John Sawers, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), shares his insights on how security threats have evolved with the rise of digital technologies and social media. In this interview, he offers a compelling exploration of the shift from traditional methods to contemporary security challenges. Sawers examines how intelligence approaches have adapted to address new threats, including the influence of social media on democratic processes and the evolving global geopolitical landscape. The discussion provides An insightful analysis of the current dynamics in intelligence work and highlights the critical issues facing intelligence services in an increasingly interconnected and digital world.
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February 21, 2019They just seemed like dragonflies, oversized species, menacing and reassuring at the same time. The rotor blades of the helicopters were reflecting the rays of the sun, unusually hot at these early morning hours. Graham Martin, the grey-haired US ambassador, was hurrying by foot to his residence a couple hundred yards away. He needed to get his black poodle, Nitnoy, and his suitcase. Washington had ordered the total evacuation of Saigon; the “Operation Frequent Wind” would try to sa ... -
January 4, 2019If you haven't read Part 1 of Cyberwarfare, click here. “THIS WEAPON WILL NOT BE PUT BACK IN THE BOX” In March 2018, the US Department of Homeland Security warned critical infrastructure operators of Russian cyberspace attacks targeting industrial control systems. Particularly endangered would be nuclear facilities, energy and water. Just recently, the Marriott /Starwood hotel chain revealed that hackers plundered 327 million guest files, including passport numbers and credit ca ...
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December 21, 2018Often described as an “ungoverned area”, the Niger-Libya border is nevertheless at the centre of major economic, political and security challenges. Both the Libyan authorities and the Nigerien state are struggling to establish tight control over this, particularly isolated area. However, local actors who live there are making their own modes of governance, based on individual and so far, barely institutionalised relationships. These local forms of regulation provide states in the su ... -
November 25, 2018Lors du Forum Russie-Afrique, tenu récemment à Moscou, le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères, Sergey Lavrov, a souligné que les relations entre son pays et ses partenaires africains ne seront pas “impactées par des facteurs extérieurs”. Venant du chef de la diplomatie russe depuis 2004, la formule peut paraître courte mais, à demi-mot, elle est porteuse de la détermination de Moscou de renforcer sa présence en Afrique, surtout que le forum de Moscou s’est tenu en préparation d ...
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November 12, 2018C’est l’opération de maintien de la paix la plus meurtrière de l’histoire. Installée en juin 2013, la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (Minusma) a déjà perdu près de 200 personnes. L’application des dispositions de l’accord de paix signé en 2015 entre le gouvernement malien et les groupes rebelles du Nord marque un grand retard. Pendant ce temps, l’insécurité, longtemps contenue à la seule partie septentrionale du pays, se répand a ...
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October 31, 2018There has been a flurry of activity in the Horn of Africa recently, where decades-old political disputes have suddenly been put to rest. The resulting changes have shattered the status quo in the region, putting the Horn on a new path where state-to-state relations are no longer marked by regional competition and frozen borders. While this has undoubtedly been a positive development for the region, one big piece of the puzzle has been the role of external actors in the process, and ...
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October 28, 2018Depuis l’annonce, par le Président Muhammad Buhari, de sa candidature à l’élection présidentielle de février 2019, le Nigéria vit une fièvre de campagne électorale prématurée. Du côté de la majorité, le temps est à assurer un deuxième mandat au Président en exercice et, dans les rangs de l’opposition, l’effort est consacré à la quête de la personne qui portera son fanion et au choix de la manière de contrer le All Progressive Congress (APC), aux affaires. Si la bataille pour l’acqui ... -
October 15, 2018Usually the gray colored drones take off from Dirkou in Northeastern Niger between ten at night and four in the morning. There are no signs of blinking lights, neither on the runway nor on the flying machines, signaling their presence. Niger’s interior minister Mohamed Bazoum pretends not to know about secret operations on a small commercial airport in his country’s desert region -“all I know is that they are American” (Penney et al, 2018). To be precise, we're talking about drones ...
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October 3, 2018TEARS OF JOY CHANGED INTO THOSE OF PAIN January 28, 1986. It was just another day in the whirlpool of news and speculations of a new Foreign Correspondent to be assigned to the White House. Shivering on his way to the most important political center of the Western World, resisting arctic cold and snow on the way to work, hardly ever seeing the President himself. Instead, he found himself on this fateful day in a rendez-vous with Tom Foley, majority leader in the House of Representa ...
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September 28, 2018“ARE THEY PLAYING US? I DO NOT KNOW” There they were, the North Koreans, covered by red flags, and more red flags — a Hollywood production indeed. Were the soldiers singing? There was nothing to sing about since they're marching for endless hours, being scrutinized by cameras and bothered by aching pains of hunger, unable to speak and stimulate their voice. The colonel in charge of the marchers may discover some rusty spot on a belt buckle or a truck on parade may run out of fuel - ...
