A new report by the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Major-General Michael Flynn, says that there is too much emphasis on collecting information about capturing insurgents — and not enough on gathering basic information.

Flynn said that intelligence officials are “ignorant of local economics and landowners, hazy about who the power-brokers are and how they might be influenced…and disengaged from people in the best position to find answers.”

Fore more about the killing of the CIA officers and American intelligence-gathering efforts in Afghanistan, Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Jeff Stein, a former Army intelligence officer and author of the blog Spytalk.

Should the U.S. invest more to train intelligence officers in the languages and cultures of the places where they are posted?

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Today, a spokesperson for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a Taliban bomber wearing an Afghan military uniform — and a suicide vest — entered the base last night and blew himself up.

Jeff Stein, a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and author of the blog “Spy Talk,” joins Martin Savidge from Washington D.C. to discuss the CIA’s role in Afghanistan.

The operation is in the Swat Valley and neighboring districts, and while the army said there have been no civilian casualties, the refugee crisis is growing worse by the day — hundreds of thousands have been displaced by recent fighting.
 
Jeff Stein, who follows national security matters for Congressional Quarterly and writes a column called “Spy Talk,” speaks with Martin Savidge about ethnic dimension of Pakistan’s conflict and discusses the security of the country’s nuclear weapons. 

Jeff Stein of Congressional Quarterly continues the discussion of Pakistan’s possible role in last week’s Mumbai attacks, evaluating the ability and willingness of Pakistani officials to help fight terrorism in the region.

This would not be the first time Muslim extremists have targeted Mumbai. A group called the Indian Mujahideen took responsibility for a series of blasts earlier this year.

Jeff Stein, who follows national security matters for Congressional Quarterly and writes a column called “Spy Talk,” speaks with Martin Savidge about the relationship between these groups and earlier warnings about threats to Mumbai. They also discuss tense Pakistan-India relations and the implications of the attacks for U.S. security.

Two eyewitness accounts are below the video.

Here are two eyewitness accounts:

Ankur Chawla, a staff trainee at the Taj Mahal Hotel, survived the attacks and speaks about his experience.	Rich Diffenderffer, an American businessman from Wilmington, Del., was on the fifth floor of the Taj Mahal Hotel when the terrorists struck.

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr use darmesh84 and Creative Commons license.

Jeff Stein, who follows national security matters for Congressional Quarterly and writes a column called “Spy Talk,” speaks with Martin Savidge about the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the changes we can expect from the Obama administration.