The Decision Advantage

An interview with Mark Greaney (author of the Gray Man series of thrillers) and Lt. Col. H. Ripley Rawlings IV. Together they have written a gripping and realistic action thriller in which World War III emerges as a conflict between the West and Russia. In this novel, Russia creates a three-pronged front - testing the US military capabilities - in a gamble to lay claim to a rare mineral mine that...

Continuing a conversation with Stratfor's Reva Goujon and Russell Gold about his new book, Superpower!, the two dig into the impacts of climate change on hydrocarbon-based and renewable energies, energy subsidies and even the 2020 race for US President.

When Neil Armstrong announced that the Eagle had landed on July, 20, 1969, the world listened. The first moon landing in July, 1969, was the culmination of a presidential resolution firmly anchored in a wartime -- albeit a cold war -- objective. Far less known, until now, are the many military plots and schemes aimed at countering the Soviets that never made it off the drawing board--even though m...

In what Stratfor's Vice President of Global Analysis, Reva Goujon calls, "required reading," Wall Street Journal Energy Reporter, Russell Gold, tells the story of Michael Skelly, who foresaw an energy transition in the U.S from fossil-based to clean power.  The following description comes from Russell Gold's Amazon book page for SuperPower! One Man's Quest to transform American Energy. Skelly, "an...

There are studies that indicate that the speed at which constantly evolving geopolitical events affect people, businesses and nations - from diplomacy to international security to societies and everything in between - and how much information is available to consume - can make individuals feel bombarded, or attacked. That can cause stress or anxiety and have real physical health effects. But too l...

On December 21, 1988, a plane full of college students, government workers and professionals traveling home for the holidays from London to New York exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. All on board and 11 people on the ground were killed. The investigation spread over hundreds of square miles. The evidence was blown to smithereens. Richard Marquise was the investigator in charge of finding out what...

"Domestic terrorism" is a phrase that has had its fair share of US headlines in the years since 2001 and the Al Qaeda terror attacks. We've all read reports of bombings, mail attacks using fire, biological weapons. And the dramatic death tolls from dozens and dozens of mass shootings. But domestic terrorism was not hatched in the wake of foreign attacks. It predates online radicalization and the U...

One of the most memorable images from June, 2019 was that taken by a Dallas Morning News Photographer. It shows a man in a black armored, pocketed vest with a black cap, face covering, green clothes, black boots and a large black gun about to enter the Earle Cabell federal courthouse in Dallas, Texas.   Another was of sobbing survivors of a mass shooting at the Virginia Beach municipal center hugg...

Brad Thor is the best-selling author of the Scot Harvath series of thrillers. "You can go to Backlash never having read a Brad Thor book before," Thor told Stratfor's Chief Security Officer and host of the Pen And Sword podcast, "And in my book is Scot Harvath, who's American's number one operative...This hostile nation decides 'this guy gets in our way way too often. So what we're gonna do is we'...

The United States has been militarily engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq for almost a generation. For many Americans, those wars have been defining elements of their lives. For others, events far away that simply do not affect them. In what Booklist has called a “searing, contemplative, and unforgettable memoir… perhaps the finest writing about the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts that has been publish...

We’re continuing this episode of Stratfor Talks to focus on true crime, espionage and mysteries. That’s because Chief Security Officer Fred Burton loves the genre and we can’t get him to read anything else! These episodes have developed a special name, “The Pen and Sword”. On today’s episode: David Austin, the author of the thriller: Tehran’s Vengeance. This is the story of what happens when espio...

In this episode, Stratfor Security experts Fred Burton and Scott Stewart discuss the intricacies of corporate espionage risk and a recent column on security by Stewart. Hostile actors seeking to steal critical corporate information will go wherever that information is located and use whatever tactics needed to obtain it. When a company considers its espionage risk purely on where the information i...

It’s been 30 years since a group of young protestors faced down military tanks in China’s Tiananmen Square to protest for Democracy. This, of course, was a battle lost. 2019 also marks another anniversary - one which remains relevant today as the U.S. and China renegotiate their relationship and its balance of power. In 1919, a book was published without which Stratfor would likely not exist. It i...

It's been more than three decades since, in the deep dark night April 26, 1986, the number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant failed. The nuclear disaster released heavily radioactive gas into the atmosphere for days. The number of people it killed is unclear to this day, because the event from that day, and to some extent even today, remains shrouded in mystery. At the time of the dis...

"In a perfect world, the State Department is able to work out the conflicts that we're having with other nations. And the second option, traditionally, historically, is war. So only after 1947, after the national security act was this third option put into play, which is the CIA's hidden hand. So in essence if diplomacy fails and war is unwise, call on the CIA's Special Activities Division." Those...

In this episode of Stratfor Talks, Stratfor analysts, Emily Hawthorne and Rodger Baker discuss what we know about the escalation between the US and Iran, what is not known and what Stratfor forecasts for the next few weeks.  Open questions include the role of Houthis, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. 

On this episode, we’re checking in on the general election underway in India. Some 900 million people in India are eligible to vote in 2019. Think about that. And think about the country’s current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He and his party are projected to win when the final vote tally is complete on May 23. But there are so many issues at play in this election, we asked Stratfor’s South Asia...

In the news over the past few weeks were reports of major cybercrime. From a massive supply chain hack disrupting businesses and ransomware attacks to Israel's military reaction to a reported cyber attack. On today's episode of Stratfor Talks, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton and VP of Tactical Analysis, Scott Stewart, discuss the connection between major hacks, and state-and-non-state-sponsored...

Kimberly Haley-Coleman is founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, a nonprofit company that develops short-term volunteer programs in international environments. The idea is to provide an immersive volunteer experience for busy professionals who want to make a difference in a short amount of time on projects that are actually requested by the communities they serve. Prior to this adventure,...

It happened unexpectedly. The whole city was afraid. No one could see. Many could not breathe. And amid the terror of London's Great Smog of 1952, a different, equally sinister drama was underway. The London Smog killed an estimated 12,000 people. But those were not the only people who died in those dark days. Kate Winkler Dawson’s book, Death in the Air, tells two parallel stories of the Great Sm...

You're fed up. You're considered the world's most dangerous assassin. A lot of people want to take you down. And you still have to get your job done. Mission Critical is the latest in Mark Greaney's Gray Man series. This one involves state actors, espionage, a secret prisoner and a race against time. Mark Greaney sits down to discuss his career, his Gray Man series and espionage with Stratfor's Fr...

Author Michael Pullara spent years trying to solve the question of why CIA agent, Freddie Woodruff, was murdered in 1993. Amid transformative world events, Pullara manages to discover enough to set a wrongfully accused free and to connect the dots of espionage and counter-espionage during the end of the Cold War.  

There are people in this world who need protecting; among them presidents, royals, diplomats, the rich and the famous. And then there are the people who do the protecting; the secret service, the bodyguards, the security officers. But who are these people and how are they trained? And why do they undertake such a profession? Stratfor Chief Security Officer Fred Burton sits down with international...

How did Cold War governments plan to preserve the continuity of power in the face of devastating nuclear war? Lots of planning and a fair amount of creative problem solving. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton sits down with author Garrett Graff to discuss his book, Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself–While the Rest of U...

North Korea has indicated its interested in holding a second summit between Kim Jong-Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has indicated its interest in a summit as well, but when would it take place... if it happens at all? Stratfor Senior Vice President of Strategic Analysis Rodger Baker explains the geopolitical constraints and opportunities surrounding any second U.S.-North Korea...