Posts Categorized: May 2015

Anthony Tucker-Jones reports on Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented counter-insurgency effort in Yemen   Saudi jets, supported by those of nine other moderate Sunni Arab states, launched a series of co-ordinated air strikes against Shia Houthi rebels in war torn Yemen on 26 March as part of Operation Decisive Storm. Their first move was suppression of enemy… Read more »

Nigel Somerville discusses the importance of open source intelligence gathering in countering the growing terrorist threat to critical infrastructure   Terrorist groups today are relying more and more on modern technology to facilitate their objectives. Global and decentralised in nature, extremist groups are now exploiting the Internet, mobile phones, social media and widely available software… Read more »

David Brooker discusses the evolving IED threat and calls for greater partnership between governments and industry to ensure disruptor technology can meet the challenge Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to be the weapon of choice for the modern day terrorist; this is evident in the Middle East – and in particular Iraq and Afghanistan – but… Read more »

Kirstine Wilson asks whether handheld backscatter or dual X-ray imaging technologies can better enhance onsite inspection of suspect bags and packages   Following the Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier in the year, the number of suspect bags reported has proliferated due to an escalation in security levels and heightened alertness from the general public. Although incidents… Read more »

Timothy Compston assesses the fallout from the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme and asks whether current efforts to curb nuclear proliferation are working With a resolution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme apparently more likely thanks to the recently announced framework agreement, this is a good time to reflect the current state of international… Read more »

As the number of fighters heading to Syria to join ISIS continues to grow, John Chisholm explores the group’s allure and asks whether their success is a sign that liberal democracy is failing   What is it that makes people in liberal democracies want to move to become part of ISIS? What is so wrong… Read more »

Alastair Henman argues that government and commercial buyers of critical national infrastructure protection equipment increasingly want to single-source their procurement to improve integration, drive up standards and reduce costs The trend towards sole sourcing was established long ago, built on a drive for lower costs, quicker lead times and accelerated innovation. It began more than… Read more »