ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By James Bamford On a heavily protected military base some 15 miles south of Washington, D.C., sits the massive headquarters of a spy agency few know exists. Even Barack Obama, five months into his presidency, seemed not to have recognized its name. While shaking hands at a Five Guys hamburger restaurant in Washington in May 2009, he asked a customer seated at a table about his job. “What do you [do]?” the president inquired. “I work at NGA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,” the man answered. Obama appeared dumbfounded. “So, explain to me exactly what this National Geospatial…” he said, unable to finish the name. Eight years after that videotape aired, the NGA remains by far the most shadowy member of the Big Five spy agencies, which include the CIA and the National Security Agency. Despite its lack of name recognition, the NGA’s headquarters is the third-largest building in the Washington metropolitan area, bigger than the CIA headquarters and the U.S. Capitol. Completed in 20...

ISIS has been continuing its assaults on the Iraqi Armed Forces in Mosul and its vicinity after 5 months of fierce battles since the launch of the operation to retake this city supported by the US-led coalition. A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) targeted an Iraqi SWAT gathering this morning in the outskirts of Rajm al-Hadeed district in western Mosul. The attack resulted in the destruction of a bulldozer and an Abrams battle tank. In a similar development, ISIS declared that it detonated two explosive-laden homes in the New Mosul district after Iraqi forces captured the area. Separately, ISIS forces attempted to storm Iraqi Army positions in Al-Badriyah village southwest of Mosul. The assault was a failure even with the use of two powerful VBIEDs. ISIS also resumed its use of armed drones west of Tal Afar targeting a truck belonging to the Pouplar Mobilization Units (PMU). Despite constant ISIS couunter-attacks, the Iraqi Army maintains control of all points it captur...

The Houthi-Saleh alliance has managed to kill a number of Saudi mercenaries in a fresh series of attacks in Yemen. The Houthi-Saleh alliance has carried out a series of fresh operations against Saudi mercenaries, operating on the territory of Yemen, the Al Masirah TV-channel reported, citing its own unnamed military sources. According to the TV-channel’s source, on Wednesday, the Houthi-Saleh forces managed to mop up a territory, located between the Alib mountains and Najran’s Green Port area, from Saudi fighters. The source noted that the operation was started the last night and lasted until the today’s dawn. Reportedly, a large number of Saudi mercenaries were killed and wounded in the attack. Houthi-Saleh fighters also managed to capture a number of Saudi soldiers, as well as a large number of their weapons. At the same time, artillery and missile units of the alliance’s forces continued their attacks on positions and gatherings of Saudi troops in Najran province. According to a m...

Click to see the full-size image Since 2014, the Syrian Armed Forces have begun developing an easily manufactured and attachable armour in order to adapt T-72 batle tanks to urban warfare. The first prototype of this armor was T-72 Adra which had two layers of armour: spaced and slat. The approach achieved a success in providing 360 degree protection from RPG-7 and SPG-9 rockets for tanks serving in the Damascus countryside. Nonetheless, this armour was not usefule against more advanced anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and anti-tank projectile like the RPG-29. Using this experience, the Syrian military began developing more simple variants of tank armours which have less weight and more protection capability. Click to see the full-size image One of the prototypes was a T-72 tank with a sloped armuor. This tank was immediately thrown into battle to test the prototype out. It particiapted in clashes in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus on February 27, 2017. It was struck ...

According to the Turkish state news agency, Germany does nothing to fight against PKK militants, operating against Turkish citizens on the country’s territory. PPK demonstrators at a rally in Dusseldorf in October (Photo: DPA) Germany does not conduct a serious fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) despite terrorist attacks on Turkish citizens, the Turkish Anadolu state news agency reported, calling the PKK a terrorist organization. According to the news agency, last year, PKK abetters carried out 42 attacks against Turkish organizations and mosques in Germany, as a result of which 19 Turkish citizens suffered. As a result of these attacks, carried out with usage of firearms, bladed weapons and explosives, 26 buildings and vehicles were damaged. Anadolu noted that 38 criminal cases were initiated against PKK accomplices in Germany , but results of the most part of them are unknown. Some 29 PKK terrorists were detained in connection with the attacks. Most of them were releas...