OUR PICKSThe Evolving (and Inexact) Science of Fleeing a Wildfire | Rogue AI Moves Three Steps Closer | Donald the Deporter, and more
· Unpacking the Inspector General Report on January 6th and FBI “False Flag” Conspiracies
· I Study Terrorism. In New Orleans, I Witnessed a Terror Attack.
· Rogue AI Moves Three Steps Closer
· In Brief: How Long Until Defense Tech Limited Partners See Returns?
· The Evolving (and Inexact) Science of Fleeing a Wildfire
· Secret Phone Surveillance Tech Was Likely Deployed at 2024 DNC
· Donald the Deporter
Unpacking the Inspector General Report on January 6th and FBI “False Flag” Conspiracies (Tom Joscelyn, Just Security)
During a press conference on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump was asked whether he would pardon January 6 defendants charged with violent offenses.
Much of Trump’s reply focused on a conspiracy theory – namely, that the FBI used its agents or confidential human sources (CHSs) to instigate the January 6 riot. “As you see, I guess 24 or 28 people came now from the FBI,” Trump claimed. “That came out very quietly, nobody reported it, but they had people in some form related to the FBI.” Trump continued: “They had four or five people that were strongly related to the FBI. We have to find out about that.” (Oddly, he also suggested Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group, was somehow involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.)
The president-elect’s remarks about the FBI were referring to a report released by the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in December. That report was not released “quietly” or with an absence of media reporting. It received widespread press coverage, mainly because it debunks conspiracy theories that Trump and his associates, including his nominee for FBI Director, Kash Patel, have promoted. Trump’s remarks this week notably dovetail with some of his most prominent supporters who have fundamentally misrepresented the OIG’s findings.
There are many additional threats reported in the OIG’s report. The bottom line: The system was blinking red because rightwing extremists, not the FBI, were plotting to storm the Capitol. The FBI’s failures were largely acts of omission (failure to address those warnings) not acts of commission that the wild conspiracy theories invent.
I Study Terrorism. In New Orleans, I Witnessed a Terror Attack. (Gia Kokotakis, Lawfare)
Car-ramming attacks are on the rise. I study them. Then I was present for one.
Rogue AI Moves Three Steps Closer (Peter N. Salib, Lawfare)
OpenAI’s new o3 model suggests that it will not be long before AI systems are as smart as their human minders—or smarter.
In Brief: How Long Until Defense Tech Limited Partners See Returns? (Lauren Bedula, Jeff Crusey, and Stephen Rodriguez, War on the Rocks)
Limited partners invest in venture capital funds, which, in turn, invest in companies. While there has been a surge in defense tech investment over the last six or seven years, the competition for limited partners is fierce among venture capitalists seeking to raise funds. One challenge that fuels competition for limited partners is that they have yet to see major returns on their original investments, which typically happen through acquisitions or initial public offerings. We asked three experts to answer the question: When will defense tech limited partners start seeing returns?
The Evolving (and Inexact) Science of Fleeing a Wildfire (Aarian Marshall, Wired)
As extreme wildfires become the new norm, scientists are trying to crack how to save lives.
Secret Phone Surveillance Tech Was Likely Deployed at 2024 DNC (Dhruv Mehrotra, Wired)
Data WIRED collected during the 2024 Democratic National Convention strongly suggests the use of a cell-site simulator, a controversial spy device that intercepts sensitive data from every phone in its range.
Donald the Deporter (Economist)
Could a man who makes ugly promises of mass expulsion actually fix America’s immigration system?