Intelligence Analyses
Dedicated to the independent development of intelligence analysis to identify trends and predict intent in both national politics and international security.
International Security & National Political Trends
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My Fiction
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China's Growing Military Influence in Central AsiaSummary: Since coming to power, Chinese President Xi Jinping has embarked on a campaign to enhance the country’s military prowess. This has been carried out by pursuing a two-pronged strategy. On one hand, China has been investing heavily in its military infrastructure by modernizing its technological capabilities with more state-of-the-art equipment. At the same time, they have been building their influence by expanding their place as a military power in Asia, particularly Central Asia, replacing Russia as the dominant hegemon in the region.
Private Organizations Fighting in North Korea and the Ramifications it has for the US
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A driven DEA agent.
A war-hardened mercenary. A deadly target. ___ Do you love realistic military action? Then my latest Gun-for-Hire Thriller is for you! A drug lord with a powerful secret… Alvaro Gutiérrez is the most dangerous drug trafficker in Mexico, the head of a vast criminal network that DEA special agent Rainn Darson has vowed to bring down. Yet, despite her best efforts, her superiors have refused to make him a priority. That is until the mutilated body of a British soldier washes up on the shore at Veracruz. Now, all fingers point to Gutiérrez, bringing the drug boss to the attention of both the White House and Downing Street. Darson is sent to Mexico to lead a joint agency task force to find Gutiérrez and get him extradited onto U.S. soil. But Gutiérrez holds a dangerous secret, one that, if revealed, could shake the very foundations of the U.S. government. Just outside of Langley, four influential men gather for a discrete meeting and come to one conclusion ─ Gutiérrez has to be eliminated. They hire ex-Foreign Legionnaire turned mercenary, Devon Crane, to find and assassinate Gutiérrez before he falls into the hands of the authorities. Across South America, Crane and his band of mercenaries wage a vicious guerrilla campaign against Gutiérrez’s organization, while Darson and her team struggle to find evidence that could bring Gutiérrez to justice…and they aren’t the only parties willing to take extreme measures to win this prize. Join J.E. Higgins — author of The Sauwa Catcher Series and The Montevideo Game — on this action-packed race to a deadly finish. NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! Are you ready for more Sauwa?
Because she's ready for you... Sauwa has lost her freedom.
She's about to lose her life... Finding herself in the forced employ of international arms trafficker Andre Valikov, Sauwa Catcher uses her unique skillset to oversee weapons deals with his more volatile clients. A dangerous job, for sure, but nothing Sauwa can’t handle. That is until Valikov loans Sauwa to an old comrade for what can only be called a suicide mission. Her new objective--together with a team of freelance mercenaries--is to stop an arms transfer that could have far reaching political implications. Now embroiled in a covert war waged on the streets of the paradise island of Cyprus, Sauwa and her teammates will encounter renagade gun dealers, rival mercenaries, and powerful forces at work behind the scenes. Will her lethal training and experience be enough to complete her mission and get her out of the island paradise alive? Cyprus Rage: Book 3 of the Sauwa Catcher Series is live on Amazon! Thank you, Shayne at Wicked Good Book Covers
for making Sauwa look so good! A clandestine war.
Two covert armies. A winner-take-all prize... Clashing in the streets of major cities and remote jungles, they struggle for total domination of a country and the future of a continent.
A black ops expert from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Colonel Ali Anwar Al Qalmini, has come to South America with a mission: give Iran a foothold in the Western Hemisphere. His plan is to foment civil unrest and destabilize the small country of Uruguay in order to overthrow its democratic government. With the help of the beautiful and ruthless Contessa Selena de Alvarez-mysterious international broker of criminal services-along with Nouri al-Surriman, a Hezbollah operative with strong ties to South America, Qalmini plans to install an Iranian-backed puppet regime right under the noses of the US and its allies. Micha Cohen, former intelligence officer of the Israeli Mossad, has a front row seat to Qalmini's deadly plot but is persona-non-grata with his old organization. His only allies in this endeavor are Kafka Dayan, an ex-naval commando with Israel's elite Shayetet 13, and a group of mercenaries willing to follow an old friend into a dangerous game. The stakes are high. There is no second place. Failure is not an option. The Montevideo Game is a finely plotted espionage thriller with highly realistic military action in the tradition of Forsyth, Clancy and le Carré. Now Available on Amazon! Thank you, Shayne at Wicked Good Book Covers
for the fantastic cover! Her team is dead. The enemy is closing in. Sauwa Catcher is running out of time...Available on Amazon!
