The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror

The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror is a new book about the FBI and the history of its counterterrorism program from the 1972 Munich Olympics to the Times Square bombing in May 2010.  Garrett M. Graff, Editor-in-Chief of Washingtonian Magazine and a faculty member at Georgetown University, talked about his book at Politics and Prose, in NW, Washington DC.

Graff spent more than three years writing the book after authoring a profile for Washingtonian Magazine in 2008 about Robert Mueller, the longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover.

The publisher, Little Brown & Company, states: “In this brilliantly reported account, Graff tells the story of a small group of FBI agents who believed that they could confront a new generation of international terrorists like al-Qaeda without sacrificing America’s moral high ground.”

The title derives from a daily document presented by the FBI to the President, detailing current “threats and plots” against U.S. interests being tracked across the globe.  In the days following the attacks of September 11, 2011, the document was 15 to 20 pages long and was used for several daily meetings culminating with the president.  Currently, The Threat Matrix is the basis for the Obama administration’s “Terror Tuesdays” in-depth briefings, Graff said.

In the book, Graff shares what he found at the FBI headquarters in the Hoover Building, FBI bases overseas, training facilities at Quantico, Virginia, and even at the secret lab facilities and cells of Gitmo. He had unusual access to once classified FBI reports and other official documents relying on over 100,000 pages of books, articles, reports, government files, and court reports. During her introduction, Barbara Meade, owner of Politics and Prose noted that the author conducted over 1,000 hours of interviews with more than 180 people from the intelligence community, including 20 hours with FBI Director Robert Mueller.

The book details a history of FBI counterterrorism and Director Robert Mueller, who took over the FBI seven days before the September 11 attacks and transformed the agency in response to George W. Bush’s demand that the bureau “adopt a wartime mentality” and to fight crime at the level of terrorist cells and secret bank accounts.   The book also illustrates how terrorists plotted to attack President Obama’s inauguration and how that plot was broken up, the FBI’s role in Iraq and their interrogation of Saddam Hussein after his capture, as well as the agency’s role in securing the release of kidnapped Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carrol.

One of those in attendance, asked about the relationship between the CIA and FBI before and after September 11.  Graff responded that the FBI was “overlooked” and was not participating in CIA overseas operations.   After September 11, The Patriot Act removed the legal obstacles and now the FBI and CIA “share too much information,” the author said.  Graff isn’t sure the September 11 attacks could have been stopped, but he thinks that “there were several major missed opportunities that could have unraveled September 11.”

Graff’s conclusion at the event was that since September 11, the FBI has become more global, more powerful. “The FBI is the first truly global police force. Even people from the agency don’t know how big the FBI is overseas,” he said.

The Threat Matrix was officially released on March 28, 2011 at the National Press Club. It was published in hardcover and e-book format.  Graff started a West Coast tour at the end of April, with stops in Chicago, Boston, and Montpelier in May.

Graff is also the author of The First Campaign: Globalization, the Web, and the Race for the White House (FSG, 2007), and the founding editor of FishbowDC.com, the first blog to cover White House press briefings. The author’s background in geopolitics, globalization, and technology proved useful in writing a 666 page investigative book about the FBI, an agency which Mueller changed from a domestic law enforcement agency to a global anti-crime and anti-terrorism network.

My Malta Trip I

In April this year, my daughter and I traveled to Malta. In this post, you can find some highlights and suggestions for Malta’s newest capital, Valletta.

Valletta–The City of the Knights*–Europe’s tiniest capital (perhaps, after Liechtenstein’s capital, Vaduz).  It was built by the Knights of St. John in the 16 and 17 centuries. First, it was built  in 1568, but it  was transformed over  the years into a fine example of baroque. The city has historical places, museums, LOT of churches (over 99% catholics), garden cafes, restaurants, and outlets. Valletta is one of the UNESCO world heritage cities.

