Home >> Terrorism >> Counter-Terrorism  Email  Print Tracking Terrorists: Interview with Laura Mansfield Ryan Mauro - 4/5/2005 Laura Mansfield has over 20 years of experience dealing with issues pertaining to the Middle East. She is fluent in written and spoken Arabic, and has an excellent understanding of the complex cultural, religious, and historical issues. She spent nearly 7 years living and working in the region, for a wide range of clients including the United States Embassy, the United States Agency for International Development, and various international corporations. She was active in the embassy warden system, acting as a liaison between the Embassy security office and her employer during the days of the Beirut hijacking.
Her other areas of specialization include web design and development, and internet security. She is proficient in a variety of programming languages, and has consulted for a variety of Fortune 100 clients throughout the past decade.
She is the associate director of the Northeast Intelligence Network, which tracks radical Islamic Internet activity.
RM: What type of radical Islamic communications do you monitor?
LM: I monitor various message boards that are frequented by members of Al Qaeda. As boards go down, the jihadis migrate to other boards, so the specific boards change from over time. I basically review all new messages on a daily basis, with specific emphasis on postings by certain jihadis. I never know what I am going to find, so I quickly scan each of the messages.
RM: How is the credibility of these communications assessed?
LM: We look at the person doing the posting. What is their track record? Are they brand new or have they been posting for a while? How credible have previous postings been? Can the information be corroborated? I don't want to go into more detail because I do not want anyone intentionally skewing our vetting process.
RM: Would high-profile operatives or operatives critical to terrorist operations really do anything online of significance?
LM: They have in the past. Case in point is Abu Hagar Abdel Aziz al Muqrin, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He posts explicit details of operations online before, during, and after the operations, in December in an Al Qaeda publication.
RM: What is the "chatter" currently focusing on?
LM: It seems to be focused on attacks in the US, updates on attacks in Iraq, and general discussion and threats towards the government of Saudi Arabia.
RM: What methods, targets, etc does the "chatter" indicate is being focused on?
LM: Assassinations and kidnappings seem to be the "technique of first choice" these days.
RM: Has this monitoring brought anything of value to the War on Terror?
LM: Yes. We have provided specific and credible information regarding attacks in both Israel. Ryan Mauro is a geopolitical analyst. He began working for Tactical Defense Concepts (www.tdconcepts.com), a maritime-associated security company in 2002. In 2003, Mr. Mauro joined the Northeast Intelligence Network (www.homelandsecurityus.com), which specializes in tracking and assessing terrorist threats. He has appeared on over 20 radio shows and had articles published in over a dozen publications. His book "Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq" is scheduled to be published in the coming months. In addition to writing for the Global Politician, he publishes his own web site called World Threats. He may be reached at tdcanalyst@aol.com
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