Interview: Ex-counterterrorism Agent Fred Burton

Chasing Shadows:

A Special Agent’s Lifelong Hunt To Bring A Cold War Assassin To Justice

By Mark Young

An assassin lurked in the shadows of a quiet Bethesda, Maryland neighborhood in the summer of 1973, patiently waiting for an Israeli air force colonel to return home from a late-night party. Several blocks away lived 16-year-old Fred Burton, whose neighborhood—until this moment—seemed safe and secure.

The gunman opened fire as Col. Joe Alon exited his car. Moments later, the Israeli war hero lay dead. It would be thirty-seven years later before Burton—a State Department counterterrorism agent and later vice president of a global intelligence company known as the ‘shadow CIA’— could finally offer closure to the surviving Alon family. Plagued by a plethora of unanswered questions, Burton and others attacked this case years later, running down leads across the globe that led to terrorist groups, spies and treachery. They would find that this victim was much more than just a gifted pilot.

Chasing Shadows is a true-case story that is more captivating than any fiction Hollywood might conjure up on the big screen. It was written by coauthors Fred Burton and John Bruning.

MARK: Fred, thanks for returning to Hook’em and Book’em for another look at global terrorism and a fascinating glimpse into a case that took you and others years to uncover. A very tenacious effort. Give our readers a little background about this incident and what it meant to you on a personal level.

FRED:  I tried to stay centered over the years by focusing on the murder, looking for facts and motive.  The FBI destroyed the physical evidence in the case for reasons that remain unclear.  Pretty much everyone connected to the original case was dead. 

We've been successful in getting a Hebrew edition published that I'm very proud of for the victims family.  There was also a short film that coincided with the book done by an Israeli film crew. 

MARK: You coauthored Chasing Shadows with writer and military historian John Bruning. How did the two of you work together to create this captivating book?

FRED:  John is a brilliant military historian that is laser focused on aviation.  I needed his expertise.  The victim was a decorated fighter pilot.

MARK: One of the fascinating parts of your book for me—a Vietnam veteran—was the difficulty the USAF faced with North Vietnamese fighter pilots. I found the behind-scenes relationship between the U.S and Israel equally fascinating. How did you and John acquire this information and tie it into your investigation of Alon’s murder?

FRED:  FBI FOIA reports and John's subject matter expertise on military aircraft.  The original FBI case agent also was extraordinarily helpful.  

MARK: Since we last communicated on this blog, much has happened in the Mideast and northern Africa—Egypt, Syria, Libya and other hot spots. Can you share with us some perspective as to what we might expect to see in the near future from organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood?

FRED:  I think the verdict remains out as groups jockey for power.  The events unfolding in Libya are amazing. 

MARK: Can you give us a little background about the Muslim Brotherhood?

FRED:  In the shifting sands of power in the Middle East, one needs to study the old groups, whether it be the MB, Hezbollah or Black September.     

MARK:  As the events of the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) unfolded last spring, I couldn’t help but think about the case detailed in your first book, GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent concerning the capture of terrorist Ramzi Youseff in Pakistan. You made reference in GHOST about the political ramifications you and others faced for keeping the information close to your vest in order to have a chance to capture this man. What were you thoughts about related issues as you watched the OBL news unfold?

FRED:  Mixed emotions.  To be blunt, I would have preferred talking to OBL.  Operationally, I've also learned that one should never second guess the operators in the field.  DevGru (Navy Seal Team 6, official known as Special Warfare Development Group) did a fine job.  Thank goodness our nation has men like that.    I'm also not surprised in the least OBL was hiding in plain sight in Pakistan.  

MARK: I can only imagine what you get involved with as vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Statfor. Tells us a little about the services your company  offers.

FRED:  We are an intelligence company that publishes analysis of geo-political events.  I like to say we make sense of the world.  Many of our articles are free and can be found at www.stratfor.com

MARK: Can you tell us a few of the projects you have been involved with through Statfor?

FRED: I've done a great deal of work on cartel violence in Mexico recently, along with interviews for National Geographic TV and The History Channel.   I'm also in a few Gangland productions. 

MARK: Are you planning any more writing projects in the near future?

