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'''Malcolm Wrightson Nance''' (born September 20, 1961) is a retired [[United States Navy]] [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] in [[Cryptologic technician|naval cryptology]] and author, scholar, and media commentator on international terrorism, intelligence, insurgency and torture.
'''Malcolm Wrightson Nance''' (born September 20, 1961) is a retired [[United States Navy]] [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] in [[Cryptologic technician|naval cryptology]] and author, scholar, and media commentator on international terrorism, intelligence, insurgency and torture.


Nance is an expert on intelligence and terrorism,<ref name="phillytrib">{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Layla A.|title=Philly native is media expert on intelligence|url=http://www.phillytrib.com/news/philly-native-is-media-expert-on-intelligence/article_437d30fa-2cc7-5c09-88f7-0785da1dbab2.html|accessdate=May 28, 2017|work=[[The Philadelphia Tribune]]|date=March 10, 2017|language=en}}</ref> and frequently discusses the history, personalities, and organization of [[jihadi]] [[radicalization]] and [[al-Qaeda]] and the [[Islamic State of Iraq and Levant]] (ISIL); Southwest Asian and African terror groups, as well as [[counterinsurgency]] and [[asymmetric warfare]]. Fluent in Arabic, he is active in the field of national security policy particularly, in anti- and counter-terrorism intelligence, terrorist strategy and tactics, [[torture]] and counter-ideology in combating Islamic extremism. In 2016, he published the book, ''Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Malcolm Nance on Defeating ISIS|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?405971-4/washington-journal-malcolm-nance-defeating-isis|accessdate=May 28, 2017|work=Washington Journal|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|date=March 13, 2016}}</ref> and published ''[[The Plot to Hack America]]'' the same year.<ref name=plottohack />
Nance is an expert on intelligence and terrorism,<ref name="phillytrib">{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Layla A.|title=Philly native is media expert on intelligence|url=http://www.phillytrib.com/news/philly-native-is-media-expert-on-intelligence/article_437d30fa-2cc7-5c09-88f7-0785da1dbab2.html|accessdate=May 28, 2017|work=[[The Philadelphia Tribune]]|date=March 10, 2017|language=en}}</ref> and frequently discusses the history, personalities, and organization of [[jihadi]] [[radicalization]] and [[al-Qaeda]] and the [[Islamic State of Iraq and Levant]] (ISIL); Southwest Asian and African terror groups, as well as [[counterinsurgency]] and [[asymmetric warfare]]. Fluent in Arabic, he is active in the field of national security policy particularly, in anti- and counter-terrorism intelligence, terrorist strategy and tactics, [[torture]] and counter-ideology in combating Islamic extremism. In 2016, he published the book, ''Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Malcolm Nance on Defeating ISIS|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?405971-4/washington-journal-malcolm-nance-defeating-isis|accessdate=May 28, 2017|work=[[Washington Journal]]|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|date=March 13, 2016}}</ref> and published ''[[The Plot to Hack America]]'' the same year.<ref name=plottohack />


In 2014, he became the executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies (TAPSTRI), a [[Hudson, New York]]-based [[think tank]].
In 2014, he became the executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies (TAPSTRI), a [[Hudson, New York]]-based [[think tank]].

Revision as of 20:38, 7 June 2017

Malcolm Nance
Born
Malcolm Wrightson Nance

(1961-09-20) September 20, 1961 (age 63)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materExcelsior College (B.A. Arabic)
Occupation(s)Author, counterterrorism and intelligence commentator
Years active1981-present
Employer(s)Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies (TAPSTRI), executive director
Known forNational security, Counterterrorism intelligence, Islamic extremism, SERE, torture
Notable workThe Plot to Hack America
WebsiteOfficial website

Malcolm Wrightson Nance (born September 20, 1961) is a retired United States Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer in naval cryptology and author, scholar, and media commentator on international terrorism, intelligence, insurgency and torture.

