While he is in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will try to secure the freedom of hostages kidnapped by Hamas. As many as 150 people were abducted during last weekend's attack on Israel, including an unknown number of Americans. Former CIA officer with extensive counterterrorism and counterintelligence field experience, Joseph Assad, joins to explain what would be involved in rescuing these hostages. Assad shares whether the US can run a rescue operation without boots on the ground. Places such as NYC are increasing security efforts amid the rising tensions over the war in the Middle East.

There are no shortage of opinions regarding the Uvalde (TX) massacre where 19 children and two teachers were brutally murdered in May 2022. The knives came out quickly, and may I add, justifiably, against the shockingly abysmal police response to the incident. Most current and former law enforcement officers that I discussed the incident with are perplexed and frustrated with the systemic failures that ensued that dark day in American history. I offer the following thoughts from my very limited, yet relevant, experience in observing and attending active shooter training.

Waging peace requires massive resources and resolve that must equal how we deal with war. When we wage war, we allocate billions of dollars, massive military build-up, shifting our Intelligence Community's Operational Directives and resources to cover the current conflict or war. It should be no different in fighting for a lasting peace and stability.

In terms of a strategic assessment of the threat from radical Sunni and Shi’a groups, here is my latest. The following is an excerpt from a March 5, 2020 training session I provided to law enforcement, investigators and security professionals hosted by a major corporate client.

An American husband and wife team helped more than 100 Iraqi Christian refugees escape ISIS terror threats in their homeland and flee to Europe. Motivated by their own Christian faith and the suffering they have seen, the Assads have made saving the Mar Elia refugees their personal mission.

Brussels, and particularly the areas around the EU Institutions, are full of soft terror targets, says former US counter-terrorism officer and managing director of Peregrine Consultants LLC Joseph Assad. Assad conducted an initial security survey of Brussels on February 10 and discussed his findings with New Europe.