FRED:  Yes, I'm working on another book about terrorism and have been asked to write a college textbook.   Not sure I have time for the latter, but its humbling to have been asked.    

MARK:Where can readers go to purchase your latest book, CHASING SHADOWS?

FRED:  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any private book store. 

MARK: Thanks again for joining us. We wish you well in your effort with Statfor. Stay safe!

*********

Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations. He was deputy chief of the Counterterrorism Division of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and is currently a vice president at Stratfor, a global intelligence agency known as the “shadow CIA.” He is the author of GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent and has appeared on The Daily Show, Glenn Beck, Anderson Cooper 360, Fox, ABC, and CBS radio. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times, among others. He lives in Austin, Texas.

John Bruning is a military historian and the coauthor of House To House. He lives in Independence, Oregon.

Terrorism: Interview with former counterterrorism agent and author Fred Burton—Part II

Book: GHOST—Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent

By Mark Young

Mystery novels and international thrillers are built on danger, intrigue, and chaos. Readers are given an opportunity to enter a world where danger lurks everywhere and world security rests in the hands of a few heroic characters. It is a relatively safe world because readers never get hurt. They can simply close the book and walk away when the story is finished or the plot gets too scary. That’s entertainment.

But there exist a real world where people do get hurt. Where real-life heroes face life-threatening dangers of global proportions. Where the security of the U.S. and its allies rest in the hands of a few groups trying to make the world safer for all of us. Among these heroes are counterterrorism agents and private security specialists trying to make sense of an ever-changing violent world. Fred Burton has walked in both these worlds of government and private industry. Based upon his experiences, Fred wrote a book, Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent about his time spent in this Dark World.

Fred entered the private sector in 1998 after spending thirteen years as a counterterrorist agent for the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). He became vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor Global Intelligence, a unique company staffed by a worldwide community of intelligence professionals. Stratfor uses its own far-flung HUMIT (Human Intelligence) contacts as well as other sources of information to provide governments and businesses up-to-date analysis of political, economic and military developments around the world.

In our last interview, Fred shared with us his work and experiences with DSS leading up to his departure in 1998. Today, we will delve into world events since that time, including 9/11 and the current status of worldwide terrorism. Fred tracked terrorists since his early days at DSS, and he continues this effort in his current position with Statfor, monitoring current world events, tracking down leads and information in this dangerous world of espionage and shifting world power. He still treks through the Dark World.

MARK: Tell us about your job with Stratfor, Fred. What kind of work are you involved with as vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security?

FRED:  We are a private intelligence company that provides analysis on geo-politics, economics, terrorism and security.   Many of our products are free and your readers can sign up for our materials at www.stratfor.com. 

MARK: What do you see as pressing security issues today? What are some of the countries or groups posing the greatest threat to our national security?

FRED:   Placing the global threat in perspective and making sense of conducting business in places like Mexico, India, Russia and China.   

MARK: Which events in the last few years do you view as indicative of these trends?

FRED:  Clearly, the soft target threat with a real concern towards mass transportation on subways and rail, primarily in the DC to NYC corridor. 

MARK: Since 9/11, more money and resources have been thrown at this war on terror then at any time in our country’s history. Is it working? Are we doing a better job of winning this war, or have we created more of a bureaucratic maze for our counterterrorist agents to navigate?

FRED:  Yes and no.  The greatest challenge facing the CT (counterterrorism) community today is making sense of the volumes of information collected, i.e., finding that needle in the haystack. 

MARK: In GHOST, you discuss some of the bureaucratic hurdles agents must climb over to obtain their objectives. How politically-motivated policies sometimes results in sensitive information being leaked to the wrong folks, or worse, bad guys escaping and sources getting killed.

One example in your book really helped clarify what agents are up against. Information came in about where to find a terrorist Ramzi Youself— a terrorist with a $2 million bounty on his head. You give us the inside story as to how his capture was orchestrated.

Let me briefly summarize this without giving way the drama and highlights of your manhunt: GHOST outlines how Yousef orchestrated the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993 and Philippine Air Flight 434 in 1994. Police narrowly shut down another major terrorism campaign Youself set in motion. Your book tells how he planned to assassinate the pope as a diversionary event to help in a much broader goal—simultaneous bombings of eleven airlines while still airborne. This terrorist already escaped several times before because agents followed bureaucratic reporting procedures, slowing effective reaction and allowing information be leaked.  Finally, quick and effective action by your team resulted in the capture of this terrorist.