- Walk to the Barracca Gardens for a splendid panorama view of the Grand Harbour;
- Visit St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Malta’s greatest treasure that includes the famous painting by Caravaggio;
-Grand Master’s Palace, which houses Parliament, the Offices of the President of Malta and the Armoury;
-Valletta War Museum’
-The Mediterranean Conference Center (the longest roofed hall in Europe) built by the order of St. John. The most important, and historic event host in this building was the summit between Bush (the eldest) and Gorbachev in 1989, which marked the end of the Cold War;
- Valletta Waterfront, which I think will be your cruise liner terminal; it offers a magnificent view and has lots of commercial outlets, restaurants, and cafes;
- If time permits, you may want to go to Mosta to visit the famous Dome considered the 3rd largest Dome in Europe;
- Admire the womanly curves of the “fat ladies” at the National Museum of Archeology;
-Ask questions at the Hypogeum, and explore Vittoriosa’s charming Il Collachio;
- I am sure that part of your cruise program will include a cruise of Grand Harbour, which you should not miss;
- Visit the National Museum of Fine Arts (collections of Italian and Maltese paintings from 15 to 20 centuries);
- Visit local artisans at work producing Maltese ware, and shop local products at bargain prices.

Well, these are the most important treasures of Valletta you may not want to miss, but your time may not be available to see all of the sights. I put them in the importance order based on my view. The best approach would be to start with a walking tour at the City Gate. Within about two hours, you can walk 3.5 km and you can see at least St. John’s Cavalier, St. Michael’s Bastion, the Hasting Gardens, shop for souvenirs, drink a beer, and coffee, etc. Another way to visit Valletta in short time (30 minutes) is to take a cheap DIY bus tour. A circular route, bus 98 departs City Gate every hour between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Take lots of pictures and enjoy!  More to follow in next article.

“MY (CURRENT) DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP” I

            Leadership can be defined as the ability to inspire other people to accomplish goals. Leaders teach by example, motivate, and challenge others to follow their actions. In my leadership point of view, I see leadership mostly about being ourselves and maintaining our personal authenticity, identity, and personality.

            I found myself rethink my personal leadership definition after I took and analyzed the 360 Refined Survey. Using this tool, I realized that there are many ways to define and interpret leadership. One way is to look at interpersonal relationship and processes. This way shows what we understand about ourselves in contrast with how much others know about us. For instance, when my colleagues and I share common perceptions and ideas, our communication is more open, our trust and understanding is higher, and consequently, our problem-solving capability is much better.

           Also, when the perception about me is different from others, there is a potential misunderstanding, mistrust, and confusion in our relationships. At the same time, there are situations when what I know about myself, I chose not to share with others for various reasons. For example, I am not always willing to share my private opinions or judgments of others. Likewise, I would not be able to share confidential and sensitive information I discussed with my superiors about issues related to personnel. These situations create confusion and false perceptions, because others don’t have the same information I have. This is a reflective approach toward explaining the definition of leadership.

Are journalism and advocacy compatible?

            Advocacy journalism is journalism in which a position is openly taken in news coverage and the writer or the publication states a subjective view or promotes a certain cause. “News reports are intended to be objective and unbiased. In contrast, advocacy journalists have an opinion about the story they are writing” (Wikipedia).

            To examine the ethics of mainstream journalism versus advocacy journalism, we have to deal with ethical dilemmas. On the one hand, we discuss about journalism independence and objectivity, and on the other hand, we analyze participation, advocacy, and activism. Based on independence as an ethical and moral guiding principle, a journalist has the responsibility to gather information and to report it to the public as truthfully as possible. But the advocates of public journalism argue that journalism should be more attached to the communities they cover and should work together with the public to accomplish better service and democratic goals.

            Another kind of analyzing shows that a journalist or a news organization may play different roles under specific circumstances. While a journalist can be a good reporter and watch dog, his or her organization can move from traditional standards of objectivity to a position of advocacy. Per Roy Peter Clark (1994), a Poynter Institute senior scholar, “public journalism asks us, on occasion, to step across the traditional line of journalistic independence—to go across the line that takes us from observers and reporters to convenors and builders.”   But, do always media organizations involved in public journalism provide help related to issues of public education, health care, criminal justice, by encouraging citizens’ participation?

