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Intelligence Fusion: Threat Intelligence Podcasts

How is the extractive sector exploited to fund terrorism?

Season 1, Ep. 1

On this first episode of The Roundtable, Max Taylor, Viraj Pattni and Vincent Fevrier take a look at the ways in which armed groups have used extractive resources as a way of funding themselves, including ISIS and the Taliban in the Middle East and Central Asia, jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa, and cartels and insurgent groups in Central and South America.

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  • Coming soon: The Rise of the Albanian Mafia

    00:46|
    The Rise of the Albanian Mafia - a brand new video series coming soon to the Intelligence Fusion YouTube channel.From the beginnings of Albanian organised crime following the collapse of communism in the 1990s, to the markets they now dominate across Europe in the present day, we look at their activities across the continent, and how they have grown to become one of the most significant players in transnational organised crime.Subscribe now to be the first to see brand new episodes each week: https://hubs.ly/Q01yCpnl0
  • 7. Iran's foreign policy: From Iranian protests to war in Ukraine

    46:07||Season 1, Ep. 7
    Join the discussion in the Intelligence Fusion OSINT community, exclusive to Discord: https://hubs.ly/Q01k6Qyv0----How successful has Iranian foreign policy been in recent years? From Iran's alliance with Russia leading it to becoming involved in the war in Ukraine through the supply of drones and other weaponry, to closer to home, where Iran seeks to project power into the wider region such as supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen or Hezbollah in Lebanon, we take a look at understanding Iranian foreign policy, what it hopes to achieve, and whether it has been a success for Iran's regime.To do this, Intelligence Fusion's Deputy Intelligence Manager, Max Taylor, is joined by Regional Analyst Peter Wood and Senior Regional Analyst for Europe Matt Pratten, where they discuss Iran's involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war, how Iran hopes to influence Iraqi politics and the problems it faces with Muqtada al-Sadr and the Sadrist Movement, and how secure Iran's borders are, particularly its borders with Iraq, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan - especially in light of potential Iran-Azerbaijan tension. The analysts also discuss whether Iran's foreign policy supports its domestic policy, and whether it has helped or hindered its security at home, especially in light of the ongoing Iranian protests.Listen to latest episode of The Roundtable now.----For more insights from Intelligence Fusion, head to: intelligencefusion.co.uk/insights
  • 6. Ukraine counteroffensive: Can there be a decisive battle in the modern era?

    48:08||Season 1, Ep. 6
    How are wars won in the modern era? As Ukraine’s counteroffensive reports significant gains, especially in its Kharkiv offensive, we look at the concept of a decisive battle, and whether it is possible in the modern era - or what a decisive battle might look like if so. Recorded in two parts, and covering past conflicts from the modern era including the Vietnam War, the First Gulf War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and the recent Nagorno-Karabakh War, Intelligence Fusion analysts Matt Pratten, Alex Smith and Max Taylor explore the ideas of and differences between a tactical and strategic victory, and how these ideas will relate to the Russia-Ukraine war, particularly with regard to the purported Kherson offensive in the south of the country, and the subsequent tactical victories being reported by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kharkiv offensive in the north in recent days. What is a decisive battle? Is a military victory won through a single battle or through attrition? And is a strategic victory now more important than any at the tactical level?Listen to the full episode of The Roundtable now.—NB: This podcast was recorded in two parts: on 5th September 2022, before the Kharkiv offensive began, and then on 13th September 2022, the day of release, to give as accurate and up-to-date information as possible.—Other content you might be interested in:Russia-Ukraine video briefing, 11th August 2022: Does Russia have the upper hand? - https://hubs.ly/Q01m917B0 The Roundtable podcast: How is conflict changing? - https://hubs.ly/Q01m91ct0 Pipeline politics: Russia’s instruments of power compared to Europe - https://hubs.ly/Q01m914S0 
  • 5. How will the global food crisis of 2022 affect different regions of the world?

    45:25||Season 1, Ep. 5
    In this episode of The Roundtable, our intelligence analysts - who specialise in the security situations of Asia, Africa and the Americas - take a closer look at their regions to understand which countries could be most heavily affected by the fuel shortages and growing food crisis across the world. Selecting a handful of countries or subregions as case studies, the team explore how different nations and their governments will respond to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the consequent soaring prices of food and fuel, particularly in areas of existing instability, economic hardship and conflict. We discuss the impact of food insecurity and the rising cost of living in Nothern African countries, Central Asia and Lebanon as well as Peru, Ecuador and Chile. Can previous uprisings such as the Arab Spring help us better anticipate unrest in 2022? Can we expect a return to hardline politics in response to the food and fuel crises? What are world leaders doing to combat this issue?Join Max Taylor, Viraj Pattni and Aaron Arends for an insightful discussion in Intelligence Fusion’s latest podcast episode. If you enjoyed their analysis and assessment, you can see more from the team over on our blog, on YouTube and in our new Open Source Intelligence Community. See more from Intelligence Fusion:Is Europe losing the war on drugs? - A video by Aaron ArendsWhat's happening in Central Asia? - A monthly intelligence summary by Max TaylorMozambique's fight against terrorism - A video by Viraj Pattni
  • 4. How has conflict changed?