I found it incredible to learn that the State Department’s inspector general and the Department of Justice IG office opened investigations against you instead of awarding you a well-deserved commendation. I can only image how this must have affected morale in DSS and other agencies as well as stress in your own life, even after they cleared you. Near the end of GHOST, you  wrote, “Coordination between agencies remains touch and go, even during crisis. Politics infuses everything, especially after the WMD fiasco in Iraq.”

 Is it these kinds of problems—notifying every agency and nation in the alphabet before initiating action on intelligence information—that makes counterterrorism work so frustrating and challenging?

FRED:   I never expected to be praised for my efforts.  Frankly, I was doing my job.  I found it disheartening to struggle to get our agents recognized for their efforts, after learning cash bonuses were paid to many others “for their efforts in bringing Ramzi Yousef to justice.”   Having said that, nothing would have surprised me at this point.  In many ways, our job was never one set up for success.  

I don’t encourage anyone to get into the CT business especially today. 

MARK: How many agencies are now linked in this fight against terror? Who are they and how are they blended together?

FRED:  The primary lead are the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces, known as the JTTF’s.  However, there remains a tremendous amount of friction between the JTTF’s and the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Fusion Centers. 

Which is why in many ways it’s much easier to work white collar crime or gang violence. 

MARK: Development of an effective network of human intelligence (HUMIT)—human sources placed in critical locations around the world—consistently emerges as a critical area of intelligence gathering still needing vast improvement. Has this improved? Or, are we relying too much on technology and not enough on boots-on-the-ground intelligence?

FRED:  One never has enough human assets.  Most CT failures occur due to a lack of HUMINT. 

MARK: One of this country’ great manhunts after 9/11 has been the search for Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of the infamous terrorist group al-Qaeda. Those of us who have not lived in this Dark World wonder how a suspect like bin Laden has never been captured. This inability to eliminate these kinds of threats seems to suggest a flaw in our capabilities. How do we hope to wage a successful war on terror if we cannot hunt down a man like this? What must we do to overcome these obstacles?

FRED:  We failed due to a lack of human intelligence – sources close enough to lead us to OBL.  Without human assets, you are blind. 

MARK: Going back to GHOST, you identified a problem that has plagued intelligence-gathering agencies whether they be local, state or federal—protecting the integrity of intelligence files and sources from public exposure. Those involved with intelligence gathering know it is critical to create a wall between intelligence-gathering efforts and criminal prosecutions. Once in court, a case against a defendant in U.S. courts calls for almost full discloser except under specific and articulable situations. The fear of any intelligence officer is that our courts will require intelligence files and information to be turned over to the defendant—terrorists, their associates and foreign powers that seek information against us. At the very least, those agents trying to exist as ghosts in this Dark World run the risk exposure.

One current case that caught my eye is the trial of accused bombing conspirator Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, scheduled for trial in the Southern District of New York. Ghailani will be the first Guantanamo detainee prosecuted in the civilian justice system. He is accused of participating in an al-Qaida conspiracy that resulted in 224 people killed when the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed on August 7, 1998. The political decision to move such trials from military tribunals to civilian courts seems ludicrous. Ghailani’s alleged acts were committed on foreign shores, the defendants are not U.S. citizens, and his actions should classify him as an enemy combatant.

There are many issues revolving around this political decision to bringing Gitmo detainees into our civilian courts for prosecution. As a former counterterrorism agent, what dangers do you foresee this poses to DSS agents—and other intelligence-gathering capabilities—when intelligence debriefings and interviews are turned over as discovery? What are we going to lose by allowing these civilian trials?

FRED:  On the security front, cities like NY are reluctant to hold the trials due to the soft target threat outside of the secure perimeter of the courtroom.  

The prosecution will be challenging. 

I think it’s feasible we may see some sort of hybrid.  Meaning prosecution by a civilian court on a military base where security can be assured. 