She's lasted a year in a war zone, a mercenary hired by the Croatian Army.
Now NATO is coming, her team is dead, and Sauwa Catcher's orders are specific: take out an obscure target in Bosnian-held territory, and get out of the country before NATO arrives and hunts her down. She'll need all her military know-how--and the help of a novice band of Croatian guerrillas--to fulfill her mission and make it out alive. The notorious Angel of Death is now a gun for hire...![]() Out Now on Amazon...
A once reluctant but lethal soldier in a fallen regime finds herself without a country -- alone and hunted. |
The Global Impact of the Iranian Presidential Elections and the Need for Hassan Rouhani to Gain a Second Term
June 2017
Summary: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, is seeking a second term in the elections. A moderate and under his term, the world has seen a softening in Iran’s dealings with the West. A contrast from the policies driven by the previous leadership of the country.
The Rising Power of Chinese Leader Xi Jinping and the Future of China
April 2017
Summary: Since rise to office in 2012, Xi has been steadily and aggressively consolidating his power. In addition to serving as president, head of the party and military, he is also the head of a number of other important groups, including the Central National Security Commission and the leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs. To many, he wants to leave a celebrated legacy. That’s why he is, in a sense, emulating President Vladimir Putin, by giving himself a virtual office for life[1].
China and the Future of Cyberwar
February 2017
Summary: China is one of the most active nations cyberspace. It has devoted substantial money, manpower and resources to developing its cyber capabilities. Chinese cyber capabilities include a mix of dedicated personnel, advanced equipment and cyberattack methodologies. According to the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, since as early as 2006, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been using an elite cyberwarfare unit based in Shanghai to launch hundreds of cyberattacks targeting American interests. China President Xi Jinping has made no secret that a “new model of great power relations” policy means that it will not be afraid to challenge the U.S. and the rest of the world in areas it considers a core interest, such as cyberspace[1].
The Decline of ISIS
and the Failing of Western Intelligence
11/27/2016
Summary: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has garnered the status as the predominant threat affecting regional stability as the accepted face of modern Islamic radiclism. ISIS has been viewed as the primary force destabilizing the Persion Gulf region and the supposed successor to al Qaeda. However, the true threat of ISIS has been greatly exaggerated by the western press, public hysteria and its own self-promotion.
Strategically it is an organization that has enjoyed marginal success in the regional conflict in Syria and Iraq, currently suffers dwindling support, and has largely isolated itself from the greater Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movement. In the wake of all the attention being given to ISIS, what is seemingly going unnoticed is that the al Qaeda franchise continues to operate as the primary global unifier of the Sunni radical movement. Ayman al-Zawahiri is still recognized as the central and spiritual leader.
Further, the growing threat of Shia based militias has emerged triumphant in Iraq and are now pouring into Syria in support of the Assad regime. Perhaps of more concern should be the Iranian government that is providing most of the support. This suggests that Shia fundamentalism will quickly ascend as the dominant threat in the region.
The Continuing Problem and Intricate Role
of Drug Cartels in the Western Hemisphere
10/01/2016
Summary: Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) continue to act as a serious problem of U.S. national security. However, the troubling crisis in the Middle East and the lingering threat of international Islamic terrorism has largely overshadowed the threats posed by the cartels. Nevertheless, though a general understanding exists about DTOs and their activities, the intricate role they now play into the society and systems of government for several countries in the Western Hemisphere has still largely gone unrecognized. Indeed, DTOs are far from vanquished or even controlled and have only continued as a growing threat to the security of not just the United States but the entire Western Hemisphere.
Turkey’s Desultory and Dangerous Foreign Policy
07/01/2016
Summary: The rise of the Arab Spring, more particularly the Syrian civil war, and the ISIS offensive in northern Iraq has created a fresh crisis for Turkey. Al-Qa‘ida-related groups have carried out several terror attacks in that country in the past and continue to do so. Based on this perspective, Turkey has already seemed more willing to work with the United States to marginalize al-Qa‘ida-linked organizations. Turkey has also reportedly agreed to take part in a U.S.-led program to train vetted rebels in Qatar to marginalize jihadis in the Syrian opposition. However, though Turkey has been seen as a beneficial partner in the fight to stabilize the region, its own agenda may be more suspect.
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