A Taliban video distributed last month documented the purported seizure of an abandoned U.S. military base by Taliban forces in a remote province of Afghanistan. The 7-minute video was analyzed in a recent report (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center.
The video “glorifies the Taliban victory by highlighting the group’s triumphant entry into the ‘captured base,’ the symbolic burning of an American flag, and the [local Taliban governor] touring the area.” A copy of the Taliban video (.wmv) and the OSC report, obtained by Secrecy News, may be found here.
The OSC report was discussed by Bill Gertz of the Washington Times in his Inside the Ring column today (the second item). Other aspects of the video were previously reported in Wired’s Danger Room and Al-Jazeera.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
As people become less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, it has become easier than ever to be misled by synthetic content, whether by accident or with malicious intent. This makes advancing alternative countermeasures, such as technical solutions, more vital than ever before.
Throughout this phase of work, there are many actions hiring managers and staffing specialists can take to streamline the process and improve the quality of eligible candidates. Most importantly, hiring managers and staffing specialists can collaborate within and across agencies to expedite and simplify the process.
The next administration should establish a Participatory Technology Assessment unit to ensure federal S&T decisions benefit society.