i'm joined by dr jim walsh, from watertown, an international security expert at mit's security studies program and fred burtan, vice president of intelligence at stratford, a global intelligence company, and author of, "untold fire." the untold attack on benghazi, and served as a counteragent and involved in security issues for the 1996 atlanta olympics. we'll get to benghazi in a moment. first, jim, do you have doubt that the bombing attacks are connected with the winter olympics ? no one has taken responsibility yet. in july a chechen rebel leader doku umarov who claimed responsibilities for other suicide attacks issued a manifesto calling for supporters to disrupt the olympics. is this work. >> whether doku umarov or other groups involved in chechnya or the caucuses, i think they are related. it gives the folks leverage to have a high profile event coming to russia. there'll be thousands of journalists or visitors around the world, creating a target that is difficult to exist. they have laid back and two attacks in three days, three in the past couple of months, it signals that they

. >> jim walsh joins us from boston. is it clear that al qaeda did not have a role in the attack. >> i think it didment this is spectacular reporting. i wish congress did a good job. >> al qaeda was frustrated that it couldn't get a toe hold in libya. what we are talking about. this is something we suffered from, where we think all terrorism is al qaeda. this was a local group. the person implicated had a following of 24 fighters. two dozen fighters small, local and violence. rather than the organization we have in our heads. we should not think about al qaeda, but violent extremism is the category - whether big or small. >>s there's a concern that we are playing semantics. whether it's mill tant or a cell, whether there should be a differencism. >> it makes a big difference. if you focus on al-qaeda central or in yemen or elsewhere it leads to targetting decisions, intelligence decisions. you'll look for certain sorts of things and ignore other things. libia is not so much about it being al qaeda or a muslim country. th

jim walsh is an international security expert, one of the few outsiders who travelled to north korea to meet with officials. welcome. >> what is the significance of this. kim jong un's uncle was executed. uy in the id appears to have country. he was not the only number two guy, he was a family relation. north korea is built on family ties. that's the organising principle of the country. not only is this guy executed, he is publicly executed, and the korean government comes out and says there are plots against us, they were going to use economic difficulties to get the military to overthrow the young kim. that is an administration that there are factions and divisions never made before. it's an admission that things are not great in the people's paradise, that there are economic problems that someone might take advantage left in s transition with the young guy, the 30 something has gone well. all political transitions are difficult. you have the potential of a rivalry between a young guy and the uncle. north korea is trying to shift one sector of the military to the party. if you take

for more, let's check in with jim walsh, research associate with mit's security studies program. from watertown, massachusetts. thank you for joining us. first, what is your reaction to the designation that the muslim brotherhood is now a terrorist organization. i wish i could say ways surprised. i'm not surprised. it is yet another step in the military government's movement towards finalizing this coup. now the story is not done. we have see see what the constitution is going to be like. whether there will be free and fair elections. but from the eve of the coup on there have been a series of steps that looked like the battle days when in fact the egyptian military governments have banned the muslim brotherhood. and i'm not fan of the muslim brotherhood. but if you ban a group that has 30, 45% of support among egyptian population, that sends a message. and to those folks in the brotherhood it says look, we tried this political stuff. it doesn't work. i guess we will have to try violence. road. i know a lot of egyptian support it, but this is deeply troubling. >> yeah, a group th

jim walsh is from mit and specialises in international security and says the security approach wasn't enough on local threats. >> we assumed that the bigger groups would control the smaller groups or give us advance intelligence. they had more allegiance or locally than they did for us, so we did not get a warning, they did not control them. >> secretary of state john kerry will start the new year in the middle east, pushing for a 2-state solution. israel plans to release more than two dozen prisoners next week. angry israelis gathered outside benyamin netanyahu's home in protest. plans for a new settlement in west bank could derail talks. >> planned withdrawal of u.s. troops in afghanistan could erode plans. a resurgence of influence by the taliban and other power brokers within three years of the 2014 american withdrawal deadline. each if the u.s. leaves ganned a contingent of a few thousands troops, still really unlikely to make a difference. some officials contradict the findings saying it doesn't adequately account for how strong afghanistan's security forces come under training.

jim walsh is a research associate at mit specialising international security saying that the u.s. security approach was not focused enough on the local threats. >> we assumed that the bigger groups were control the smaller groups. at the end of the day they had more allegiance locally than they did to us, so we did not get a warning and they did not control them. >> gunshots were fired as four libyan personnel were taken into custody. they were afraid of being robbed. the four americans taken into custody were released friday. >> an analysis of rockets used in a chemical weapons attack in syria called into question the u.s. government's assertions about the event. the analysis points to the syrian regime being responsibility, but not that the sarin gas missiles were fired from the heart of government territory in damascus. the findings could lead to transpersons by from the white house about technical methods used by the white house to draw those conclusions. it prompted international action to strip syria of chemical weapons. >> the united nations has run flights into and out of