            Advocacy journalism is problem-solving, activist-oriented journalism; it is journalism of action, as William Randolph Hearst, who was the owner of the New York Journal, named it. According to Hearst, a journalist of action is “an active participant in solving crime, offering charity, influencing foreign policy and thwarting what it deemed abuses of municipal government.”  I would say that a current example of a journalist of action in solving crime is Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch crime reporter, who claimed that he has solved the case of Natalee Holloway, who mysteriously disappeared in May, 2005, in Aruba. 

            There are ethical questions of objectivity and advocacy. Among them are: Is advocacy journalism good or bad? Should a journalist declare his or her bias? Should reporters cover their ethnic or racial groups? While mainstream media have biases which are most of the time hidden, advocacy journalism has a declared bias, which is publicly acknowledged. As long as the bias is acknowledged up front, and reporters let their editors know about their biases, they can cover stories fairly and in a professional manner.  I think that the integrity and the credibility of the journalist are more important than his or her bias, and that mainstream journalism can learn from advocacy journalism and vice versa.

 

Is Criticism the same as Journalism?

In our democratic society, the freedom of the press clause in the First Amendment is to protect the right of citizens to have their own publications even if they criticize the political power. In contrast, a partisan press system– such as of Nazi and the Soviet Union–can degenerate into lying propaganda with the purpose of disinforming and depoliticizing the citizens rather than encouraging them in the political process.

            Like historians, journalists have the responsibility to distance themselves from their own political views and interests, from their own culture and religion. In our democratic society, they have the freedom of expression and can criticize their own society; they have the responsibility to pursue the truth, to present real facts, and to tell their audience what actually happened.

            The basic questions of journalism criticism are: What is the relationship between journalism and influential sources? Do journalists have direct influence in politics or vice versa? Who controls the public domain? The main idea is that in democracy, the public should have open access to public institutions and resources for information, including journalism. Thus, access to journalism should be open to all citizens (Jankowski, Nicholas: Reflections on the Origins and Meanings of Media Access, Javnost/The Public 2, 1995). There should be a dialogue between Journalism and the public, a “real conversation”, debate, and discussion about the communities that journalism addresses (Park, Robert Ezra, 1941).

            Criticism should be a part of the news reporting and writing process even though the journalists are accused of being unprofessional and attempting to include their own views in the news when they raise issues that the people in power are not debating but rather manipulating them in their interests. At the same time, journalism should not be confused with criticism. journalism should be “reality –based reporting” as opposed to opinion journalism:

           

Which Character Do You Admire Most in Stoppard’s Night & Day?

Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard was born Tomas Straussler on July 3, 1937 in Zlin, Czechoslovakia. Besides his work for the theatre, he began writing plays for radio and television in 1963. Among the eighteen plays Tom Stoppard wrote, “Night and Day” is one of the best plays of our times although much criticized. It is Stoppard’s best drama and a real improvement over his two preceding “serious” plays, “Travesties” and “Jumpers”.

            “Night and Day” is about British and international correspondents in Africa to cover an uprising revolution, about love and death, and about Journalism as a pillar of free society. In this play the characters are emotionally engaged. The action takes place in an African state called Kambawe, which is dictatorially ruled by “President” Mageeba. When Mageeba’s regime was threatened by rebels, Dick Wagner and Jacob Milne (two newsmen) gather at Geoffrey Carson’s house, a British mine owner. The journalists are central to the “Night and Day” play, which is concerned with the responsibility of journalism and a free press. They met at Carson’s house, because they were eager to cover the uprising in Kambawe (once a British colony), and Carson had a Telex machine and close connections to dictator Mageeba.

            The unifying character is Carson’s wife Ruth, who has a complicated and vulnerable personality, is frustrated, fears madness, and has retired prematurely from an active life. She had an affair with Wagner in a London hotel. While waiting for war to break out, the journalists conduct debates on various topics: free expression and free press, the nature of British trade unions, and British Colonial experience. All the characters, including the tyrannical ruler Mageeba, are brought into the debate.

