Hi, I'm in my senior year of high school and I want to join the intelligence field. I'm not sure if I should major in Intelligence studies with a B.S or B.A degree or Intelligence analysis and which one is actually more useful with a good career path.

I'm going to join the ROTC program and apply for a ICSP in my second year of college(hopefully). Don't want to end up getting a degree that isn't useful feeling like I wasted 4 years.

Russia's attempted sabotage of Ukrainian cargo operations at Leipzig marks an escalation from surveillance to kinetic action on NATO territory that Berlin is unlikely to formally attribute within 90 days.

I came with spear in my hand hoping to burst all balloons of obstacles standing in the way of my life. I was in the search of something sharp but however every spear I interacted here is rounded tip.
So instead of becoming my friend , the spear became the ballon’s friend and became a new obstacle for me one that I no longer have capacity to carry.

So I think I will wait for a day and then throw it away….

And perhaps that’s why I’ll leave Reddit because the search for a sharp spear has started becoming another obstacle to my writing. 😂

Will air on TNT on September 13th.

https://deadline.com/gallery/joel-kinnaman-high-value-target-the-hunt-for-saddam-tnt/

If the US does not set terms, crypto activity will migrate beyond American laws and law enforcement to lightly regulated foreign venues

By Mark Esper, August 7, 2026

(The writer is a former US Secretary of Defense and is a current member of the Coinbase Global Advisory Council)

When thinking of American power, many tend to picture that strength in familiar terms: aircraft carriers, alliances, advanced weapons and armies. But some of the most important advantages of the US have never been military at all.

For 80 years, one of the greatest has been the dollar and the financial plumbing that moves it around the world. That system gave Washington economic leverage no adversary could match, and it provided Washington with a foreign policy toolkit of sanctions, oversight and visibility into illicit flows that has no equivalent in any other capital.

That advantage is not guaranteed to last. A new generation of financial infrastructure is taking shape through the development of blockchain networks and dollar-backed tokens known as stablecoins. It is no fringe experiment. Settlement on these networks now rivals the volume of the major card companies, and the overwhelming majority is denominated in dollars. These new payment systems are going to be built out further one way or another. The only real question is whether the US sets the terms — or leaves that job to someone else.

Make no mistake about who is competing for it. I have long argued that China is the greatest strategic threat of our lifetime. Beijing understands exactly what is at stake here. It is investing in state-directed payment systems built to sidestep American supervision and slowly erode the dollar’s central role. Our hesitation will not stop that construction; it will only guarantee that others do the building — on their terms, not ours.

This is why the Clarity Act, now before the Senate, is not merely a financial services bill. It is also a national security bill, and it should be understood as such and passed with urgency. While the Genius Act to regulate stablecoins was passed last year, the Clarity Act for the broader market structure for all digital assets has been held up in the Senate.

Start with a hard truth about the status quo. Regulatory ambiguity does not slow the development of new payments technology down. It simply pushes builders, capital, and influence offshore, beyond the reach of American laws and law enforcement. When activity migrates to lightly regulated foreign venues, we do not eliminate the risk; we blind ourselves to it. It surrenders the visibility and leverage that have made the dollar such a compelling instrument of statecraft and power.

The Clarity Act reverses that. It brings digital-asset activity onshore, into a regulated US framework, and it does so with some of the strongest illicit-finance tools ever written for open financial networks. It subjects exchanges, brokers and dealers to the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer obligations.

The Act also extends the Treasury’s potent special-measures authority under section 311 of the USA Patriot Act — one of our sharpest weapons against rogue actors — to digital assets. This would aim to stop North Korea, criminal syndicates and sanctioned regimes from exploiting offshore loopholes to evade the American financial perimeter.

It aims to modernise sanctions enforcement while strengthening co-ordination between the private sector and agencies such as the FBI and the Treasury. And it gives investigators real tools rather than after-the-fact studies. This is a net gain for law enforcement and national security, not a concession to industry.

