9/11: an intelligence failure and its consequences

On the tenth anniversary of September 11, Professor Anthony Glees reflects on the intelligence failures and their consequences that led to 9/11

Our Right to be Safe Trumps Press Right to Free Speech

Several media companies in the UK are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the appeal of the decision to keep them out of the courtroom in which two suspected terrorists will face trial. Anthony Glees is a professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham and directs its Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS). He argues that camera access to trials should be restricted when the cases deal with national security issue

Europe’s response to the NSA spying scandal has been a substantial overreaction

Allegations surrounding the activities of the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) have provoked controversy in several European countries. Anthony Glees argues that the European response to the scandal has been largely overstated, in part because it overlooks the existing limits within which intelligence agencies operate. He writes that good intelligence gathering has generally produced positive effects in western countries, and that the most damaging actions have been conducted by those responsible for publishing the allegations

The Current Challenges to UK National Security and How They Might be Addressed

This article offers a qualitative assessment of the current major security challenges facing the UK, as of the first half of 2017. It argues that to address their increased number, the UK’s intelligence-led security community must not only be expanded in terms of size but also of reach. It should seek to generate better actionable intelligence, chiefly but not exclusively from electronic sources, and exploit it more effectively. Intelligence should also be deployed to assist in preventing young British Muslims from being drawn into terrorism. Whilst recognising that good intelligence by itself cannot deliver total security, itself an unrealisable aim, and that many other measures are needed to keep any country as safe as possible, the article concludes that intelligence, and intelligence-led security activity is the best single means of keeping democracies as safe as possible from terrorism whether it is of the Islamist or any other variet

Book Reviews

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Intelligence Studies, Universities and Security

This article offers a critical assessment of academic intelligence studies in higher education. It argues that universities (and academics) should value this subject far more highly than they currently do. Doing so will enhance better public understanding of an increasingly important and unique device in modern governance. It will also improve the quality of intelligence activity by raising awareness of both good and bad practice, encourage lawfulness by means of public understanding and so defending a vital public service from ill-informed attacks in today’s conflicted world. This, rather than training potential officers, should be the primary purpose of intelligence studies

Expression of Genes from Pseudomonas 20ei1 for Possible Control of Fungi and Cyanobacteria

Some fungi, such as Aspergillus, can cause significant economic losses in food production and produce mycotoxins that are carcinogenic to humans. Similarly, certain cyanobacteria, which are often present in harmful algal blooms, can kill animals and also produce toxins that are harmful to humans. The goal of this study was to determine if living Pseudomonas 20ei1 bacteria and their cell-free extracts inhibit the growth of Aspergillus nidulans and cyanobacteria. Plating experiments were performed to assess growth inhibition. In plating assays, both live P. 20ei1 bacteria and their cell-free extracts showed inhibition of A. nidulans and cyanobacteria. However, the cell-free extracts consistently produced clearer zones of inhibition for the fungus and bacteria. Molecular techniques, including cDNA synthesis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) procedures, were performed to find correlations between gene expression and growth inhibition in monocultures and co-cultures. Preliminary results indicated differential gene expression related to iron accumulation. Specifically, qPCR experiments showed pyochelin, a gene in Pseudomonas 20ei1 involved in iron accumulation with siderophores, was expressed at elevated levels in a co-culture with live P. 20ei1 and A. nidulans. The next steps of research will be to continue studies of extracts and gene expression