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# Covert Contact 42: A Look at Transnational Crime from a National Security Perspective
- URL: https://johnwlittle.com/a-look-at-transnational-crime-from-a-national-security-perspective/
- Published: 2016-04-14T12:48:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-17T18:44:35.000Z
- Description: Andrew Trabulsi joins me to discuss transnational crime, its connections to instability, and the challenge of adapting large institutions to confront agile adversaries.
- Author: John Little
- Tags: Covert Contact, Interviews, Andrew Trabulsi, Terrorism

Andrew Trabulsi, entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of [*Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N6PBC2G?btkr=1&ref=johnwlittle.com), joined me on episode 42 of Covert Contact to discuss the growing impact of transnational crime and how it intersects with destabilizing forces ranging from empowered individuals, to terrorist organizations, to rogue governments.

The key question at the heart of this discussion is our response. How can large bureaucratic organizations, such as the U.S. intelligence community, position themselves to counter incredibly nimble (and increasingly empowered) actors who are unconstrained by law or ethics? We just scratch the surface here but this episode will be followed by several more focused discussions with Andrew as we search for answers.

This episode is part of a longer discussion that will span two episodes. The second will be released as [episode 44](https://blogsofwar.com/navigating-massive-technological-change/?ref=johnwlittle.com) in mid-April.

You can follow Andrew on Twitter [@andrewtrabulsi](http://www.iftf.org/andrewtrabulsi/?ref=johnwlittle.com).

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