rocks and release natural gas experts say that leaves the ground though highly unstable earlier jim walsh an activist with the group food and water watch told us that fracking contaminates the environment and puts vital resources a risk. issues with water contamination are all too real and all too concerned we're literally faced right now with decisions about the how we're going to move forward in this country and around the globe with an energy future one that will essentially protect these vital resources you need to live or one that will allow the oil and gas companies to profit at the expense of the well being of our communities cannot drink gas we cannot drink money there was also most recently a study done by the university of north carolina that documents that that drinking water supply for pittsburgh is actually being contaminated with radioactivity from waste that was created through the fracking process there are certainly people that are making a lot of money off of this process but those gains are not being shared amongst the broader public. the government in bahrain again com

jim walsh, national security expert with the mit security studies program with us out of massachusettsood morning, how are you? bill: bill i'm fine, thank you. and thank you for your time. is this the kind of thing that a terror cell would go after, cobalt 60? >> it certainly would. people who worry about terrorist a acts, this is precisely the material, cobalt 60, that people worry about because it is both highly radioactive and come in a form that would lend itself to being strapped to an explosive and used in a bomb. so when this was first reported earlier in the week, i think itç kid send off -- did send off some alarm bells at the iaea and also in law enforcement. but as happened with all these sorts of incidents, including a famous one in brazil, what has happened here is that folks stole this not knowing what they had, and then they made the fateful judgment to open up the -- to break the seal on that cobalt 60, and i would -- if i were a betting man, and i'm not -- i would bet they're not going to be long with us. bill: really? >> if they opened it up right in front of them, th

thank you for your time jim walsh. >> vice president joe biden will spend next week in asia. on the top of the agenda easing tensions between china and the east china sea. all pilots are required to identify themselves before entering the disputed air space. japan is refusing to comply. major american airliners are following advice. they are notifying china the flight plans. the u.s. government has not accepted the new rules. two major japanese airlines will fly through the airspace without notifying china. >> al jazeera broke the news about the destruction of syria's chemical weapons. the 500 tonnes of chemicals will be destroyed at sea on board a ship. they are thought to be too dangerous. the arms have to be out of syria by the end of the year. the u.n. is warning of a lot of generation in syria, an amounted 1 million children have been displaced because of the civil war. many are growing up in refugee camps. 2.2 million have fled. those in camps across the border face a difficult whipper. >> zeina khodr begins our coverage in lebanon. >> we are at a tend settlement in leb

secretive society went very, very wrong >> late today the white house said this about the execution: >> jim walsh joins us from washington. you travelled to north korea in the past, what was your reaction? >> my reaction was, "whoah, they're serious." this is a big deal. it's a surprise. does north korea execute people all the time? yes, it does. this is a regime based on family, it's a monarchy more than a communist state. when you execute essentially the senior-most figure in the government, the - you know, the man who has married to kim jong-il's sister, kim jong-il, the previous president having appointed this guy to take care of the young leader, and then he turns around and he's not purged. he had been purged before and rehabilitate. he's purged and executed, that is big new, and it's worrisome to any outside party, be it china or the united states. it may signal paranoia or instability within north korea. >> is kim jong un trying to consolidate power or is he afraid of losing power? >> that is essentially the question - was this an act out of strength or an act out of weakness. as with all

the co-director of the liberty and national security at the brennan center, and we are joined by jim walsh, an international security expert at mit security studies program and security consultant for al jazeera america. and joins us from watertown. the ruling by a judge, the ruling of all that information, who we are calling is likely to be a violation of the fourth amendment. other judges sided with the n.s.a. in the past. how likely is this to be the rule going forward or is this just an outlier. >> i think the fourth amendment jurisprudence, your call records was a little in flux. we have a court ruling from the secret court which approved the surveillance, and they found it to be constitutional. they relied on a 1970s case from the supreme court called fish versus maryland, finding a single pen register that recorded phone numbers recorded over a period of days was constitutional. the judge found that ruling doesn't apply when you look at the program running over years and years and years and is not picking up one person's information. it's picking up millions. >> despite being author

joined by pfizer patel, the codirector of the liberty security program at the brennan center and jim walsh, a security expert at nyt, and a jazeera. from watertown massachusetts. great to have other judges have sided with the n.s.a. in the past. how likely is the ruling or rule going forward, or is this just an outlier. >> i think the whole fourth amendment jurize prudence around collecting metadata is in flux. we have a court ruling from the secret fiva court which approved the surveillance and they found this to be constitutional. they relied on a 1970s case from the supreme court called smith versus mary land finding a single pen register found phone numbers called from a single telephone was constitutional. what the judge found was the ruling doesn't apply when you are looking at a program that runs over years, and years and years and is not picking up one person's information. it's picking up millions, hundreds of millions. >> despite being authorised by the pfizer court. >> the ruling was not in front of the court, but it was able to do an independent constitutional analysis on wheth

