Ryan Mauro's
WORLD THREATS.COM

At the age of 19, Wall resident Ryan Mauro
makes a name for himself as intelligence expert

By: Brian O’Keefe

The Coast Star, December 22, 2005.

Back in 1998, when he was 12, Wall resident Ryan Mauro began an interest in international affairs and open source intelligence that has led to national exposure, respect from fellow geopolitical analysts and even the purchase of a movie option on his life story.

Now 19, Mr. Mauro has already published his first book, the 313-page “Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq,” based on extensive open source intelligence research. He will be speaking this February in Washington D.C. on a panel at The Intelligence Summit, an annual international gathering of experts at which two former CIA directors will also speak. He is a regular guest on radio programs, having appeared on The Al Franken Show and with talk radio host Al Rantel of KABC in Los Angeles, among others.

He also hosts a web site featuring geopolitical news and analysis, Worldthreats.com.

A recent graduate of Wall High School, Mr. Mauro now attends Brookdale Community College, enrolling in 12 credits this semester, and also works part time at Hollywood Video, in addition to radio appearances and working up to five hours a day as a freelance analyst for two intelligence organizations, he said.

He wasn’t always this busy. Mr. Mauro can recall a time not long ago when his life was “very slow-moving.” But speaking recently of the excitement of making real contributions in a field of such complexity and international import at such a young age, he seemed to be enjoying the change of pace.

At roughly the time Mr. Mauro got his first computer at the age of 12, President Bill Clinton had ordered bombings of Iraq with the stated purpose of degrading their unconventional weapons capabilities. Mr. Mauro said he was scared by what he heard about those weapons and the possible threat they might pose to the United States. Turning to his new computer and the Internet, he investigated the subject as much as he could to learn the truth. He also researched Russian involvement in the Middle East, as he gained interest in geopolitical research and analysis.

The intelligence information Mr. Mauro deals with is referred to as “open source intelligence.” Open source intelligence consists of information that is available to the public and not officially classified. The value of open source intelligence seems to be gaining growing recognition, as just last month the CIA opened its own open source center.

Approximately 60 to 65 percent of the information Mr. Mauro obtains for his analysis comes from the Internet, with the remainder coming form personal conversations and books.

Already at work with updating “Death to America,” which was officially published last month, Mr. Mauro is currently in touch with a former high-ranking Iraqi official in Saddam Hussein’s government. He described the man as “one of Saddam’s henchman.”

The official has confirmed the conclusion reached in his book, Mr. Mauro said—namely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction as late as 2002 and then transferred them to Syria, prior to the beginning of the U.S. attack on the country.

The Iraqi and Syrian governments had an agreement that if either country were threatened, it would move its unconventional weapons to the other country, according to Mr. Mauro.

New evidence indicates that some weapons were also moved to Iran and to parts of Lebanon controlled by Syria, he said.

When he told the Iraqi official about his new book, he was surprised when the official replied that he already owned the book, having received it from someone with the U.S. Department of State.

The book provides evidence that Saddam Hussein has ties with Al Qaeda and with the current Iraqi insurgency, Mr. Mauro said. The former Iraqi president had worked with terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, he said.

Mr. Mauro is currently in talks with a literary agent to have “Death to America” republished in an updated form. Besides adding additional “exclusive” information, the updated work will include a critique of U.S. planning of the Iraq War.

Even though he believes mistakes were made in the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Mauro feels the invasion was unavoidable because Saddam Hussein was working with terrorists and was researching unconventional weapons.

Mr. Mauro argues that most of the countries that opposed the invasion in 2003 had helped Iraq under Saddam Hussein and gained financially from their dealings.

He has also spoken with other Iraqis during his research. Part of the reason many people are willing to approach him and share information seems to be related to his youth, Mr. Mauro speculates.

“I don’t threaten their ego,” he explained. “They don’t see me as a competitor.”

Currently, Mr. Mauro said he is using his skills in geopolitical analysis to help a group that is trying to overthrow the government of Syria and replace it with a democracy. The group, called the Reform Party of Syria, has members based within Syria as well as in Europe and Washington, D.C.

Syria’s government, which is allied with Iran and North Korea, is more unstable than many people think, Mr. Mauro said, and more should be done to help democratic activists inside the country. Along with Iran, the country plays a major role in supporting the Iraqi insurgency, and cutting off that support is the key to peace in Iraq, he added.

Mr. Mauro works for two intelligence organizations, the Northeast Intelligence Network, a private company that specializes in tracking and assessing terrorist threats, and Tactical Defense Concepts, a maritime-associated security company. Even though he chooses how much work to take on from the organizations at any given time, that work combined with his radio appearances has lately taken up a great deal of time.

“It’s almost become a full-time job,” said Mr. Mauro.

Next year, he will speak on an open source intelligence panel at The Intelligence Summit, an annual conference that he also attended last year. Next February’s conference will feature guest speakers including former CIA directors John Deutch and James Woolsey.

