The Decision Advantage

Stratfor Analysis on What Exactly is Happening and Will Happen Between the US and Iran

In this episode of Stratfor Talks, Stratfor analysts, Emily Hawthorne and Rodger Baker discuss what we know about the escalation between the US and Iran, what is not known and what Stratfor forecasts for the next few weeks.  Open questions include the role of Houthis, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. 

The Geopolitics of India’s 2019 General Election with Faisel Pervaiz and Ambika Vishwanath

On this episode, we’re checking in on the general election underway in India. Some 900 million people in India are eligible to vote in 2019. Think about that. And think about the country’s current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He and his party are projected to win when the final vote tally is complete on May 23. But there are so many issues at play in this election, we asked Stratfor’s South Asia Analyst Faisel Pervaiz to provide guidance.

Cyber Espionage and Military Strikes: A Growing Connection?

In the news over the past few weeks were reports of major cybercrime. From a massive supply chain hack disrupting businesses and ransomware attacks to Israel's military reaction to a reported cyber attack. On today's episode of Stratfor Talks, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton and VP of Tactical Analysis, Scott Stewart, discuss the connection between major hacks, and state-and-non-state-sponsored hackers, and how businesses can do due diligence before a hack occurs.

Kimberly Haley-Coleman on Globe Aware and What Risk Mitigation Means for Her Company

Kimberly Haley-Coleman is founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, a nonprofit company that develops short-term volunteer programs in international environments. The idea is to provide an immersive volunteer experience for busy professionals who want to make a difference in a short amount of time on projects that are actually requested by the communities they serve. Prior to this adventure, Haley-Coleman had a varied professional, private sector career with one recurring theme: international business. Success in working internationally can hinge on some basic applied geopolitics: of the implications of the history, social and cultural mores, business practices, geography, politics and infrastructure of the countries where you choose to business. Because Haley-Coleman knows Global Awareness first-hand as both a for-profit and non-profit leader, Stratfor decided to interview her. Two main themes emerged in the following conversation: Being aware of and mitigating risk, and the need to understand at a deeper level where and with whom you are working.

Both of which are core to Stratfor's forecasting. 

Fred Burton and Kate Winkler Dawson on Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog

It happened unexpectedly. The whole city was afraid. No one could see. Many could not breathe. And amid the terror of London's Great Smog of 1952, a different, equally sinister drama was underway.

The London Smog killed an estimated 12,000 people. But those were not the only people who died in those dark days.

Kate Winkler Dawson’s book, Death in the Air, tells two parallel stories of the Great Smog, both of which left victims choking.

Mission Critical with Fred Burton and Mark Greaney

You're fed up. You're considered the world's most dangerous assassin. A lot of people want to take you down. And you still have to get your job done. Mission Critical is the latest in Mark Greaney's Gray Man series. This one involves state actors, espionage, a secret prisoner and a race against time. Mark Greaney sits down to discuss his career, his Gray Man series and espionage with Stratfor's Fred Burton.

Michael Pullara on The Spy Who Was Left Behind

Author Michael Pullara spent years trying to solve the question of why CIA agent, Freddie Woodruff, was murdered in 1993. Amid transformative world events, Pullara manages to discover enough to set a wrongfully accused free and to connect the dots of espionage and counter-espionage during the end of the Cold War.

 

The Protected with Michael W. Trott

There are people in this world who need protecting; among them presidents, royals, diplomats, the rich and the famous. And then there are the people who do the protecting; the secret service, the bodyguards, the security officers. But who are these people and how are they trained? And why do they undertake such a profession?
Stratfor Chief Security Officer Fred Burton sits down with international security and intelligence professional and now author, Michael W. Trott to discuss his book, The Protected, which offers a peek inside the practice of Executive Protection.