I encourage readers to read the FrontPage Magazine interview with Ryan Mauro, who is the youngest hired geopolitical analyst in the country.  He is also a volunteer analyst for Tactical Defense Concepts and Northeast Intelligence Network, and is the owner of WorldThreats.com.

Ryan discusses at length the value of open source intelligence, and how established intelligence agencies have tended,

'...to live in a bubble of classified information, ignoring media reports.  There seems to be some hostility to civilian input.

Of course, open source information is the lifeblood for geo—political contributors of the American Thinker and other online publications.  This type of information, and the authors' previous experiences often provide valuable context and meaning to the events of the day.

Ryan also provides additional perspective about the Saddam — Al Qaeda connection, and talks about key bits of evidence in his new book, Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq.  Mr. Mauro's analysis reinforces my view and that of others that the 'insurgents' and 'terrorists' are for the most part, linked to established nation—states that are simply waging war by other means.

Read the entire interview to gain an understanding of how today's Iraq has evolved, and how we are winning.

Doug Hanson    10—26—05