The three-day conference is attended by experts in more than 30 different countries in Europe, southeast Asia and the Middle East, and it focuses on improving intelligence. Attendees include high-level embassy officials, intelligence analysts and security managers for Fortune 500 companies.

Conference chairman Adam Shaneson said Mr. Mauro was invited to speak at the summit because of his background and his numerous radio appearances.

“We liked his style. We thought he’d be good and we wanted to give him the opportunity” to participate in the conference, Mr. Shaneson said. Breaking into the intelligence business is “extremely tough,” he added.

“There are not many kids his age that are able to break into it,” said Mr. Shaneson, adding that Mr. Mauro will have the chance to “meet some of the most important people in the world.”

While conceding that the “high level” of the conference is intimidating, Mr. Mauro expressed excitement about speaking at the conference, calling the opportunity “every intelligence geek’s dream.”

While he is happy with the recognition his work is gaining, it has also led to political attacks. Every day, Mr. Mauro receives e-mails accusing him of being a “right-wing fascist,” and he has been called “an Israeli asset” by Internet pundits. Those attacks are off the mark, he said, because his views are simply based on his research.

“I don’t care about either political party at all,” Mr. Mauro said. “I didn’t like George Bush or John Kerry…People try and label you as a partisan hack” based on a single issue, he said.

Political bickering between the right and left wings of U.S. politics has gotten out of hand, Mr. Mauro believes. “When it filters down to a 19-year old getting attacked, it’s pretty pathetic.”

Mr. Mauro has been asked to appear in an upcoming student film, “Six Degrees from Truth: Michael Moore,” after the director, Adam Reuter, read an interview on Mr. Mauro’s web site with a woman who claimed that a scene in which she appeared in Mr. Moore’s movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” was altered to misrepresent what she said.

Mr. Mauro, who has posted numerous other stories about Mr. Moore on his web site, said he finds the filmmaker annoying.

“He’s really anti-American,” he said, criticizing him for describing Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s reign as “a sort of paradise.” Mr. Mauro also claims that the Islamist group Hezbollah helped to advertise “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

“There’s no excuse for that,” said Mr. Mauro.

One of the intriguing points made in his book is that the headlines in newspapers today regarding the war and occupation of Iraq are quite similar to headlines that appeared regarding Germany during and after World War II. In both cases, he explains, newspapers reported that people were looting and turning against the American occupiers. More than 1,000 Americans were killed in Germany after the war was over, he added.

The end result of the invasion and occupation will also be similar to what happened in Germany, Mr. Mauro predicts. Although the country may not become an American-style democracy, the government will not be controlled by a tyrant, he said.

Right-wing Internet talk show host Paul Schiffer has featured Mr. Mauro on his show, “The Schiffer Report,” a number of times as an expert on foreign policy, and he is helping the young author find a new publisher for his book, to give it wider distribution. Mr. Schiffer said he is impressed with Mr. Mauro’s knowledge, his meticulous research and the recognition he has earned from more experienced experts.

“He sure knows a heck of a lot of stuff…when it comes to foreign policy,” said Mr. Schiffer, adding that Mr. Mauro’s book is “phenomenal” and as good and well-documented as other books on the subject by much older authors.

Pointing out that Mr. Mauro has personal connections with retired U.S. Army and Marine colonels, Mr. Schiffer said he was even more impressed when he heard from those officers that they respect Mr. Mauro and his work.

With all the attention he has been getting in the media, Mr. Mauro recently sold an option for using his life story for a feature film to the production company Bunim/Murray Productions, which has produced such television shows as “The Simple Life” and “The Real World.”

Mr. Mauro’s father, Glen, said he is proud and supportive of his son’s pursuits, and praised his persistence and networking ability. The fact that he is not afraid to ask for people’s addresses and press each person he speaks to for all the information he can get is a significant factor in the success he has achieved, he said.

Mr. Mauro plans on attending Rutgers University, where he hopes to major in global affairs and then possibly pursue a master’s degree. Asked if he wishes to pursue his interests as a full-time career, he answered, “Definitely…it’s gotten more and more interesting.”

He sees three options for a career in his field: working on foreign policy in the state or defense departments, working for an intelligence agency, or becoming a professor. He is not sure which he will pursue, as he sees “big problems” with each of the options, especially with bureaucracy involved in government agencies.

Knowing people who work for intelligence agencies, Mr. Mauro has learned “how slow-moving everything is” and how long It takes to accomplish things. “It’s extremely frustrating.”

He is contemplating going to work eventually at the CIA’s new open source intelligence center.

“My dream job would be secretary of state or national security advisor,” said Mr. Mauro. “If that was possible, I’d go for it.”

He has been invited to visit almost every country in the Middle East by people who know his work. But he has had to turn down the offers for now.

“I want to do it now, but my parents are very worried,” he said. “And I live under their roof, so…”

As for how far his hobby has taken him, Mr. Mauro is amazed and energized by how well things are going.

“I never thought I would reach this level,” said Mr. Mauro. “That’s a dream come true.”

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