MARK: I understand you are working on a second book based upon the assassination of an Israeli fighter pilot, working as an attaché at the Israeli embassy in Washing D.C. at the time of his assassination. The victim was killed in your old neighborhood. Can you tell us a little about what you’ve learned about this case and when your book might be available?

FRED: In April 2011 my next book will be published. 

The book is about my thirty-year quest to solve a political assassination on U.S. soil.   I’m optimistic folks will find it an interesting read.   It has certainly taken a long time to solve, but I’m persistent! 

At least I can finally sleep…

Thank you for joining us, Fred. Readers can find out more about Fred’s company, Stratfor, by clicking on this link. His book Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent Ghost is available through this Random House link.

Terrorism

Book: GHOST—Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent

Interview with Fred Burton, author & former counterterrorism agent

By Mark Young 

Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11 when we came under attack. That moment in history will never be forgotten. Everything changed for America—and the world—on that day. The devastation hurled upon us by nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists was an act of war. Tragically, counterterrorism experts around the world knew terrorists would try to strike like this. Agents also knew they might not be able stop it. They were right.

Most of us will never know how many times potential tragedies like the World Trade Center (WTC)—already scarred by an terrorist attack in 1993—have been quietly and effectively suppressed by counterterrorism efforts. These heroic struggles take place in a world closed off to most of us, a world where darkness hides most of these desperate battles.

Former counterterrorism agent Fred Burton is one of those experts who fought the good fight against terrorism. He wages that battle today. Fred served with the little-known Diplomatic Security Service (DSS)—the U.S. Department of State’s counterterrorism division—for thirteen years, rising to the position of deputy chief. He left that agency in 1998 to become vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor Global Intelligence, a unique company staffed by a worldwide community of intelligence professionals. Stratfor uses its own far-flung HUMIT (Human Intelligence) contacts as well as other sources of information to provide governments and businesses up-to-date analysis of political, economic and military developments around the world.

Fred lived a crisis-ridden life in what he terms the Dark World beginning on February 10, 1986. He writes, “At agent training, which I just completed, they drilled into us the notion that in our new lives, routines will get us killed. When you join the Dark World, you must become unpredictable. Erratic. We must strip away all the conventions of our old lives and fade into the background. We’ve been trained. We’ve practiced. Today, I begin my life as a ghost.”

He joined the Dark World and began to fall “Down the Rabbit Hole” as he described it in one chapter. The first cases on his desk to study were the twin bombing tragedies in Beirut, Lebanon three years earlier. On April 18, 1983, Hezbollah terrorists orchestrated a suicide bomber to drive a van—loaded with two-thousand pounds of explosives—to the front of the U.S. Embassy. The explosion killed sixty-three people and wounded a hundred more. Four months later, another Hezbollah suicide bomber crashed through security and detonated himself, setting off an explosion killing two-hundred and forty marines and fifty-eight French paratroopers.

Thus began Fred’s indoctrination into the Dark World, leading him to become DSS’s expert on the Mid East. Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent is Fred’s personal account of living in a world where nothing is as it seems, a world of darkness filled with adversaries and friends, killers and victims, fighting a war without borders. We have been invited to take a glimpse into this Dark World and share Fred’s journey.

This will be a two-part interview. Today, we’ll learn about Fred’s life as a DSS agent between 1986-1998. We will try to grasp the threats he faced, the cases he worked, and the means by which he investigated these cases. The second interview will deal with the events leading up to and after 9/11, and the current challenges faced by counterterrorism agents.

MARK: Your book, GHOST, helped me to understand some of the challenges and dangers facing our countries’ counterterrorism agents. Thank you, Fred, for allowing us to get a glimpse into this world. Let’s start with information about yourself—life prior to GHOST, why you joined DSS, and what kind of training equipped you for this work.

FRED:  First, very humbling that anyone wants to read my story, so I thank you. 

I go over a great deal of my training in GHOST, but I was a former police officer, a job I loved.  We had State Dept. Special Agents (known as the DSS now) protecting SECSTATE (Secretary of State) in our county (next to DC) and the job seemed very interesting.    Our training went from Rosslyn, Virginia, FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center), flash and bang school in West Virginia, and back to DC.  Subjects included:  Guns, protection, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), first aid, counter-intelligence, physical security and the dreaded background investigations. 