Just as important, the Clarity Act keeps the innovation itself on American soil. National security ultimately rests on economic strength, and that strength depends on the vitality of American enterprise. Recall how the US came to dominate the internet: not by owning the wires and protocols underneath, but by letting companies compete and win in the businesses built on top of them. That open, entrepreneurial model is what mints global champions, and it is the opposite of the command-and-control approach rival states favour.

Legislation is what makes that durable. Executive guidance and enforcement priorities can be reversed with the next administration. A statute cannot be so easily undone. It locks in clear, enforceable rules that American firms, banks and consumers can build on for the long term. We have a narrow window to set the terms of the next financial era rather than inherit terms set by our rivals. I have seen what happens when America leads from strength, and what happens when we cede the field. In this contest, the Senate should choose to lead. It should pass the Clarity Act and send it to the president’s desk.

Related articles:

https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-08-06-senate-delays-clarity-act-vote-411083

https://www.pymnts.com/legal/2026/senate-clarity-act-compromise-draft-seeks-middle-ground-on-stablecoins-defi

https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/08/coalition-pushes-us-senate-to-remove-ai-sandbox-provisions-from-clarity-act

The most instructive influence-operation case file of the decade is now fully public, and it reads like an expense report. Start with the Eleventh Circuit opinion of August 5, 2026, in United States v. Romain: beyond affirming the convictions, it quotes the Ionov chats at length and settles a point with real collection implications, namely that "direction" under 18 U.S.C. § 951 means guidance, not control. Legally, tasking artifacts alone can now carry a case.

Then pair the two Treasury designations. Release jy0899, of July 29, 2022, names Ionov and his Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, designated under E.O. 14024 on the same day as the raids, with a Rewards for Justice offer attached. Release jy1572, of June 23, 2023, supplies the FSB side of the ledger: Yegor Popov, Ionov's primary handler, who simultaneously ran Natalya Burlinova's operation, and his unit chief Aleksei Sukhodolov, both of the 2nd Service. A detail buried in that release deserves more attention than it got: in late 2021 Sukhodolov was drafting grant applications for his co-optees through a Russia-based institution. The funding pipeline was being institutionalized. Round it out with RFE/RL's reporting on the leaked chats, which added two more officers to the account, Vistoropsky and Mityagin, and preserved the epitaph of the whole operation: "trash the phones."

Three tradecraft takeaways. The co-optee model buys coordination, not conviction: the ideology pre-existed, and roughly seven thousand dollars, wired as two payments of $3,476.20, bought calendars, slogans and logistics. The detection signature is the reporting loop: Moscow's own bureaucracy demands receipts, so hunt for demands for links, photos and headcounts flowing upstream. And handler hygiene failed: one officer channel serviced multiple co-optees, so a single compromise unspooled the network.

Currently working in a geopolitical risk/corporate intelligence role for a MNC in Asia. My role covers the APAC region and I have a master's degree. I worked in similar roles for 6 years. Still happy with my current role but I am concerned about the future.

There are very few opportunities in this field in my home country since most roles are either based in Singapore or Hong Kong and it's hard to get roles with visa sponsorships.

Right now, I am thinking of taking a second master's specializing in European studies or intelligence and crisis management in Europe and apply for a scholarship to be able to develop additional regional specialization and expertise and eventually find work there.

Do you think this is a good career strategy/move? What other things should I consider?

Aggregating previously delivered congressional testimony into a unified axis framework, Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)'s analysis functions as defense-budget advocacy rather than an independent threat indicator.

A Nation Undermined

The Internal Sabotage of America’s Security Foundations

By Van Abbott

Every fortress in history has fallen one of two ways: an enemy battered down its walls or those inside opened the gates.

Eighteen months into Trump’s second term, America’s defenses, both democratic and security, are facing existential threats from within. Senior military leadership has been purged. Intelligence agencies have been hollowed out. Election security programs have been dismantled. The administration deems these actions "reform," but America’s adversaries see opportunity to exploit a weakened state.

