I recently came across this piece in the New York Times Magazine by Doug Bock Clark, whose work on Americans in trouble overseas I have come to respect and admire. He describes the plight of Americans held in Kuwait –… Read More ›
hostages
we are bellingcat: an intelligence agency for the people
Bellingcat have been key players in solving puzzles related to some of the most important intelligence challenges of the last decade; chemical attacks in Syria, the downing of Malaysia Flight 17 over the Ukraine and the Salisbury poisonings, to name just a few.
Do they replace our intelligence agencies? No, of course not. Should they make those agencies think again about what’s possible and how to make the most of open source data? Absolutely.
Learning from hostages – six secrets to resilience for these difficult times
Reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned from the former hostages I’ve gotten to known, here are six secrets of resilience to help get us all through a difficult winter ahead.
A Gentleman in Moscow – the only ‘hostage’ story I’ve ever enjoyed
I rarely re-read a book, but when a dear friend returned my copy of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, I just couldn’t resist. It’s perhaps my favorite novel of all time. Maybe. But definitely the only ‘hostage’ story… Read More ›
Dear President Biden, You’re right that the soul of the nation was on the ballot. Here are five commitments you should make to hostages and their families to show you are serious about protecting Americans and reestablishing US leadership in the world
Throughout the Presidential campaign, you told us this the soul of the nation was on the ballot. As President, your most important job is to protect Americans. How you treat American hostages and their families will tell us a lot about your values as Commander in Chief.
these are a few of my favorite (dc) things
I like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens as much as the next child of the 1980s, having spent every Christmas holiday re-watching Julie Andrews bring joy and music to the Austrian Alps. I never planned my viewing in… Read More ›
shelter – our most important currency in these difficult times
I hope today can feel like a new day. I am up early, blinds drawn, sipping coffee from my favorite mug, the sun peeping over the foliage outside my window and landing on my tired face. I slept fitfully last… Read More ›
beware imagined and self-fabricated duty
Duty and obligation are virtues, but we must not forget that duty to yourself is the most important duty of all – and imagined and self-fabricated duty can be highly corrosive.
when the storytelling needs to stop
“For the first time in my life, I have shed ‘survivor’ or ‘victim’ as my identity. I was having to survive on being a ‘survivor’, because that’s how I was making money, speaking about what happened to me. Now I… Read More ›
what’s working in US hostage policy?
Here’s the video of the event I spoke at to launch Bringing Americans Home, the 2020 review of hostage policy by the James W Foley Legacy Foundation. Great input from Peter Bergen of New America Foundation and CNN, Diane Foley,… Read More ›
