 | This article may contain wording that promotes the subject through exaggeration of unnoteworthy facts .(April 2022) |
Fred Burton is geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor's chief security officer [1] [2] and a New York Times bestselling author.
| This article may contain wording that promotes the subject through exaggeration of unnoteworthy facts .(April 2022) |
Fred Burton is geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor's chief security officer [1] [2] and a New York Times bestselling author.
Burton was born January 2, 1958, in Beckley, West Virginia, United States. He attended high school in Bethesda, Maryland, and became a volunteer with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad at age 18, in 1975. He remains a Life Member of the organization, which bills itself as the world's largest volunteer rescue squad. His volunteer activities are briefly referenced in his first book, "Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent."
Some of the events in his early life are recounted in the 2011 book Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice. Burton has said he was deeply impacted by the murder in 1973 of a neighbor, Joe Alon, who was later discovered to have been an Israeli intelligence operative.
Burton began his career in law enforcement as a police officer in Montgomery County, Maryland and later worked for the U.S. Secret Service. [3] From 1985 to 1999, he was a special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). He eventually became the deputy chief of the DSS counterterrorism division.
While with the DSS, Burton was appointed by Washington to assist in the investigation of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He also investigated the killing of Rabbi Meir Kahane; the al Qaeda New York City bombing plots before the September 11 attacks; and the Libyan-backed terrorist attacks against diplomats in Sana'a and Khartoum. He was involved in the arrest of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993.
Mr. Burton joined Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based geopolitical forecasting and analysis company, in 2004. Reflections on his experiences as a counterterrorism agent are recorded in his series, Lessons From Old Case Files.
Additionally, he was appointed to the Texas Border Security Council on September 11, 2007 by Governor Rick Perry. [4] In August 2009, he was hired as the Texas Department of Public Safety's Assistant Director for Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism but left after two months to pursue his writing and speaking career. Burton regularly briefs corporate executive teams on security related issues and speaks at a variety of both public and private events, including the Southern Law Network's 18th Annual General Counsel Event [5] On Oct. 12, 2017, he moderated a panel at the Fourth Annual Texas National Security Forum at The University of Texas at Austin with former acting Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency David Shedd, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis Leslie Ireland and former Under Secretary of Defense Marcel Lettre. [6]
Burton is the author of a memoir, Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, published by Random House in 2008, [7] and Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2011. [8]
Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi, written by Burton and Samuel M. Katz, was published by St. Martin's Press in September 2013 and was a New York Times bestseller. [Vanity Fair] ran a lengthy excerpt from the book shortly before it was published. [9] HBO has purchased the film rights to the book, with executive producer Jerry Weintraub [10] to oversee production.
In addition to his own memoirs, Burton has been referenced or portrayed in other books, including 1000 Years for Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI—Untold Story [11] by former ABC News correspondent Peter Lance and a commemorative book of photos published by the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, 25 Years in Pictures.
Burton's involvement in the search for and capture of Ramzi Yousef was chronicled in Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the Al-Qaeda Terrorists by Sam Katz (Forge, 2002). The acquaintance that was formed as Katz was writing this book led to his collaboration with Burton more than a decade later on Under Fire.
Burton's latest book, Beirut Rules, [12] is co-written with Samuel Katz and will be released by Penguin Random House h in October 2018. [13] The book chronicles the abduction, torture and murder of CIA Station Chief William Buckley by Hezbollah in the early 1980s. After reading Beirut Rules, former President George H.W. Bush said: “In these pages, Fred Burton and Samuel Katz ably describe the selfless service and ultimate sacrifice of CIA’s William F. Buckley, murdered brutally while held as a hostage in Lebanon. Beirut Rules can’t bring this quiet hero back to life. But it will show a new generation the value of a life well lived in service of country.”[ citation needed ]
Burton is frequently interviewed as a security expert by world news media on topics ranging from terrorist attacks to corporate security and U.S.-Mexico border security.
He appeared in the documentary "Drug Wars," by writer/director Gary "Rusty" Fleming (2008). He also was featured in Liora Amir Barmatz's 2011 documentary, "Who Shot My Father?", about the 1973 murder of Israeli Air Force colonel Joe Alon and his family's subsequent quest to solve the case.
In May 2008, Burton was interviewed on Comedy Central's The Daily Show by host Jon Stewart. He regularly speaks with national and international media on counterterrorism, law enforcement and other security related matters, including the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. [14]
In July 2016, Burton sat down with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer to discuss how corporate executives are responding to recent international terrorist attacks. In November 2016, Burton was featured in a Washington Post story on the potential threats to Trump-branded properties around the world after the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.
The Counterterrorism Division (CTD) is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CTD investigates terrorist threats inside the United States, provides information on terrorists outside the country, and tracks known terrorists worldwide. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, CTD's funding and manpower have significantly increased.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and protection of people, property, and information. Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to carry out U.S. foreign policy.
The Diplomatic Security Service is a security and law enforcement agency that acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is a branch of the United States Department of State. Its primary mission is to protect diplomatic assets, personnel and information, as well as combat visa and passport fraud. The agency also undertakes counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cybersecurity and criminal investigations, both domestically and abroad.
