Results tagged “Special_Operations” from SpyTalk

The Other Half of Krulak's Letter to Geo. Will

By Jeff Stein | September 10, 2009 7:40 PM | | Comments (1)

What do you call a tsunami that falls on a deserted island?

A seismic event.

George Will's call for troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, which surfaced on Aug. 31, seems to fit that category. It hit Washington when the chattering classes were at the beach, toughing out stay-cations or busy putting their kids in school.

So let's take another look.

Tags: Afghanistan, assassination, counterinsurgency, counterrerrorism, George_Krulak, George_Will, hunter-killer_teams, Pakistan, Pakistani_army, Special_Forces, Special_Operations, terrorism

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NBC's 'The Wanted' Producer Suing CIA

By Jeff Stein | July 20, 2009 10:18 PM | | Comments (0)

NBC has earned a lot of ridicule for its faux-reality catch-a-terrorist show, "The Wanted," which debuted Monday night on NBC.

Most of the spotlight has fallen on the show's star, a former Green Beret colonel with leading man looks, Roger Carstens.  In the show's first installment, Carstens confronted the onetime leader of a Kurdistan-based, al Qaeda-linked terrorist group now living in Norway.

As fascinating a figure as Carstens is, the real curiosity in the show is Adam Ciralsky, a former CIA lawyer who has been an investigative producer at NBC for several years now and takes on that role in "The Wanted."

Tags: Adam_Ciralsky, anti-Semitism, CIA, Green_Beret, lawyer, legal_affairs, NBC, reality_show, Roger_Carstens, Special Forces, Special_Operations, television, terrorism, The_Wanted, TV

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Captured U.S. Soldier's Rescue Unlikely Without Spies on the Ground

By Jeff Stein | July 20, 2009 3:02 PM | | Comments (0)

Anyone who thinks that Predator drones and NSA intercepts have made the old-fashioned recruiting of human spies a waste of time - as many U.S. commanders in Afghanistan seem to think - should talk to the family of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl.

According to an exclusive report from ABC News reporter Matthew Cole moments ago, Bergdahl, who disappeared June 30 from his base in Afghanistan, has been moved to South Waziristan, in Pakistan, where U.S. forces are officially prohibited from operating.

Tags: Afghanistan, Bowe_R._Bergdah, Brightlight, commandos, Pakistan, POW, South_Waziristan, Special_Operations, U.S. Army, Vietnam_War

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Ex-Saudi Spy Chief: Kill Bin Laden Then Leave Afghanistan

By Jeff Stein | June 1, 2009 4:21 PM | | Comments (0)

Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, an influential member of the Saudi royal family and former head of its intelligence service, says the U.S. should kill Osama Bin Laden and then " get the hell out" of Afghanistan.

Turki, who was also Saudi ambassador to the United States from 2005 to April 2009, likened al Qaeda to a "cult"  and its leader to a  "hydra head with venomous snakes."

To destroy the cult, he said, "you have to cut off the head."

"After that," he advised, "declare victory...then get the hell out of  Afghanistan."

Tags: Afghanistan, Afghan_War, assassination, crown_prince, Faisal, hydra-head, intelligence operations, interrogation, iran, iraq, Karzai, King_Faisal_Center_for_Research_and_Islamic_Studies, NATO, NPR, Osama_Bin_Laden, Pakistan, peace_talks, Prince_Turki, Qaeda, Saudi_Arabia, Special_Operations, Sylvia_Poggioli, terrorism, Zawahiri

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SEALs and Somali Pirates: Special Ops Finally Gets a Happy Ending

By Jeff Stein | April 13, 2009 2:12 PM | | Comments (7)

Finally, reality caught up to the movies.

Americans have been waiting a long time for a U.S. Special Ops team to win one outside the movie theater.

Tags: 44_Blue_Productions, Blackhawk_Down, Body_of_Lies, Captain_Richard_Phillips, Green_Beret, Ivy_Bells, Leonardo_DiCaprio, Maersk_Alabama, Navy_SEALS, Obama, Osama_Bin_Laden, pirates, Somalia, Special_Operations, Special_Operations_Command

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