            As major questions about the role of the press arise into the debate, the play is at its most intensive moment. Milne’s idealistic notion of the press is a great deal of arguing with Wagner about the value and place of journalism and the limits on the freedom of a corporate-run paper. The main question is about the role of journalists. If one of them dies in action, is he a hero giving his life for truth or for a modest salary received from a profitable newspaper? Richard Wagner, the cynical reporter, hopes to use Geoffrey Carson’s ties with Kambawe’s dictator and the opposing rebel leader to his advantage.

            Ruth, the enigmatic and romantic character, has a focal role in the play. She is right when she says: “I’m with you on the free press. It’s the newspapers I can’t stand”. I sympathize with Jacob Milne, who was machine-gunned to death–one of the newsmen who risk their lives to provide the public with the truth about the revolution in Africa– while Carson has his business interests. Milne, an idealistic journalist, was the only non-game player and suffered the most tragic fate off all characters. He speaks with Stoppard’s tone of voice reflecting his own philosophy: “But in Night and Day, certainly in Jacob Milne’s monologue about newspapers, he does speak for me. No question. But when the African dictator puts in his point of view about the relativity of the freedom, that also makes sense”. (An interview with Tom Stoppard, by Nancy Shields Hardin; Tom Stoppard, Contemporary Literature: Vol. 22, No. 2, p. 159)

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Buyout

The recent government buyout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was happy news to many Americans. According to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the government wanted to “initiate market stability, mortgage availability and tax payer protection”[1] by showing support for the wobbling lending industry. However, it is difficult to say what this action will mean in the long term. Of course, it has positive intentions, but what is it saying about our economy?

The American economic system is a big web—everything is connected. Some call it a ripple effect, where one drop has many ramifications. Some others, those who are less optimistic, may call it a domino effect: one falls, and the rest will follow.

Because the world economy is dominated by globalization, it is important to think about how the government’s buyout of the mortgage houses will affect not only the US, but the rest of the world. This step will not only encourage Americans to purchase more homes, but it will also please foreign creditors.(2) Because of our huge deficit, it is very important that the United Stats maintains the trust of foreign friends.     

Everyone knows that politics and economics have a symbiotic relationship, where there is a constant exchange between the two. Yet I would argue that until recently, the American government was very reluctant to have a direct role in the American economy. The government buyout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac signals a new era of federal participation in the economy, recommending a huge shift on the (classic) conservative and liberal spectrum.

However, since the buyout, it has been an absolute roller coaster ride on Wall Street. Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and insurance giant AIG is in crisis. I’m sure Americans all over the country are wondering if they should just keep their money in a shoebox under the bed instead of the stock market. However, it is important to remember that this is not the Great Depression—since then, many precautions have been taken to ensure that never again will there be such a run on the banks. Examples of such precautions include back-up organizations like the FDIC and the Securities Investors Corp.

            Although we are not necessarily in a major crisis, perhaps this tightening on the economy serves as a reminder to be vigilant with your money. Americans who have invested a lot of money in such assets were perhaps getting too comfortable, and of course there are many Americans who have never been comfortable at all. Thus, the government buyout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sets off a whole chain of events that ultimately reminds us to pay attention to our money, our economy, and perhaps more so now than ever, our government.

 

 

 Fannie Mae Headquarters at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington DC.

 

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Readings about Internet, Blogoshphere, Technology II

There are many other things to consider in order to do blogs right. To adhere to the fundamentals such as transparency and authenticity is another example. But, I should write some ideas that I found interesting in The Long Tail, as well.

While reading Chris Anderson’s book, I was fascinated about the evolution of technology and its impact in culture, society, and in people’s life. In the earlier era of a niche culture, most culture was local, people were divided, and could not communicate their new ideas and trends outside their geographical places.

The Church was the main institution that distributed infrastructure and unified cultures in Western Europe. The Bible was the most mass-produced media by Gutenberg’s Press.

