Just as the 9/11 attacks hastened the spread of mass surveillance, so the COVID19 crisis promises to do the same. It’s not that extraordinary measures aren’t necessary. It’s that governments always use crises to expand their powers. Mass surveillance did not prevent terror attacks. It may not work against the virus. Here are some links...
Category: Middle East
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Four Companies Making Big Money Off the War on Yemen
The details of war profiteering come from Alex Kane at In These Times. Back in 2018, I reported in Salon about how Raytheon’s stock skyrocketed along with deadly attacks on Yemeni civilians. Kane updates and expand the story of the money to be made from killing men, women, and children. Under President Barack Obama’s administration...
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The Coronavirus Truce: Guns Falling Silent Across the Middle East
From Yossi Melman, well-informed intelligence reporter at the Haaretz, the Israeli news site. The coronavirus emergency has forced Israel’s intelligence community – Shin Bet, Mossad and military intelligence (Aman) – to adapt themselves to the new reality. Thanks to travel bans and restrictions on face-to-face meetings, their collection methods have to be modified. They must...
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‘Electronic Authoritarianism:’ How MBS Rose to Power in Saudi Arabia
A new biography of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), by Ben Hubbard, describes how he perfected “electronic authoritarianism.” From Fred Hiatt’s review in the The Washington Post the most fundamental change the headstrong crown prince has brought about, Hubbard shows, is to turn a “soft-gloved autocracy” that featured multiple centers of power, and...
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Can a Cold War Treaty Curb the Spyware Industry?
From Yossi Melman at Haaretz.com The change tightens oversight of “intrusion software” designed to break into smartphones and decipher encryption on digital devices. Companies specializing in forensic cybertechnology will be affected most. That’s the field dealing with the development of software that helps law enforcement agencies collect evidence and reconstruct cellphone data in criminal investigations....