Professor’s News Web Site Focuses on Cyber Security Issues

BY LAURA J. MONDUL
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER

Political scientist Joseph Fitsanakis admits that knowledge of history is important in understanding politics, but he asserts that the United States is facing a new kind of politics and warfare, one in which espionage and intelligence agencies are key.

And that move – to a cyber warfare – requires that the U.S. government and its military also evolve, he said.

Fitsanakis, who teaches at King College in Bristol, Tenn., and his colleague, Ian Allen, who has a background in intelligence work, have developed intelNews.org, a Web site based out of Bristol that is designed to create an open forum on that topic, particularly on intelligence agencies both domestic and abroad.

Born and raised in Greece, Fitsanakis moved to Bristol in 2002 to be with his wife, Vanessa, whose family has lived in the area since the Revolutionary War. He is now teaching in the history and political science department at King, and operating the Web site.

Fitsanakis earned his doctorate in political science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, with an emphasis on the political aspects of wiretapping. Among his areas of expertise are the interception of communications, institutional analysis of the intelligence community, and the history of intelligence with particular reference to international espionage during the Cold War.

Fitsanakis said his Web site and his teaching overlap somewhat, in that he is helping to educate people online and in his classroom as to the importance of intelligence agencies in the new kind of politics that is becoming prevalent worldwide.

“This is not conventional warfare,” Fitsanakis said. “The United States does not get to use its nuclear submarines in Iraq or Afghanistan. The type of enemy that America is fighting is functioning differently, and doesn’t have embassies or diplomats or heads of state.”

The new enemy is “a transnational force that lives underground,” Fitsanakis said. “The United States military is very good at the things it was designed to do, but this is not what it was designed to do.”

That new kind of warfare – cyber warfare – focuses more on special forces and intelligence agencies, Fitsanakis said. And the challenge facing America’s society is finding a way to frame the use of intelligence within the law and ensuring that intelligence agencies are accountable.

“Intelligence matters tend to be discussion killers,” Fitsanakis said. “You mention it and people stop talking. It shouldn’t be like that. In a society like ours, which is based on democratic principles, there should be more public discussion about the role of intelligence agencies and their limitations.”

In addition to his work at King College and on the Web site, Fitsanakis authored a 40-page article on the history of the National Security Agency that was included in the book “The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook,” published in 2007. The article is designed to “fill the gap in relevant literature” by exploring the history of the federal security agency, from the Korean War until the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq.

Karl de Leeuw, a lecturer in information security at the University of Amsterdam who specializes in the history of cryptography, notes that where other writers required entire books to cover the history of the U.S. security agency, “Joseph wrote a history in only 40 pages, in a much condensed form, containing not only
historical fact, but also an appraisal of the NSA’s successes and failures.”

De Leeuw called that a great accomplishment. “His account shows great accuracy and the distance needed for judgment,” de Leeuw said.

Fitsanakis said he hopes to educate the public on the importance and inevitability of bolstering America’s intelligence agencies. His Web site addresses that by collecting and amassing news about intelligence that cannot be found otherwise in a cohesive format, he said. The site also is open to commentary from readers.

In his classes, Fitsanakis said, he focuses on exploring the new reality of underground guerilla warfare. He emphasizes the growing importance of developing more specialists in America’s intelligence agencies, and notes that the vast majority of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency agents are hired from small, liberal arts colleges. So, he said, it is crucial to instruct students, such as those at King College, on these issues, as they might become future CIA agents.

“Students tend to say two things about Joseph’s classes which rarely go together: They are the hardest classes they have taken, and also their favorites,” said Martin Dotterweich, an associate professor of history at King and head of the Department of History and Political Science.

“This is a testament to Joseph’s infectious enthusiasm for learning and his deep connection with his students,” Dotterweich said.

Since relocating to Bristol, Fitsanakis said, he has found his niche and hopes to influence a new generation in the importance of intelligence agencies and the role they will play in the nation’s future.

“It’s a matter of attitude,” Fitsanakis said. “We have to train our military and our government to think differently, and we have to train the people. I am indebted to King College for giving me the opportunity to teach there. As a society, we need to be forward-thinking and adapt to a new concept of politics. If I can have contact with students to explore this with them further, that’s a great opportunity.”