Somali Pirates and the View From Iraq with NCIS and Retired FBI Tim Clemente

Tim Clemente shares his truth with Media Mayhem about his experience in Somalia and Iraq.
From the reasons that Somalis turn to piracy-along with who bankrolls their boats-to the sectarian divisions in Iraq, he also sets his sights on what we are doing wrong at home in the war on terror.

Guest Bio

As an FBI Special Agent Tim Clemente worked as a counter-terrorism and tactical operations expert around the world, specializing in Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa.
An expert interviewer/interrogator, he is extremely adept at “flipping” people, effortlessly turning
defendants, detainees, and targets into cooperators. Tim spent five years running a highly classified (above Top Secret), covert joint operation with the DOE NEST, directly protecting the United States from the threat of rogue nuclear and WMD attack. In his undercover persona as a drug smuggler, Tim worked on long-term narcotics and organized crime investigations in the US, Colombia, and Venezuela, targeting and taking down members of the notorious Cali Cartel.
Prior to the FBI Tim was a Police Officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
On the streets of one of the most violent cities in the US, he received multiple commendations for bravery and exceptional performance of duty. After his career with the FBI Tim worked as an embedded, uniformed Counter Improvised Explosive Device Investigator with the US Army 3rd Corps in Iraq in 2007, and with the 101st Airborne Division at Ft Campbell, Kentucky in 2008.
An expert storyteller, adviser, lecturer, and writer, he has addressed and taught law enforcement, military, and university audiences. He is the author of Courage – A Pictorial Essay on Life in Iraq Today (Feb 2008), and the inventor of the Height Adjustable Rescue Assault System (HARAS), currently in use by leading counter-terrorism agencies on five continents.

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Episode Breakdown

00:01 On today’s show.
01:34 Welcoming Tim Clemente.
02:22 Working on NCIS Los Angeles.
04:36 The FBI during 9/11, and the difference between terrorism and other crime.
06:45 Profiling against terrorism, and Muslims vs. Islamic extremists.
07:42 The TSA and what they ought to be doing.
11:42 Working in Iraq and Somalia, building relationships and fighting piracy.
13:08 Financing pirates and terrorists and the need for economic development.
17:19 How has America treated Iraqis that assisted against Al Qaeda?
21:04 Did we pull out of Iraq prematurely?
22:22 Veterans and caring for them in the wake of the war.
27:20 Where does the blame go for the disconnect between the War and the population?
31:04 Some thoughts on Petraeus as an example of an intellectual soldier.
32:43 Embedded news crews in the war and keeping perspective on the modern military.
40:17 Thanks and Goodbye.