ShaneHarris.com » Technology

Killer App

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:45:32 +0000

Have a bunch of Silicon Valley computer geeks figured out how to stop terrorists?

Out of the Loop: The Human-Free Future of Drone Aircraft

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:42:58 +0000

As aircraft and weapons have become more precise, human beings have become less essential to the conduct of war. The rise of unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones, promises to push human beings further out of the loop.

This essay is part of the Hoover Institution’s Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law.

The Diane Rehm Show: Drones and counterterrorism strategy

admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:29:38 +0000

I was a guest today on The Diane Rehm Show, discussing drones and the future of the United States’ strategy to fight terrorism. We also discussed what drones mean for the future of war and when drones will be showing up in U.S. cities. You can listen to the full show here.

Patriot Act–deja vu all over again

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:44:18 +0000

I was a guest on this week’s “On the Media,” talking about the renewal of the Patriot Act, and whether the Obama administration is secretly interpreting the law in a way that allows the government to collect more information.

Did Chinese spies impersonate a Washington journalist?

admin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:09:47 +0000

National Journal’s Bruce Stokes learned in the documents that, while he was the magazine’s international-economics correspondent, he was unknowingly the central character in an apparent Chinese espionage plot. Read the full story here.

Dispatches from the war on leaks

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:37:16 +0000

A draft indictment against former NSA official Thomas Drake, which was never filed, shows that the government contemplated prosecuting him for a range of crimes, including conspiracy. But many of the most serious charges were dropped. Why? And what does it tell us about the Obama administration’s ongoing campaign to staunch leaks of classified information? Read my exclusive piece in Washingtonian.

The Watchers–in paperback!

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:44:31 +0000

The Watchers is on sale today in paperback. You can pick up a copy in your favorite bookstore or online. It’s got a nifty new cover, as well as a new afterword on the Christmas Day bombing attempt. That event occurred as the hardcover was going to press, so we couldn’t work it in. I’m glad it’s in the new version, because it ties up the theme of the whole book very nicely.

Here are some links to bookstores selling the paperback:

A Clueless President

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:59:06 +0000

I’ve long known that, on many important national security decisions, former president George W. Bush wasn’t in the driver’s seat. But I was shocked to discover that at one of the most critical points of his presidency, Bush wasn’t even in the car. Here’s my review of Bush’s shocking admission, in his new memoir, about the week that imperiled his administration and might have exposed one of his most controversial intelligence programs.

The Consultant was a Spy

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:47:30 +0000

The Russian spies arrested last month and traded back to Moscow have mostly been introduced to the American public as a hot girl and a bunch of bumbling Borises and Natashas. But people who crossed paths with one of the recently deported spies, a Bostonian calling himself Donald Heathfield, suggest that he, at least, may have passed important American business intelligence back to Russia. Read the full story in Washingtonian.

WikiLeaks vs. the Media (and Washington)

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:36:12 +0000

The relationship between a national security reporter and a confidential source is one of the most guarded and prized in Washington. Now, an audacious Web site is upending the way sensitive leaks find their way to daylight, and with it, the media’s influence over information. Is the Obama administration taking notice? Read my new piece in Washingtonian.