MARK: Not many people are familiar with the history and existence of the Department of State’s counterterrorism division. What is DSS’s history? How did it evolve to become what it is today?

FRED:  Steve Gleason founded the unit and we started in 1985 with three agents. I was one of his first two agents. Three of us for the world. Since I was the youngest, Steve gave me “the Sand Box.” Steve was a wonderful mentor and a true American hero. We remain in touch. 

The State Department has a long history of special agents that precedes the CIA and FBI.   Traditionally, the State Department has not gone out of its way to promote the organization, preferring to focus on the Foreign Service and diplomacy. Efforts along these lines have gotten better over the years, but the organization was always behind the PR curve. 

After we captured Ramzi Yousef, the first World Trade Center bomber, other organizations like the DEA and FBI were claiming credit for his arrest. However, the fact remains that Yousef was captured by DSS special agents. You still find statements in various books attributing Yousef’s arrest to the FBI or CIA. Simply not true. 

MARK: In GHOST, your reference the 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy as Beirut I, and the bombing a few months later of the marine barracks as Beirut II. Were you prepared for what you faced as a new agent with DSS? How did DSS and other agencies start identifying and hunting down those responsible for these tragic events?

FRED:  No!  I was clearly not prepared, nor had any idea what to do.   Fortunately, Steve was there for me to lean on.    

Our unit also started the Rewards for Justice Program which has been very effective on the GWOT (Global War On Terror).    I think Steve designed the first reward poster on a napkin.  No kidding. 

MARK: You spent 1986-1998 with DSS. Give our readers a thumbnail sketch of the patterns you began to see in those years regarding terrorist groups and those countries bent on destroying the U.S.

FRED:  Embassy attacks by VBIED (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device), hijackings of aircraft due to poor security, hostage taking and diplomats targeted. 

MARK: One terrorist group that repeatedly surfaces in your book is the Lebanese-based Hezbollah, a terrorist group with close ties to Iran and Syria. In my limited research of this group, I was surprised to learn that many European countries refuse to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. How does this lack of understanding or apathy allow such a group to continue their terrorist activities?

FRED:   Hezbollah is now a political party in Lebanon, so our efforts to capture terrorists linked to the group will remain impossible. 

MARK: Ali Hassan Salameh, dubbed The Red Prince, seemed to have immense influence on these terrorist groups even after his assassination in 1979. Tell us a little about this man, his history, and his influence on terrorists groups in later years.

FRED:  To understand terrorist m.o., one must study the Black September Organization (BSO.)   All roads lead to BSO.  In my assessment, Salameh was the picture perfect terrorist later turned PLO diplomat and U.S. Government informant.  He was assassinated in Beirut by the MOSSAD in a brilliant CT (Counter Terrorism) mission.  I talk at length about Salameh in my next book to be released in April 2011. 

MARK: Prominent terrorists-turn-politicians such as Yasser Arafat seemed able to convince other countries in the global community that they are merely freedom fighters struggling for their people. How do terrorist politicians like Arafat—who made killers like Salameh his chief of security—hoodwink the rest of world to believe they have a right to participate in legitimate political discourse? How do global leaders justify sitting down at table with men who have shed innocent blood? Do these world leaders really believe they might protect their own countries from further terrorist acts by allowing these thugs to sit at the same table with the world community?

FRED:  One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.     

MARK: Part of DSS’s responsibilities is providing dignitary protection to world leaders when they are visiting this country. I empathized with you regarding some of the leaders your agency was forced to protect—for example, individuals like Arafat and another diplomat with close ties to the Italian mafia. Was it difficult to separate your personal feelings from the business of protecting these individuals while on U.S. soil?

FRED:   DSS prepared its agents very well for missions like this.   Fascinating job.   