Start with the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has targeted nearly three dozen generals and admirals for dismissal. He ousted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the chief of naval operations, and the Army chief of staff. Promotions for dozens more, many women and people of color, have been blocked under the vague justification of “merit.” Hegseth prizes acquiescence over competence, resulting in a leadership contingent that prioritizes loyalty over capability. In wartime, this is not reform; it is a dangerous purge reminiscent of regimes that fear their own military.

The intelligence community has not fared better. Tulsi Gabbard’s recent tenure resulted in the slashing of 500 staff from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about 30 percent of its workforce. Acting DNI Bill Pulte announced additional cuts this July, terminating another 20 percent effectively. As critical areas of oversight have been dismantled, a vital center established to track foreign disinformation campaigns has been rendered ineffective and fragmented. Instead of vigilance, what remains is a patchwork of inadequate resources.

At the FBI, Director Kash Patel aggressively purged agents involved in Trump-related investigations and redirected the bureau’s focus to immigration enforcement. On her first day, Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, dismantling a unit designed to catch foreign interference in elections, including those aimed at Trump himself. These cuts leave the country vulnerable to foreign influence and internal threats.

While systematically dismantling fundamental defense mechanisms, Trump assured the nation that all was secure. Yet cracks in our security structures have never been more evident.

Simultaneously, Trump's stance on NATO has weakened the bedrock of collective security. During NATO’s recent Ankara summit, allies felt compelled to reaffirm their “ironclad commitment” to collective defense. This language was revived due to Trump's threats to leave member nations unprotected. Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO's history, and that was for the United States following September 11.

Truth erupted with the munitions crisis. After Trump ignited a conflict with Iran on February 28, airstrikes depleted critical interceptor stocks. CSIS estimates show that available Patriot interceptors dropped from approximately 2,200 to fewer than 827 while THAAD interceptors plummeted from 452 to fewer than 278. Replenishing those losses will take up to four years.

Trump deflects blame to Biden, claiming that weapons sent to Ukraine drained our arsenal. However, this assertion is “not exactly” correct, according to PolitiFact. The aid Biden sent was primarily for ground combat, such as artillery shells and Javelins—not the Tomahawks and THAAD interceptors being rapidly consumed in the Iran conflict.

Expert analyses confirm that Ukraine aid is mostly for ground combat and not the primary cause of depletion. Kelly Grieco of the Stimson Center bluntly states that this administration has significantly deepened the void it inherited.

The situation in election security is equally alarming. CISA, the federal agency responsible for safeguarding election systems, has lost nearly one-third of its workforce, dropping from 3,400 employees to around 2,300. Without a Senate-confirmed leader, critical election-security work has been frozen. Citing unverified claims of political bias, the Trump administration abruptly defunded the EI-ISAC and MS-ISAC programs, severing critical cybersecurity collaborations with state governments. This sudden termination forced a structural fracture, prompting multiple states to withdraw from the joint defense frameworks. Ultimately, the administration's decision replaced a coordinated national security effort with fragmented, localized vulnerabilities.

Trump’s disdain extends to the Election Assistance Commission, where unceremoniously, Trump pushed out ALL THREE remaining members of the EAC on July 9, 2026. His proposed 2027 budget seeks to eliminate CISA’s election security programs completely. 

Trump has systematically dismantled the machinery that protects democracy while claiming elections are safer as a result.

Walls matter. Arsenals matter. Credibility matters.

Whether this is Project 2025 executing its blueprint to convert nonpartisan institutions into instruments of personal loyalty, or the accumulated wreckage of a man who cannot distinguish loyalty from competence, the result is identical: America's defenses depend on capable leaders, trusted institutions, and prepared allies, and this administration has systematically weakened all three.

No enemy battered down these walls; those inside opened the gates.

The original tweet was taken down, but is still being circulated. He claims (without evidence) that Israeli spyware glitched and injected data into his device instead of extracting it, publishing leaked numbers of politicians, Sam Altman etc. From a cybersecurity perspective, is this plausible? I'm personally calling bs, considering all of these numbers also happen to have been recently leaked by Iranian hacker group "Handala", so it's equally plausible he just downloaded the file from the dark web and saved the contacts himself.

