Two intelligence experts with unique access to inside sources reveal the fascinating story behind the evolution of AmericaÕs new, effective approach to counterterrorism

Al Qaeda did not stop after 9/11. Its reign of terror continued with bombings and mayhem across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. But its frustration grew as the group failed to fundamentally undermine America and its allies. Five years later the time was ripe for another spectacular mega-plot. Fresh from masterminding the London Underground carnage, one veteran operative set in motion a new operation to destroy passenger aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean—and kill thousands of people in the process. Disruption tells the story of that conspiracy and the heroic efforts by the intelligence services of the United States, Great Britain, and Pakistan to uncover and crush it. From the streets of London to the training camps of Pakistan to the corridors of power in Washington DC, the story unfolds with murders, double-crosses, probes, jailbreaks, and explosions. Former counterterrorism analyst Aki J. Peritz brings the story to life with vivid imagery, interviews with top intelligence officials, and never-before-seen declassified documents. Disruption is the not-to-be-missed account of the race to stop a terrorist conspiracy that would have remade our world—forever.

This book aims to discuss the core and underlying principles and analysis of the different constraint handling approaches. The main emphasis of the book is on providing an enriched literature on mathematical modelling of the test as well as real-world problems with constraints, and further development of generalized constraint handling techniques. These techniques may be incorporated in suitable metaheuristics providing a solid optimized solution to the problems and applications being addressed. The book comprises original contributions with an aim to develop and discuss generalized constraint handling approaches/techniques for the metaheuristics and/or the applications being addressed. A variety of novel as well as modified and hybridized techniques have been discussed in the book. The conceptual as well as the mathematical level in all the chapters is well within the grasp of the scientists as well as the undergraduate and graduate students from the engineering and computer science streams. The reader is encouraged to have basic knowledge of probability and mathematical analysis and optimization. The book also provides critical review of the contemporary constraint handling approaches. The contributions of the book may further help to explore new avenues leading towards multidisciplinary research discussions. This book is a complete reference for engineers, scientists, and students studying/working in the optimization, artificial intelligence (AI), or computational intelligence arena.

From Mark Bowden, the preeminent chronicler of our military and special forces, comesThe Finish, a gripping account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. With access to key sources, Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and on the ground where the action unfolded. After masterminding the attacks of September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden managed to vanish. Over the next ten years, as Bowden shows, America found that its war with al Qaeda--a scattered group of individuals who were almost impossible to track--demanded an innovative approach. Step by step, Bowden describes the development of a new tactical strategy to fight this war--the fusion of intel from various agencies and on-the-ground special ops. After thousands of special forces missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the right weapon to go after bin Laden had finally evolved. By Spring 2011, intelligence pointed to a compound in Abbottabad; it was estimated that there was a 50/50 chance that Osama was there. Bowden shows how three strategies were mooted: a drone strike, a precision bombing, or an assault by Navy SEALs. In the end, the President had to make the final decision. It was time for the finish.

'a powerful text that will benefit any reader' - Dr Richard Harris SC, OAM, hero of the Thai cave rescue Life is hard. Rocketing rates of physical and mental health issues are testimony to the immense pressures of our complex world. So how do we become tough and adaptable to face life's challenges? The Resilience Shield provides that defence. In their groundbreaking guide to overcoming adversity, Australian SAS veterans Dr Dan Pronk, Ben Pronk DSC and Tim Curtis take you behind the scenes of special operations missions, into the boardrooms of leading companies and through the depths of contemporary research in order to demystify and define resilience. Through lessons learned in and out of uniform, they've come to understand the critical components of resilience and how it can be developed in anyone - including you. The Resilience Shield explores the hard-won resilience secrets of elite soldiers and the latest thinking on mental and physical wellbeing. This book will equip you with an arsenal of practical tools for you to start making immediate improvements in your life that are attainable and sustainable. Let's build your shield! Praise for The Resilience Shield 'informative and enlightening . . . compelling lessons and advice' - The Hon Julie Bishop 'Clear, approachable insights into resilience' - Merrick Watts 'A blend of raw experience and impeccable science...a brilliant guidebook for our times' - Hugh Mackay AO

Amos Decker, David Baldacci's unique special agent, who suffered a head injury that resulted in giving him the gift of a remarkable memory, takes on another case in The Fix. Walter Dabney is a family man. A loving husband and the father of four grown daughters, he’s built a life many would be proud of. But then the unthinkable happens. Standing outside the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, Dabney shoots school teacher Anne Berkshire in cold blood before turning the gun on himself. One of the many witnesses is Amos Decker; a man who forgets nothing and sees what most miss. Baffled by what appears to be a seemingly senseless and random killing, Decker is thrust into the investigation to determine what drove this family man to pull the trigger. As part of an FBI special task force, Decker and the team delve into the lives of Dabney and Berkshire to find a connection that doesn’t seem to exist. What they do find are secrets that stretch back a lifetime and reveal a current plot of impending destruction that will send the world reeling, placing Decker and his team squarely in the crosshairs. The Fix is the third in the Amos Decker series, following The Last Mile. Continue the investigative thrillers with The Fallen.

Using a well-conceived incident response plan in the aftermath of an online security breach enables your team to identify attackers and learn how they operate. But, only when you approach incident response with a cyber threat intelligence mindset will you truly understand the value of that information. With this practical guide, you’ll learn the fundamentals of intelligence analysis, as well as the best ways to incorporate these techniques into your incident response process. Each method reinforces the other: threat intelligence supports and augments incident response, while incident response generates useful threat intelligence. This book helps incident managers, malware analysts, reverse engineers, digital forensics specialists, and intelligence analysts understand, implement, and benefit from this relationship. In three parts, this in-depth book includes: The fundamentals: get an introduction to cyber threat intelligence, the intelligence process, the incident-response process, and how they all work together Practical application: walk through the intelligence-driven incident response (IDIR) process using the F3EAD process—Find, Fix Finish, Exploit, Analyze, and Disseminate The way forward: explore big-picture aspects of IDIR that go beyond individual incident-response investigations, including intelligence team building

A dramatic portrait of the innovative Special Forces commanders and FBI agents who wage war against America's hidden enemies With the planned withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the longest conflicts in our nation's history were supposed to end. Yet we remain at war against expanding terrorist movements, and our security forces have had to continually adapt to a nihilistic foe that operates in the shadows. The result of fifteen years of reporting, Twilight Warriors is the untold story of the tight-knit brotherhood that changed the way America fights. James Kitfield reveals how brilliant innovators in the US military, Special Forces, and the intelligence and law enforcement communities forged close operational bonds in the crucibles of Iraq and Afghanistan, breaking down institutional barriers to create a relentless, intelligence-driven style of operations. At the forefront of this profound shift were Stanley McChrystal and his interagency team at Joint Special Operations Command, the pioneers behind a hybrid method of warfighting: find, fix, finish, exploit, and analyze. Other key figures include Michael Flynn, the visionary who redefined the intelligence gathering mission; the FBI's Brian McCauley, who used serial-killer profilers to track suicide bombers in Afghanistan; and the Delta Force commander Scott Miller, responsible for making team players out of the US military's most elite and secretive counterterrorism units. The result of their collaborations is a globe-spanning network that is elegant in its simplicity and terrifying in its lethality. As Kitfield argues, this style of operations represents our best hope for defending the nation in an age of asymmetric warfare. Twilight Warriors is an unprecedented account of the American way of war-and the iconoclasts who have brought it into the twenty-first century.

The book Lifehack calls "The Bible of business and personal productivity." "A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—Fast Company Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.