MARK: I can only imagine the level of stress you endured as a DSS agent, Fred. For example, during 1986 I read where your agency dealt with one crisis after another connected to conflict orchestrated by Libya and Muammar al-Qaddafi. For our readers, here is short summary of what DSS faced in March and April of that year:

• Navy F-14s shot down two Libyan MiGs over the Gulf of Sidra in self-defense.
•  Libyans launched missiles at our naval aircraft in the Gulf of Sidra
• Turkey uncovers a Libyan plot to strike at a U.S. Officers club in Ankara.
• Libyans plan to strike at naval fleet headquarters in Naples, Italy.
• Our embassy in Japan, along with the Imperial Place, hit by rockets from a terrorist group supported by Libyans.
• A bomb detonates close to where the U.S. Secretary of State is housed in Athens, Greece.
•  Libyans agents began offering large sums of money to Hezbollah to buy American hostages held by other terrorists.
• With Libyan assistance, master terrorist Abu Nidal’s organization sends hit squads into air terminals in Rome and Vienna, killing sixteen people and wounding another 138 waiting for El Al flights to Israel.
• A bomb explodes aboard TWA Flight 840, en route to Athens from Rome, killing four passengers.
• A bomb detonates in a German disco frequented by American GIs, killing several and wounding 200 people in a plot linked to the Libyans.
• U.S. launches operation against Libya, destroying Qaddafi’s compound. The same day, an embassy staff member is shot in Khartoum, Sudan.
• The bodies of three hostages show up in Beirut, obviously in retaliation for the bombings in Libya. Later that day, the British discover a plot to blow up an El Al jetliner leaving London.
•  Terrorist unsuccessfully attempt to kill another embassy staff member in Sanaa, Yemen.

 How did your agency scramble to handle such an onslaught of attacks? How did you personally handle this?

FRED:  Not very well to be blunt. We were understaffed and overwhelmed. For every real attack you saw on TV and radio, there were 3-5 other serious plots/threats. Scary. 

MARK: Many of our readers are mystery writers and readers. They become connected to their characters, draw to the character’s internal and external struggles. As they read your book, they will have the same kind questions about you that I did. You do a good job of sharing your thoughts and struggles with the reader as the story unfolds. In my opinion, one of the greatest crisis in your career loomed in 1988 when Pakistan’s presidential aircraft crashed killing everyone on board, including their president and our ambassador. As hostilities grew between Pakistan and India—with both countries wielding nuclear weapons—you were tasked with launching an investigation into this matter in an attempt to get at the truth. This investigation, in part, was intended to lessen political conflict. I don’t want to steal anything from the book because I think readers will find this investigation fascinating, but this James Bond-ish kind of case made me wonder what was going on inside Fred Burton’s mind while all this was unfolding.  Can you tell us a little about the stress you faced during this event?

FRED:  I asked myself why I chose to leave the comfort of my police car! The PAK-1 case was probably the most intriguing and challenging of the cases I worked. Some days, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. Kinda like pushing a boulder up a hill. In retrospect, I was certainly overwhelmed by the nature of the responsibility and simply tried to do the best I could do. I’m sure many people would have done the same things I did if placed in similar circumstances. In the CT business, sometimes the only decisions you have are bad ones…..

MARK: Reading your book about those pre-9/11 years leaves a reader with an uneasy feeling. We know that day—when terrorists attacked the WTC, the Pentagon, and tried to reach Washington, D.C. with a fourth airliner—forever changed our perception about international terrorism. Your book tracks events leading up to 9/11—including the first WTC attack in 1993—as these terrorist groups began to broaden their base of operations and prove to the world they can strike anywhere. As your book unfolds, it becomes evident that such an event as 9/11 appeared inevitable. I know my next question is a difficult one to answer, and I don’t mean to point fingers. The 1993 WTC attack would seem to have dispelled any misconceptions that future strikes could not happen here. Why were we so ill prepared?

FRED:  Lack of resources, lack of political will and a lack of HUMINT. Terrorism was not a national priority. 

Fred is not one to mince words. On Monday, October 4, Terrorism Part II will be posted where we’ll learn about the current status of terrorism following 9/11. Find out about Fred’s company, Statfor, and what governmental agencies and private organizations are learning about global terrorism today. Which countries pose the greatest threat to our security and what can we do about it?

Thank you for joining us, Fred. Readers can find out more about Fred’s company, Stratfor, by clicking on this link. His book Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent Ghost is available through this Random House link.

Novels To Read

Mystery Novels To Warm Up Autumn

The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell

 (Editors Note: Interviews with Robin Burcell, retired police officer and novelist, are scheduled for the coming weeks ahead. Robin, also a trained forensic artist, writes from experience.)