In the mid late nineteenth century, new technologies such as commercial printing technology, the photography thechnology, and the phonograph–invented by Edison in 1877–led to the first wave of pop culture. The production of illustrated newspapers, magazines, novels, political pamphlets, and commercial catalogs exploded. Later, Edison crated another mass market with the moving picture. The effect was the possibility of linking and mixing people across time and space, and synchronizing society.

In 1922, AT&T and Bell companies developed technologies for transmitting voice and music on the new long-distance phone networks. Along with the explosion of the broadcast mediums of radio and television, the “network” broadcasting was the beginning of shared national culture.

However, “The Internet’s Long Tail” has the most fascinating contribution to the transformation of media since the commercialization of television half a century ago. Technology and the Internet are changing cultures, societies, the way people communicate and do business. Chris Anderson’s book, explains how the Internet revolution creates huge opportunities in the global economy and international markets.

Readings about Internet, Blogosphere, Technology I

One of the things that I found interesting in the Naked Conversations reading was the fact that blogosphere is not monitored, filtered, and that there are no absolute enforcement rules. The benefit is huge, when people can express their creative ideas freely.

There are some unforceable rules if you want to have a good blog, though. Write cautiously and positively on your blog. Ignore when other sites write negative or challenging remarks. Make sure you don’t offend anyone inside and outside your company. Avoid controversial conversations and write diplomatically.

Companies can learn a lot from blogger opinions. As an example, Boeing–which is in a fierce competition with the French Airbus–made innovative efforts to join the blogosphere in mid-2005. It offered test flights to bloggers if they would blog about their experience. Later, the blogers’ postings were very advantageous and favorable to Boeing.

Blog voices are also very important for a good blog. Selfish blogging should be avoided, because it makes a blog wrong. As an example of selfishing is Google’s official blog. Although Google is the owner of Blogger and one of the most respected and prestigious company in the world, its official blog speaks of no other companies but Google. It creates the impression that the company has never experienced anything wrong, but had only success.

World Opinion Roundup-My Favorite Blog

It is very difficult for me to decide which blog I like the best, as I have interest in various fields from global issues, to international relations, foreign cultures, diplomacy, travel and tourism, local business news, and so on.

I have been reading constantly The World Opinion Roundup blog, and I really find it very informative and conversational. This blog was launched in 2001 and was meant to capture global discussions from different perspectives of international news for Washingtonpost.com readers.

If you are interested in more comprehensive coverage of international news, you might want to try another washingtonpost.com blog that was inaugurated this year: PostGlobal. This one has a higher traffic than World Opinion Roundup, but it is under criticism due to a less informed discussion.

The World Opinion Roundup blog is much different from the Washington Post print edition. First, Washingtonpost.com staff writer Jefferson Morley conducts Live Online discussions about the best Internet news from all over the world. You can find more about this here.

Second, the blog is different from the print edition in depth & interactive coverage of discussions; it has a focused approach aimed at developing a global debate on most important world news. For instance, I have been more interested in European news, and I read Jefferson Morley’s posts about CIA secret prisons in Europe. Written on this topic, his entries are not a monologue like the print edition, but rather a conversation on the issues. He got tens of comments on every post he made.

I read the story in the Washington Post print edition but in the first article, it only reported that “the US maintains a secret prison for suspected al Qaeda operatives in an unnamed East European country”. The big question for the European officials and Online Media was about the location of those prisons.

Jefferson Morley made several entries about CIA’s secret prisons for al Qaeda suspects in Eastern Europe. Here is one of his articles. After more than a hundred comments on Jefferson’s articles on his blog, the officials of European Parliament and the Swiss prosecutor Dick Marty moved to investigate the Washington Post’s report about secret CIA’s secret flights and prisons in Eastern Europe, and eventually, they got to the conclusion that some of those prisons were in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and other European countries.

Lastly, Jefferson Morley’s blog is different from the Washington Post print edition, because his blog is connecting to other sources of information like these: “Europe Tracks CIA Operations“, “More on Secret Prison Location“.