Stratfor is an American geopolitics publisher and consultancy founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online publication, and to perform intelligence gathering for corporate clients. The focus of Stratfor's content is security issues and analyzing geopolitical risk.
Operation "Wrath of God", also known as Operation "Bayonet", was a covert operation directed by Mossad to assassinate individuals involved in the 1972 Munich massacre in which 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed. The targets were members of the Palestinian armed militant group Black September and operatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, the operation is believed to have continued for over twenty years.
Peter Bergen is an American journalist, author, and producer who serves as CNN's national security analyst and as New America's vice president. He produced the first television interview with Osama bin Laden in 1997, which aired on CNN.
The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism rewards program of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. The Secretary of State is currently offering rewards for information that prevents or favorably resolves acts of international terrorism against U.S. persons or property worldwide. Rewards also may be paid for information leading to the arrest or conviction of terrorists attempting, committing, conspiring to commit, or aiding and abetting in the commission of such acts. The Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $145 million for information that prevented international terrorist attacks or helped bring to justice those involved in prior acts.
Mohammed Saddiq Odeh is a Saudi-born al-Qaeda member, sentenced in October 2001 to life imprisonment for his parts in the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998. Odeh was convicted along with three co-conspirators: Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed and Wadih el Hage. Another defendant, Ali Mohamed, pleaded guilty the previous year. Another, Mahdouh Salim, was awaiting trial, and three additional defendants were fighting extradition in England.
Regional Security Officer (RSO) is the title given to a special agent of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) who is in charge of a Regional Security Office. The RSO is the principal security attaché and advisor to the U.S. Ambassador at American embassies and consulates. Working for the United States Department of State as special agents, RSOs are also considered to be officers of the State Department acting as specialists within the United States Foreign Service. The RSO is also the senior law enforcement representative at a U.S. Embassy.
Rita Katz is a terrorism analyst and the co-founder of the Search International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, a private intelligence firm based in Washington, DC.
Malcolm Wrightson Nance is an American author and media pundit on terrorism, intelligence, insurgency, and torture. He is a former United States Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer specializing in naval cryptology.
Michael A. Sheehan was an American author and former government official and military officer. He was a Distinguished Chair at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York and a terrorist analyst for NBC News.
After the Central Intelligence Agency lost its role as the coordinator of the entire Intelligence Community (IC), special coordinating structures were created by each president to fit his administrative style and the perceived level of threat from terrorists during his term.
Yosef (Joe) Alon, born Josef Plaček, also known as Joe Alon, was an Israeli Air Force officer and military attache to the U.S. who was mysteriously shot and killed in the driveway of his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
On January 19, 1991, a failed bomb attack against the Thomas Jefferson Cultural Center in Makati, Philippines ended with one of the militants blowing himself up while trying to set the detonation timer. The plot was hatched by Iraqi intelligence in response to the Allied bombing of the Gulf War. Similar failed operations against American interests had already taken place in Indonesia and Thailand.
The 2012–13 Stratfor email leak is the public disclosure of a number of internal emails between geopolitical intelligence company Stratfor's employees and its clients, referred to by WikiLeaks as the Global Intelligence Files. E-mails began appearing on WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012, with 5,543,061 emails published as of July 18, 2014.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., by the al-Qaeda terrorist group, a number of investigations were conducted to determine what intelligence may have existed before the attacks and whether this information was ignored by authorities.
The 2012 Benghazi attack was a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia.
An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor is a non-fiction book about counterterrorism strategies towards al-Qaeda, written by U.S. Navy retired cryptology analyst Malcolm Nance. The book describes how the September 11 attacks changed the traditional Muslim community around the globe. Nance criticizes the approach of the George W. Bush administration, including the verbiage and public presentations used in the War on Terror. The author argues al-Qaeda is not part of Islam but is instead a dangerous religious cult. Nance writes the United States should commit to better education with a public relations campaign to encourage traditional believers in Islam around the world to denounce al-Qaeda.
Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities is a non-fiction book about counterterrorism strategies, written by U.S. Navy retired cryptology analyst Malcolm Nance. The book is intended to help law enforcement and intelligence officials with the professional practice of behavior analysis and criminal psychology of anticipating potential terrorists before they commit criminal acts. Nance draws from the field of traditional criminal analysis to posit that detecting domestic criminals is similar to determining which individuals are likely to commit acts of terrorism. The book provides resources for the law enforcement official including descriptions of devices used for possible bombs, a database of terrorist networks, and a list of references used. Nance gives the reader background on Al-Qaeda tactics, clandestine cell systems and sleeper agents, and terrorist communication methods.
Fred Burton, the vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, discusses the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a U.S. raid in Pakistan yesterday.
Joining us now from Austin, Texas, is Fred Burton, the vice president of Intelligence for Stratfor.com.
Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations. He is vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, an influential private intelligence company. He is the former deputy chief of the Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of State’s counterterrorism division.
On a warm Saturday night in July 1973 in Bethesda Maryland, a gunman stepped out from behind a tree and fired five point-blank shots into Joe Alon, an unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot and family man. Alon's sixteen-year-old neighbor, Fred Burton, was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked his sleepy suburban neighborhood.
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