extremists, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his government is taking several new measures to fight terrorism. At the heart […]

Gen. Dunford calls Russia’s ‘existential threat’ to U.S. ‘alarming’

Gen. Dunford calls Russia’s ‘existential threat’ to U.S. ‘alarming’

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Gen. Joseph Dunford, testifying at the confirmation hearing that almost certainly will lead to his Senate approval as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, describes Russia as an “existential threat” and the greatest security challenge to the United States. “My assessment today, senator, is that Russia […]

Mexican cartels using new countersurveillance tech against U.S.

Mexican cartels using new countersurveillance tech against U.S.

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Senior drug enforcement officials in Washington and along the U.S. southwest border have spotted new technologies used by Mexican drug cartels to track their trackers in U.S. law. The concern grows out of the availability, capability and low cost of drones and unarmed aircraft systems (UAS), many […]

New wave of jihadist attacks challenge limits of Egyptian security

New wave of jihadist attacks challenge limits of Egyptian security

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Egypt’s already severe security plight has been exacerbated by an expanding jihadist tactic of assassinating not just security but judiciary officials. On June 29, Hisham Barakat, Egypt’s most senior prosecutor, was killed in an explosion as his car was traveling along a busy Cairo street. The jihadists […]

Khodorkovsky: Putin clash with West protects elites, doomed to fail

Khodorkovsky: Putin clash with West protects elites, doomed to fail

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man and now an empassioned Kremlin critic living in exile in Switzerland, claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “manufacturing” the crisis in Ukraine as a way to distract the Russian public and media from the Russian government’s epic corruption. Khodorkovsky took […]

Were spies endangered by Russia, China access to Snowden files?

Were spies endangered by Russia, China access to Snowden files?

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct The Sunday Times report that Britain was pulling its spies out of hostile nations because their identities may have been compromised by Russian and Chinese access to the Snowden files raised an immediate question: What actions have the CIA taken to protect its spies? Its case officers […]

U.S., Asian allies harden stance against China’s maritime ambitions

U.S., Asian allies harden stance against China’s maritime ambitions

Special to WorldTribune.com By Backgrounder, Geostrategy-Direct.com China’s claim of more than 90 percent of the entire South China Sea has awakened the United States to the implications and prompted tough talk. The discovery of China’s massive sand-pumping operation to create man-made islands in the middle of the South China Sea came as a major shock […]