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4411. From Inside the Bubble

Author:
Sir Richard Dearlove
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
CAMBRIDGE, England—For 38 years, I worked in a world governed by rules of secrecy. Knowledge was compartmented and needing to know something was the principle that governed one's right to know it. Did that system serve a useful purpose? Unequivocally it did. It was there to protect, in perpetuity if necessary, the identity of the sources, human and technical, that provided the intelligence that contributed to the creation of effective defense, foreign, and national security policies. Did that useful purpose in turn serve the public interest and the interests of individual citizens? It would be difficult to argue that it did not, particularly when the overarching threat that those policies were designed to counter was for the majority of my intelligence career thermonuclear obliteration. Why today are we apparently so uncertain about a government's need for secrecy? Why are those who set out to challenge that secrecy portrayed by some as heroes? Whistleblower or traitor, opinion is divided.
Political Geography:
England

4412. Anatomy: Security Leviathan

Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
G4S is the world's largest private military and security company, and the third-largerst private employer, trailing only Walmart and FoxConn. Over the last two decades, the industry has boomed as governments increasingly outsource core security and military tasks to private firms. The British company has received widespread condemnation from international humanitarian and labor groups for its recurrent negligence and record of human rights abuse. Through aggressive lobbying and a "revolving door" strategy of recruiting high profile politicians to fill advisory or board positions, G4S has entrenched itself in government, as well as boardrooms, as the go-to company for any military or security task.
Topic:
Human Rights

4413. Drones: A 360 Degree View

Author:
Neil Jacobstein
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Drones belong to a broad class of accelerating technologies that are increasing in capabilities as they decrease in cost. Driving this acceleration of technical capability is the exponential growth of information. Computer hardware and software, advanced aircraft materials, and imaging technologies such as high-resolution video cameras are all benefiting from lower costs and higher performance. For some applications, what used to take a $1 million drone can now be accomplished with a drone that costs less than $1,000.

4414. Map Room: Anonymous Hacktivism

Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
The hacktivist group Anonymous is a loose collective of cyber activists, united only by a broad philosophy of eradicating corruption. The group has gained notoriety for its high profile attacks on governments around the world and international corporations like Paypal, Visa, and Sony. The decentralized and nebulous structure of Anonymous accounts for its global reach and diversity in targets.

4415. Russia's Surveillance State

Author:
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
MOSCOW—In March 2013, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security at the U.S. State Department issued a warning for Americans wanting to come to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia next February: Beware of SORM. The System of Operative-Investigative Measures, or SORM, is Russia's national system of lawful interception of all electronic utterances—an Orwellian network that jeopardizes privacy and the ability to use telecommunications to oppose the government. The U.S. warning ends with a list of “Travel Cyber Security Best Practices,” which, apart from the new technology, resembles the briefing instructions for a Cold War-era spy: Consider traveling with “clean” electronic devices—if you do not need the device, do not take it. Otherwise, essential devices should have all personal identifying information and sensitive files removed or “sanitized.” Devices with wireless connection capabilities should have the Wi-Fi turned off at all times. Do not check business or personal electronic devices with your luggage at the airport. ... Do not connect to local ISPs at cafes, coffee shops, hotels, airports, or other local venues. .. Change all your passwords before and after your trip. ... Be sure to re- move the battery from your Smart- phone when not in use. Technology is commercially available that can geo-track your location and activate the microphone on your phone. Assume any electronic device you take can be exploited. ... If you must utilize a phone during travel consider using a “burn phone” that uses a SIM card purchased locally with cash. Sanitize sensitive conversations as necessary.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, America, Moscow, and Sochi

4416. Afghanistan: Withdrawal Lessons

Author:
Jack Devine and Whitney Kassel
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
The withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan in 2014 is likely to be followed by a civil war between a predominantly non-Pashtun security apparatus and Pakistan-backed Taliban forces. As we confront this reality, we would be wise to look closely at the experience of the Soviet Union following its occupation of Afghanistan in the late 1980s. The prime lessons from that ill-fated moment are the need to provide continued economic and military support to the leadership in Kabul and to obtain the support of Pakistan, while maintaining sufficient intelligence and covert action infrastructure on both sides of the frontier the two countries share. A sustainable relationship with Pakistan is critical today because of the country's important role in any political solution in Afghanistan and the significant risks to the international community posed by Pakistan's own instability.
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Taliban

4417. In His Own Words: Jordan's Security BackboneThe Thoughts of His Majesty King AbdulahII of Jordan

Author:
Abdullah Hussein II
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Since the creation of the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the monarchs King Hussein and his son, the current ruler King Abdullah II, have presided over a nation that has served as a model of tranquility and security, moving steadily toward an increasingly democratic system of government. As turmoil has shaken all its neighbors, the royal family has managed to guard its sovereignty and independence. King Abdullah II, described as the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad, ascended the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom on the death of his father in February 1999. Educated in the United States and Britain, after training at the British military academy at Sandhurst, he served as a major general in the Jordanian Army. During his 14-year reign, the kingdom's economy has flourished, and he has played a major role in encouraging an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. World Policy Journal editors asked His Majesty to illuminate, in his own words, the roots of Jordan's extraordinary record of security and democracy and the unique challenges posed by the complex neighborhood where his nation finds itself.
Political Geography:
Britain, United States, and Jordan

4418. La Cienega: Ecuador's Childless Village

Author:
Santiago Arcos Veintimilla
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
LA CIENEGA, Ecuador—This is the last town in Ecuador without children. The youngest of the 11 remaining villagers is Geronomio. He is 63 years old, while the oldest is 98, which means their village is destined to become a ghost town. In the mid-1970s, a five-year drought combined with a lack of work and the promise of wealth in the big cities led every young person in La Cienega to move out of town. They left behind the elderly, those unable to move, and residents who refused to change their lifestyles.

4419. Latin Justice: A New Look

Author:
Thea Johnson
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
QUITO, Ecuador—The prosecutor stands to deliver her opening statement in the case. She wears a tight, electric-blue dress that comes to mid-thigh. Standing on her matching stiletto heels, she turns toward the three-judge panel at the front of the room and lays out her case against the defendant. The defendant, she begins, had cut down an ancient and valuable tree, thereby committing a crime against the property owner and the state. Her opening statment is short, mostly read from the page in front of her. The judges, two middle-aged men and a young woman in her early 30s, listen intently from their seats behind a folding table. They face the audience, crammed into two narrow rows at the back of the room, and are flanked to the left by the prosecution team and to the right by the defendant and his lawyer, all seated at creaky folding tables. The defendant- a dark-skinned, middle-aged man in a short-sleeve button-down blue shirt-sits listlessly, his arms folded across his chest. His lawyer takes occasional notes during the opening statement, but mostly looks down at the thin binder before him. Everyone in the room-audience, judges, and lawyers-sits in folding chairs. Next to the judges is the clerk of the court at a computer. Besides that, the room is barren.

4420. Don't Shoot the Ambulance: Medicine in the Crossfire

Author:
Jason Cone and Françoise Duroch
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
LANKIEN, South Sudan—The wounded started arriving in the evening. A rusted-out pick-up truck dropped off four young men with gunshot wounds, two with life-threatening wounds to the abdomen and the others with leg injuries, at the 100-bed Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital here. Just hours earlier, the hospital's team and local residents had been playing volleyball as the sun began to set on a 106-degree day.
Political Geography:
South Sudan