    54:55||Season 1, Ep. 4
    What can the conflicts that we’ve witnessed in Iraq, Libya, Nagorno Karabakh, Syria, and even Ukraine, teach us about the evolution of conflict in recent years? In the latest episode of our threat intelligence podcast, The Roundtable, we discuss how war and conflict have changed and address key issues including:Do tanks have a place on the modern battlefield?Are drones evolutionary or revolutionary?How is OSINT changing conflict?What is the impact of a changing naval strategy?Is the west prepared for conflict moving forward?Thanks to our Intelligence Analysts, Max Taylor, Matt Pratten and Alex Smith for their insightful contributions to this podcast episode. If you enjoyed their analysis and assessment, you can see more from the team over on our blog, on YouTube and in our new Open Source Intelligence Community. See more from Intelligence Fusion:What is Russia’s End Game? By Matt PrattenHow does the Taliban use Twitter? By Max TaylorThe Myanmar Coup: Protests, Conflict and the Future by Alex Smith
  • 3. What are the under the radar conflicts to watch in 2022?

    01:07:00||Season 1, Ep. 3
    While global headlines are dominated by the ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia and the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region, there are a number of other armed conflicts to track in 2022 that are perhaps further out of the spotlight. In the third episode of The Roundtable intelligence podcast, our analysts sit down to discuss six of these conflicts, hoping to shed some light on the wars taking place outside of the headlines.While this means we won’t be discussing conflicts like Ukraine or Myanmar in this episode, we have written extensively on both of these conflicts. If you’d like to learn more you may be interested in the following reports:Russia-Ukraine conflict summary: What is happening in Ukraine? https://www.intelligencefusion.co.uk/insights/resources/intelligence-reports/russia-ukraine-conflict-what-is-happening-in-ukraine/Myanmar one year on from the coup: from protest to armed conflict: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6896442288579694592 How to track armed conflict with threat intelligence software: https://www.intelligencefusion.co.uk/insights/resources/article/tracking-armed-conflict-using-threat-intelligence-software/And to keep up to date with the latest developments from all of these conflicts, and any others, join our Discord server, where members of our team and our intelligence community share regular updates from conflicts across the world: https://www.intelligencefusion.co.uk/insights/resources/other/join-our-free-intelligence-community/
  • 2. Unpacking the AUKUS agreement

    36:01||Season 1, Ep. 2
    In September 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America signed an agreement aimed at strengthening military capabilities in the Pacific region, quickly becoming known as the AUKUS agreement. The immediate headlines resulting from this agreement were focussed on the announcement that the UK would be providing nuclear submarines to Australia - much to the consternation of France - but the pact is about much more than just submarines.In this second episode of The Roundtable, Senior Regional Analyst for Asia, Max Taylor, is joined by former Australian Intelligence Corps and current Senior Regional Analyst for Europe at Intelligence Fusion Matt Pratten, and Regional Analyst Alex Smith, to unpack the AUKUS agreement - explaining what we know about it so far, the motivating factors that may have led to it, how countries such as China may respond, and how much substance there is to the pact.
  • The Insight: What are the land-based drivers of maritime threats?

    11:51|
    And how might they drive piracy in the Gulf of Guinea?95% of all kidnappings by pirates in 2020 took place in the Gulf of Guinea, now the epicentre of piracy off the coast of Africa - and one of the most dangerous seas in the world. So what is driving this pirate threat? And how does what happens on land help fuel incidents at sea?In this episode of The Insight, we explore the drivers of piracy in Africa, taking a look at what helped cause piracy in Somalia, what is driving piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and how we can learn from this to identify when and where the next threat is coming from.Learn how piracy in West Africa is linked to economic conditions, illegal fishing and gaps in maritime law, factors that can create pirates in Nigeria, the Niger Delta, and the rest of the gulf.Intelligence Fusion's assessment is based on our day-to-day monitoring of the security landscape in West Africa. If you'd like to take a closer look at the intelligence that supports our analysis, get access to a 14-day free trial: https://hubs.ly/H0nk-FG0​​​Enjoyed this episode of The Insight? Here's some more content you might like:- Explaining the political crisis in Ethiopia: https://hubs.ly/H0N2ny60- How to use threat intelligence as a security consultant: https://hubs.ly/H0GHlcW0​- Security management in a post-COVID world: https://hubs.ly/H0GHkMD0​And don't forget to like, share and subscribe. ☑️🚨