Special Agent Sydney Fitzpatrick, forensic artist to the FBI, returns to Quantico to help identify a brutally murdered young woman. But when Sydney’s friend and colleague, the forensic anthropologist who assisted her, is killed in a hit-and-run, a covert government team takes over the investigation, and Sydney is suddenly removed from the case. Certain her friend’s murder is connected to the first case, Sydney investigates. She discovers that the first victim was not only an archeological student, but also the daughter of the ambassador to the Holy See. Just before she was killed, the ambassador’s daughter claimed to have found one of three keys that just might lead to a map of the long lost Templar treasure. Sydney’s search for answers takes her to the streets of Rome, and into the underground crypts and caverns in Naples, one step ahead of a ruthless killer. Time is running out for Sydney as a fellow government agent is kidnapped. And the ransom demanded? The Templar map.

The Black Madonna by Davis Bunn

Art historian Storm Syrrell and rugged treasure hunter Harry Bennett travel to Russia to search for and investigate another historic art treasure with significant contemporary implications: The Black Madonna. 

And as before, their efforts to shed light on the mystery surrounding the murder of Storm's grandfather, Sean Syrrell, and the contents of his frayed leather journal, puts their own lives in grave danger. 

Formula for Danger by Camy Tang

Her life was on the line.

Someone wants dermatologist Rachel Grant's latest research, and they'll do anything to get it. Including trashing the plants needed for her breakthrough scar-reducing cream—and trying to run Rachel down. Desperate for help, she turns to Edward Villa, the only man she trusts. But the greenhouse owner knows too much about Rachel's research, and now he's a target, too. Break-ins, muggings, murder...the would-be thief is getting desperate—and getting closer. Edward vows to protect Rachel at all costs. Yet with time ticking away, Edward knows they have to uncover the madman shadowing Rachel before their chance for a future is destroyed.

Think Of A Number by John Verdon 

Arriving in the mail one day is a taunting letter that ends with a simple declaration "See how well I know your secrets-just think of a number." Eerily, those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD's top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial-murder investigation. Brought in as an investigative "consultant," Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that have local police in awe. Yet, with each taunting move by his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney feels his tragedy-marred past rising up to haunt him, his marriage approaching a dangerous precipice, and, finally, a dark, cold fear building that he's met an adversary who can't be stopped.

GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent by Fred Burton

(Editor’s Note: Okay, this is not a mystery novel … but it reads like one. Fred Burton—one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations—will be a guest here on this blog in the coming weeks).

For decades, Fred Burton, a key figure in international counterterrorism and domestic spycraft, has secretly been on the front lines in the fight to keep Americans safe around the world. Now, in this hard-hitting memoir, Burton emerges from the shadows to reveal who he is, what he has accomplished, and the threats that lurk unseen except by an experienced, world-wise few.

In the mid-eighties, the idea of defending Americans against terrorism was still new. But a trio of suicide bombings in Beirut–including one that killed 241 marines and forced our exit from Lebanon–had changed the mindset and mission of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the arm of the State Department that protects U.S. embassy officials across the globe. Burton, a member of DSS’s tiny but elite Counterterrorism Division, was plunged into a murky world of violent religious extremism spanning the streets of Middle Eastern cities and the informant-filled alleys of American slums. From battling Libyan terrorists and their Palestinian surrogates to having to face down hijackers, hostages, and Hezbollah double agents, Burton found himself on the front lines of America’s first campaign against Terror.

In this globe-trotting account of one counterterrorism agent’s life and career, Burton takes us behind the scenes to reveal how the United States tracked Libya-linked master terrorist Abu Nidal; captured Ramzi Yusef, architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and pursued the assassins of major figures including Yitzhak Rabin, Meir Kahane, and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan–classic cases that have sobering new meaning in the treacherous years since 9/11. Here, too, is Burton’s advice on personal safety for today’s most powerful CEOs, gleaned from his experience at Stratfor, the private firm Barron’s calls “the shadow CIA.”

Told in a no-holds-barred, gripping, nuanced style that illuminates a complex and driven man, Ghost is both a riveting read and an illuminating look into the shadows of the most important struggle of our time.