WMD terrorism and US intelligence collection

Many analysts argue that better intelligence collection is necessary to improve the United States’ ability to prevent, deter and defeat WMD terrorism, but few give any concrete analysis of exactly what various types of intelligence can contribute to better understanding the WMD terrorist threat. This study outlines the emerging WMD terrorist threat and discusses the respective contributions that technical, human and open source intelligence can make in assessing the various stages of a WMD terrorist act. According to this analysis, neither imagery nor traditional human collection is capable of providing the critical information needed by policy makers. Rather, information collected by case officers working under unofficial cover and by clandestine means offer the best chance of identifying groups interested in producing and using WMD.     

Cattle Markets Integration and Price Discovery: The Case of Mali

This article analyses the level of integration in 10 cattle markets in Mali. The results indicate a limited interdependence among markets where, in majority of cases, more than 70 per cent of price variation is due to own-price shocks. However, the Ségou market exhibited a high level of interaction with other markets, behaving mostly as a price information receiver. Some markets behaved as sources of price information, however, without taking a clear price leadership role. This low level of market integration may be attributed to limited access to livestock markets and timely price information.