ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald  - " The Intercept " - The National Security Agency is using complex analysis of electronic surveillance, rather than human intelligence, as the primary method to locate targets for lethal drone strikes – an unreliable tactic that results in the deaths of innocent or unidentified people. According to a former drone operator for the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) who also worked with the NSA, the agency often identifies targets based on controversial metadata analysis and cell-phone tracking technologies. Rather than confirming a target’s identity with operatives or informants on the ground, the CIA or the U.S. military then orders a strike based on the activity and location of the mobile phone a person is believed to be using. The drone operator, who agreed to discuss the top-secret programs on the condition of anonymity, was a member of JSOC’s High Value Targeting task force, which is charged with identifyi...

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou speaks at a meeting of the Kuomintang party, Taipei, June 20, 2013. (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Taiwan's Minister of Mainland Affairs, Wang Yu-chi, is due to visit China from Feb. 11 to 14 in what has already been hailed a major step forward in China-Taiwan relations. Wang and his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Zhijun, are expected to discuss a number of trade and diplomatic issues, including a long-anticipated agreement to relax controls on cross-strait trade-in-goods and -- according to recent speculation -- a possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this year. But Wang's visit comes amid prolonged political gridlock in Taipei and an internal crisis within Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party. These factors threaten to undermine the Ma administration's efforts to deepen cross-strait economic cooperation and could exa...

Libyan protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against the extended mandate of the General National Congress, the country's highest political authority, in Tripoli's Martyr Square on Feb. 7. MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images Summary Libya's beleaguered central government is again attempting to restart its constitutional drafting process. The efforts come as a paralyzing political competition in the country not only has brought most of the country's oil production offline but also threatens to further divide the country's tribal, political and geographic competitors. This situation is unsustainable for Tripoli's national ambitions. Regional leaders, concerned international observers and national-level interests in the capital and Libya's urban areas are pushing the transitional national government to codify its economic prerogatives and political, military and security powers within a more permanent legal framework, despite the risks of increased unrest. A...

A man in Zurich passes a sign opposing the anti-immigration referendum on Feb. 6. (MICHAEL BUHOLZER/AFP/Getty Images) Summary The outcome of a recent referendum in Switzerland will make it more difficult for Bern to maintain the balance between European integration and independence. Though not a member of the European Union, Switzerland has participated in the process of European integration for decades through a number of bilateral agreements with Brussels. During the Feb. 9 referendum, the Swiss approved an initiative by the right-wing Swiss People's Party that calls for the introduction of annual immigration quotas. The initiative will require the Swiss government to renegotiate its agreement with the European Union on the free movement of labor. Frustrated by the selective approach to European integration, Brussels will probably make things difficult for Switzerland. However, the union's position is likely to be undermined in the coming years as Euroskeptical forces and c...

By Pratap Chatterjee  - Imagine that you could wander unseen through a city, sneaking into houses and offices of your choosing at any time, day or night. Imagine that, once inside, you could observe everything happening, unnoticed by others -- from the combinations used to secure bank safes to the clandestine rendezvous of lovers. Imagine also that you have the ability to silently record everybody’s actions, whether they are at work or play without leaving a trace. Such omniscience could, of course, make you rich, but perhaps more important, it could make you very powerful. That scenario out of some futuristic sci-fi novel is, in fact, almost reality right now. After all, globalization and the Internet have connected all our lives in a single, seamless virtual city where everything is accessible at the tap of a finger. We store our money in online vaults; we conduct most of our conversations and often get from place to place with the help of our mobile devices. Almost everything...

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) talks to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich during a signing ceremony at the Kremlin on Dec. 17, 2013. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images Summary With offers of new financial and technical assistance for Ukraine, the European Union and the United States aim to strengthen the Ukrainian opposition's position in negotiations with President Viktor Yanukovich by showing that there are alternatives to Russian aid. Ukraine's longstanding financial difficulties are being aggravated by the current political crisis. For whoever is in charge in Kiev, securing financial assistance from abroad is a priority to stabilize the domestic economy. There are several avenues by which the West can offer aid to Ukraine. However, demands for reform, lengthy procedures to approve aid, the European Union's own economic troubles and required coordination among states limit the European Union and United States' ability to match the financial and econom...

Summary Due to geographic constraints on the African continent that force the use of air transport for military deployments over long distances, security operations in Africa have often called on foreign airlift support. As a result, delivering this capability to African forces and their Western partners operating in Africa has become an important political tool that allows international powers to secure common interests without committing sizable numbers of troops to African conflicts. Analysis Vast swathes of rainforests, deserts, mountain ranges, lakes and rivers break up the African continent, and a lack of transport infrastructure such as hardened roads or rail connections in many parts of Africa makes ground transport inefficient for deployments over long distances. In most cases, especially when time is of the essence or when large volumes of equipment and supplies need to be transported into a remote theater, there is no alternative to air transport. This need for a well-devel...