. >> let's turn to jis jim walsh. i asked what north korea may do next with the veteran. goothe good news is when yoa public confession that sets it up for him to be released. >> he is 5 years ol 85 years ola history of health and heart problems. >> obviously the confolks he britisconfession hewrote he read he go not write. he didn't know about hostile policy and that is a north korean government phrase. if i could many home soon to the united states that is a strong indication that he will be released. >> a lot of people are grabbing onto that saying "if i come home to the united states". that tells a lot right there, right? >> it's both the line and stepping back. it's also the fact that there is a public confession. we have not heard anything from kenneth bayh another american who was seized and sadly and unfortunately there is a history of americans who have ended up being captured and imprisoned for one reason or another. sometimes they are missionaries and so many people wandered over the border. this is surprising to have someone who is on a legitimate tour goo gro

jim walsh is an international security expert with the security studies program at the esteemed m.i.t. i wanted to talk to you about this because i have so many questions. let me start by asking you this, how hard has the u.s. been looking for him? because now that it's been confirmed that he worked for the cia, after the white house and prior administrations denying it, what do they do? >> this person was not a cia agent, he was a contract employee who was supposed to be an analyst, but sort of a group within the analytic camp which is not supposed to run operations violated cia rules and sort of inserted him in a situation or allowed him to go into a situation where he's put in danger. even though he was a contract employee, i think at the end of the day the professional code of the intelligence agency is if someone has one of our people, we're going to do everything we can to get him back. there was some misleading statements to congress and some folks within the agency were not forthcoming. i'm sure they've turned over every rock and done everything they can to get him back. the c

phone jim walsh joins us now from watertown, massachusetts.morningthis is the first td these arguments aired in public. viewers can find this opinion on line. it's lengthy, 68 pages, heavily footnoted, sites lots of case law in some cases agrees with government claims but at the core makes a sweeping judgment expectation of privacy. >> part of the judge's reasoning was that he didn't see enough evidence that these types of surveillance were effective in preventing imminent attacks. point that i've had doubts about. this judge finds that not in a single instance was the use of met at a data related to the prevention of a terrorist attack. so, it's the government making the claim we're going to vital your privacy but it's for the good of national security, then you have to prove that claim. you have to prove thatgle insta. that's probably the most important finding. >> keith alexander buttressing what president obama has said has also said there isn't a better way to help defend the country other than these type of n.s.a. activities. can we ever

. >> jim walsh, international security analyst with me. just heard the president, jim, calling al-qaeda a shadow of its former self. so why are we sending weapons to iraq? >> well, it is true we're sending the weapons to help the government back al-qaeda. i think when the president talked then he was really talking about the al-qaeda value, the old version, al-qaeda 1.0, where they had an old base and were able to launch attacks on the u.s. soil. this is more regional and local, thinking in a nefarious way. so you have it in syria and iraq, it is posing more of a challenge to those governments than to the home land. >> so have we miscalculated how strong the al-qaeda might be? this year, we put posts in the area because of the terrorist attacks. i guess it is nothing to dismiss, i guess i'm trying to figure out if this is really al-qaeda or freelance terrorist cells, using this twisting form of branding known as al-qaeda? >> yeah, that is a great question, kyra, my own take, it is really -- we're talking about sunni religious extremists, an

joining us is jim walsh, research associate in watertown massachusetts. good morning.s described as the number 2 in the regime. if this proves to be true, this represents a major shakeup in the regime, doesn't it? >> it's huge, stephanie. it's huge news, and it is big news. we're not sure why, and since we're not sure why, we're not sure what it means going forward. this was the young kim's uncle who was supposed to shepherd him through this process, and the most important organizing principle is this relationship to the country. we'll look back on this some years down the road and put our finger on these last couple of days as marking a turning point in north korean history. >> one thing we do know about un's uncle is that he was close to his father, could this indicate that kim jong un is taking a different path away from his father? >> it could mean that. unfortunately we have way more theories than facts. it seems three possibilities. one is he engaged in some really bad activity that got him and his aids in this trouble. another possibility is this is the conseque

made in iran over its nuclear program joining us to discuss some of the biggest stories of 2013 is jim walshm.i.t. securities and studies program. good morning to you sir. >> good morning, good to see you. >> you helped us break down the year in news, starting with two big stories which we have covered here in aljazeera. let's talk about what's happening in syria. jim, more than 100,000 people have been killed in their civil war, not to mention well over a million refugees. what are the implications of what continues to happen in that region? when does it get to critical mass in this situation in syria? >> it's great question. you're also right to see what a year it's been. i am happy 2013 is over. we're going to talk about syria and some other things, but think about the things that didn't make my list, the war in iraq and afghanistan so many things happened this year in egypt and elsewhere. the number one story you're right to say is syria, 100,000 dead, the reef gees using chemical weapons. that that was a big story. the fact that the u.s. was within 24 hours of using military force again