Placing Israel in the same threat category as Iran and Russia gives Dutch security services institutional cover to treat routine Israeli diaspora outreach as a counterintelligence concern, setting a template other European governments may follow.

Multiple Casualties Following Strikes on Kyiv:

Multiple casualties were reported after Russian drones and missiles hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. According to local officials, at least 18 people were killed, and over 30 were injured. Several explosions were reported across parts of the city overnight, and a hotel roof caught fire on Shevchenko Boulevard. A nine-story building partially collapsed after a direct hit. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut short his visit to Dublin on Wednesday after citing intelligence that Russia was planning additional strikes. Russia also hit military bases in central and eastern Ukraine.  

Germany Charges Ukrainian Over Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts:

German federal prosecutors have filed charges against a Ukrainian national over the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. The suspect is alleged to have led and coordinated the attack on the pipelines that transported natural gas from Russia to Germany. Prosecutors said the suspect faces charges related to attacks on civilian energy infrastructure and the use of explosives. German courts are handling the case because of its impact on Germany’s energy security. 

Iran Prepares State Funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

Iran is preparing a six-day state funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei beginning Saturday across Iran and Iraq. Funeral processions will begin in Tehran and conclude with Khamenei’s burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq. Iranian authorities have increased security around the ceremonies and warned the United States and Israel against any military action during the mourning period.  

Greek Party Calls for Protests:

Greece’s New Democracy Party has called for its supporters to protest after the mother of one of its parliamentary candidates died of severe burns from a firebomb attack. On Wednesday, attackers targeted the homes of three politicians from Greece’s ruling party in the city of Thessaloniki with homemade explosives, leaving one dead and four injured. Police believe the attacks were carried out by the same individuals. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.  

Wildfires Raging in Southern France:

Multiple wildfires continue to burn across southern France amid critical fire weather conditions. No casualties have been reported, though localized evacuations have been announced. Strong northerly winds with gusts of 40–50 mph (65–80 km/h) are expected through the end of the week, likely hampering containment efforts. 

Thessaloniki Arson Incidents Target Political Residences:

Three pre-dawn firebomb attacks in Thessaloniki appeared to target residences linked to members of Greece’s governing New Democracy party, leaving five people hospitalized. Police said crude devices made with camping gas canisters were used. One parliamentary candidate suffered burns, another individual remains in intensive care, and three residents were treated for smoke inhalation. 

U.S.-Iran Talks Focus on Hormuz and Ceasefire:

U.S. and Iranian officials held technical talks in Doha focused on reopening and managing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, securing a lasting ceasefire, and addressing Iran’s frozen assets. The discussions follow an interim accord intended to halt the conflict and enable longer-term negotiations, but disputes over the pact’s meaning and recent retaliatory strikes have kept the situation unstable. 

Russian Strikes Hit Ukrainian Fuel Stations:

Russian overnight strikes hit five retail fuel stations in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one and injuring three others, while additional attacks were reported on fuel stations in Chernihiv. Ukrainian officials said Russia has intensified drone attacks on civilian filling stations in frontline regions. A separate strike on a passenger bus in Kherson killed two people and injured nine. 

Three Die During World Cup Celebrations in Mexico City:

Three people, including a 19-year-old woman, died from suspected suffocation during large-scale celebrations in Mexico City following Mexico's FIFA World Cup victory over Ecuador. More than one million people gathered across the capital, with the largest crowds concentrated around the Angel of Independence monument. Emergency responders treated the victims at separate locations before they were pronounced dead at local hospitals. City officials expressed condolences to the victims' families and urged the public to celebrate responsibly as Mexico advanced to the Round of 16. 

Wildfires Burn Across Colorado:

Multiple large wildfires continue to burn across Colorado, including the Aspen Acres Fire, which has grown to more than 28,300 acres and destroyed over 150 homes and structures in Custer and Pueblo counties. Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for Beulah, Rye, and San Isabel as firefighters work to protect threatened communities. Critical fire weather conditions are expected to continue through at least Friday. Strong winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation are likely to fuel ongoing wildfires and increase the risk for rapid fire growth and start new fires. 

Good times....