Nance is an expert on intelligence and terrorism,[1] and frequently discusses the history, personalities, and organization of jihadi radicalization and al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL); Southwest Asian and African terror groups, as well as counterinsurgency and asymmetric warfare. Fluent in Arabic, he is active in the field of national security policy particularly, in anti- and counter-terrorism intelligence, terrorist strategy and tactics, torture and counter-ideology in combating Islamic extremism. In 2016, he published the book, Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe,[2] and published The Plot to Hack America the same year.[3]

In 2014, he became the executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies (TAPSTRI), a Hudson, New York-based think tank.

Education

Nance was born in Philadelphia, and attended the city's West Catholic Boys High School. He studied Spanish, French, and Latin languages, and took advantage of free classes in Russian and Chinese offered at South Philadelphia High School on Saturdays.[1] He graduated from New York's Excelsior College with a degree in Arabic.[4] Nance was an interpreter for Russian, and began working in the intelligence field through research into the history of the Soviet Union and its spying agency the KGB.[5] He subsequently devoted years of research to analyzing Middle East terrorism and sovereign nations with ties to Russia.[5]

Military career

As former U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer in Naval Cryptology, he was involved in numerous counter-terrorism, intelligence, and combat operations.[6][7][8] He garnered expertise within the fields of intelligence and counterterrorism.[9][10][11] He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, from 1981-2001.[12][13] He received military decorations and speaks Arabic. He became an instructor in wartime and peacetime SERE, training Navy and Marine Corps pilots and aircrew how to survive as a prisoner of war.[14][15]

Nance took part in combat operations which occurred after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, was involved with the 1986 United States bombing of Libya, served on the USS Wainwright during Operation Praying Mantis and participated in the sinking of Iranian missile boat Joshan, served on the USS Tripoli during the Gulf War, and assisted during a Banja Luka, Bosnia air strike.[12]

Post-military career

After retiring from military service, Nance founded a consulting company based in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. where he provided advising services to United States Special Operations Command.[12] In early 2001, Nance founded Special Readiness Services International (SRSI), an intelligence support company. On the morning of 9/11, driving to Arlington he witnessed the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon.[12][13] He acted as a first responder at the helipad crash site where he helped organize the rescue and recovery of victims.[12][13] Nance served as an intelligence and security contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, the UAE and North Africa.[16][17]

Nance created a training center called the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival School.[13] Nance manages a think tank analyzing counterterrorism called "Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies", consisting of Central Intelligence Agency and military intelligence officers with direct prior field experience.[13][11] Nance is a member of the board of directors for the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.[12]

Between 2005–2007 Nance was a visiting lecturer on counterterrorism in Sydney, Australia at Macquarie University's Centre on Policing, Intelligence and Counter-terrorism (PICT) and at Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.[18]

In 2007, Nance wrote an article criticizing waterboarding for the counterinsurgency blog Small Wars Journal titled "Waterboarding is Torture... period."[19] Republished in the Pentagon Early Bird, it set off a firestorm as the first credible description of the torture technique as used in SERE. The article strongly swayed the Pentagon against the use of the waterboard because its misuse would damage America's reputation worldwide. Nance claimed that using the torture techniques of America's former enemies dishonors the memory of U.S. service members who died in captivity through torture, and that torture does not produce credible intelligence.[14][15] Nance was called to testify before the U.S. Congress about the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques".[14][15] He told the House Judiciary Committee that: "Waterboarding is torture, period... I believe that we must reject the use of the waterboard for prisoners and captives and cleanse this stain from our national honor... water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel(ing) your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs."[14][15]

Nance's books on counter-terrorism and intelligence include: An End to al-Qaeda,[20] Terrorist Recognition Handbook,[21] The Terrorists of Iraq,[22] and two books about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Defeating ISIS,[23] The Plot to Hack America,[3] and Hacking ISIS.[24]

Guest analyst

Nance was a frequent guest analyst on terrorist strategy on Fox News with Tony Snow, who would later become the Press Secretary of President George W. Bush.[25]

Prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Nance urged readers to be skeptical of the Podesta emails leaked by WikiLeaks, writing that the documents were "riddled with obvious forgeries" and were black propaganda "not even professionally done" and arguing that even if all the emails were authentic, WikiLeaks' excerpts of the emails were posted to Twitter in a way that distorted their meaning.[26][27]

Selected bibliography

Books and edited works

  • The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election. Skyhorse Publishing. 2016.
  • Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe. Skyhorse Publishing. 2016. ISBN 978-1-510-71184-6..
  • The Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activity. CRC Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1-466-55457-3. (1st Edition 2004, 2nd Edition 2008, 3rd Edition 2013).
  • An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor. St. Martin's. 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-59249-3.
  • The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014, Second Edition. CRC Press. 2014. ISBN 978-1-498-70689-6. (1st Edition 2007,2nd Edition 2014)

Selected journal articles

Movies and documentaries

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Layla A. (March 10, 2017). "Philly native is media expert on intelligence". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Malcolm Nance on Defeating ISIS". Washington Journal. C-SPAN. March 13, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Nance, Malcolm (October 10, 2016), The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election, Skyhorse Publishing, p. 216, ISBN 978-1510723320
  4. ^ "Malcolm Nance to present fall 2016 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science". Iowa State University. August 23, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Lipkin, Michael (October 10, 2016), "The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election", New York Journal of Books, retrieved June 7, 2017
  6. ^ Wolcott, James (March 21, 2017), "5 essential Twitter feeds for keeping up with Trump and Russia", Vanity Fair, retrieved June 7, 2017
  7. ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (May 21, 2017), "Barbara Lee brings John Dean, Malcolm Nance to town hall meeting", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved June 7, 2017
  8. ^ Concha, Joe (February 18, 2017), "Maher: Russian election influence is worst political scandal in US history", The Hill, retrieved June 7, 2017
  9. ^ Devega, Chauncey (March 14, 2017), "Intelligence expert Malcolm Nance on Trump scandal: 'As close to Benedict Arnold as we're ever going to get'", Salon, retrieved June 7, 2017
  10. ^ Donahue, Joe (January 5, 2017), "Counterterrorism Expert Malcolm Nance", WAMC, retrieved June 7, 2017
  11. ^ a b Hobson, Jeremy (October 12, 2016), "How Hackable Is The Election?", Here and Now, WBUR, retrieved June 7, 2017
  12. ^ a b c d e f Lamb, Brian (April 28, 2017), "Q&A with Malcolm Nance", C-SPAN (video), retrieved June 7, 2017
  13. ^ a b c d e Jones, Layla A. (March 10, 2017), "Philly native is media expert on intelligence", The Philadelphia Tribune, retrieved June 7, 2017
  14. ^ a b c d Kellman, Laurie (November 8, 2007). "Ex- Navy interrogator: Ban waterboarding". Navy Times. Associated Press. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  15. ^ a b c d "House Panel Gets Earful On Waterboarding". CBS News. November 8, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  16. ^ Freeman, Colin (April 19, 2004). "12 U.S. troops die in Iraq; Spain leaving". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  17. ^ Freeman, Colin (April 4, 2004). "Iraqi police 'were too scared' to help Americans in Fallujah". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 21, 2004. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Sydney ferries a 'soft terrorist target'". The Age. August 30, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
  19. ^ "Waterboarding is torture... Period". Small Wars Journal. October 31, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  20. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2010), An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0312592493
  21. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2013), Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities, Third Edition, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1466554573
  22. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2014), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003-2014, Second Edition, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1498706896
  23. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2016), Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510711846
  24. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2017), Hacking ISIS: How to Destroy the Cyber Jihad, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510718920
  25. ^ Joe Sharkey (April 30, 2000). "Tourists Stumble Into the Line of Fire". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  26. ^ Nance, Malcolm [@MalcolmNance] (October 7, 2016). "Official Warning: #PodestaEmails are already proving to be riddled with obvious forgeries & #blackpropaganda not even professionally done" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Starks, Tim; Geller, Eric (October 12, 2016), "Russians, lies and WikiLeaks", Politico
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