HUMINT, Informants and more (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

I rarely spot the FBI's open bulletin, but today via Twitter I caught this article and it is even more topical as the author is a Belgian Federal Police officer. The full title is 'Using Human Sources in Counterterrorism Operations: Understanding the Motivations and Political Impact':https://leb.fbi.gov/2016/april/using...litical-impact

[davidbfpo]

Via Perspectives on Terrorism (a free on-line journal):

This interview with former undercover agent Mubin Shaikh can help academics and security practitioner sunderstand the key role played and the challenges faced by covert human intelligence sources within domestic terrorist groups. The interview highlights the identity crisis, the personal factors, and the allure of jihadi militancy that initially drove Mubin Shaikh to join a Salafi jihadist group. It investigates Shaikh’s process of disengagement from the Salafi jihadist belief system and his rediscovery of a moderate, inclusive, and benevolent form of Islam. It explores his work as an undercover agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team responsible for disrupting domestic terrorist groups. The “Toronto 18” terrorist cell, the key role played by undercover agents in preventing terrorist action, and the challenges posed by entrapment are also discussed.

Link:http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/...e/view/502/990

[davidbfpo]

Thanks to a "lurker" for this pointer to a 2013 article in the CIA's history bulletin, even if the title is rather odd by using two abbreviations:https://www.cia.gov/library/center-f...%20RASCALS.pdf

[davidbfpo]

A BBC News item on the value and dangers of recruiting an informant in a CT campaign:

The most senior loyalist ever to agree to become a so-called supergrass volunteered to kill a Catholic to cover up the fact he was an informer.....He worked as an informer for 13 years...has pleaded guilty to 202 terror offences, including five murders, as his part of a controversial state deal that offered a significantly reduced prison term in return for giving evidence against other terrorist suspects.
He is said to have provided information on:

• 55 murders
• 20 attempted murders
• 56 conspiracies to murder
• 24 bombing offences

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-42337250

I will copy this to the Northern Ireland thread.