Michael S. Smith II

Michael S. Smith II is a counter-terrorism advisor to members of the United States Congress, gray area phenomena subject-matter expert, and a founder of Kronos Advisory, LLC, a U.S.-based firm established in 2011 that is owned by Medal of Honor recipient MajGen James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret) and Smith.^[1][2][3][4] A Foreign Policy report describes Kronos Advisory as “a leading open source intelligence consultancy,” and a report on the Islamic State’s attacks in Europe by New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi notes the firm “began briefing the United States government in 2013 on ISIS’ aspirations to strike in Europe.”^[5][6] An August 2016 New York Times report on the death of Islamic State spokesman and external operations manager Abu Mohammad al-Adnani notes Smith is authoring a book on the Islamic State’s external operations.^[7] Smith’s work monitoring Islamic State supporters’ activities on Twitter was covered in an April 2016 Wall Street Journal story that included excerpts of his exchanges with Islamic State propagandists on Twitter and photos of Smith in his office in Charleston, South Carolina.^[8] A profile of Smith published in July 2016 by Charleston’s daily newspaper, The Post and Courier, notes Smith’s work collecting and analyzing information about the Islamic State “has made him a go-to commentator on cable news and an oft-quoted source in major publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times,” and that former CIA director David Petraeus said insights about the Islamic State’s activities provided by Smith and his colleagues are “absolutely invaluable.”^[9] For his collaboration with hactivist groups that infiltrate the Islamic State’s online networks, in 2016 Smith was ranked 14 on Fast Company magazine’s annual list of the 100 most creative people in business.^[10]

Major publications and news organizations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, BBC, Al Arabiya, Fox News, and Voice of America have covered Smith’s work assisting policymakers and referenced his comments in reports about terror-related developments.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]} During 2015 and 2016, Smith conducted television and radio interviews concerning terror-related issues with NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, France 24 and NPR, and he was cast as a terrorism analyst in a documentary about ISIS produced for The History Channel by NBC’s Peacock Productions unit, titled "The ISIS Storm: America on Alert."^{[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]} A report by Smith concerning Iran’s Qods Force and its relationship with Al-Qaeda was also entered into the Congressional Record.^[46] A terrorism preparedness manual produced by Congressional Taskforce on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare Chairman Congressman Robert Pittenger notes Smith served on the taskforce’s advisory committee with various former security and intelligence officials, including former CIA Director James Woolsey and former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.^[47]

In February 2015, it was reported Smith was collaborating with former DIA Director LtGen Michael T. Flynn, USA (Ret).^[48] Concerning a meeting they held at the State Department in December 2014 with Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL General John R. Allen, USMC (Ret), Eli Lake reported that Smith explained, "We held a meeting with General Allen to discuss the strategy for countering the Islamic State and the ways it could be supported by outside advisers."^[49] During 2015, stories published by CNN, Newsweek, BBC, Voice of America, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Foreign Policy described Smith as a liaison between a group of hactivists who collect information about ISIS’s online activities known as Ghost Security Group and counterterrorism officials.^{[50][51][52][53][54][55]} The Foreign Policy story also references comments about Smith’s work issued by Petraeus, who said Smith “has shared with me some of the open source data he has provided to various U.S. agency officials, and I can see how that data would be of considerable value to those engaged in counter-terrorism initiatives.”^[56] The April 2016 Wall Street Journal report that covered Smith’s work monitoring Islamic State supporters’ activities on Twitter, and a profile of Smith published by Fast Company magazine notes Smith has also collaborated with the hactivist group known as ControlSec.^[57][58] Smith discussed his collaboration with ControlSec in a story published by The Huffington Post in October 2016.^[59]

Smith is also a founding editor of DOWNRANGE, a forum that reports by The Long War Journal and The Intercept describe as managed by Kronos Advisory.^[60][61][62] Smith has contributed opinion pieces focused on U.S. foreign policy, international affairs, and national security-related developments to CNN.com, FoxNews.com, The Washington Times and The Daily Caller.^{[63][64][65][66][67][68]}

Congressional Counter-Terrorism Advising

According to reports produced by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, The Jerusalem Post, and Al Arabiya, at the request of a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in 2011 Smith produced a report on Iran’s ties to Al-Qaeda that was distributed to members of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus.^{[69][70][71][72]} Titled "The al-Qa’ida-Qods Force Nexus: Scratching the Surface of a Known Unknown," a redacted version of Smith’s report is available online via the blog site owned by American military geostrategist and The Pentagon's New Map author Thomas P.M. Barnett.^[73] The report’s Issue Summary section explains: "This report focuses on the history of Iran’s relationship with al-Qa’ida, and briefly addresses potential implications of these ties. Additionally, its author provides a list of recommended action items for Members of the United States Congress, as well as a list of questions that may help Members develop a better understanding of this issue through interactions with defense and intelligence officials."

On September 23, 2011, while issuing remarks on the House Floor about both the president of Iran’s September 2011 visit to New York to address the United Nations and Iran’s support of Islamist terrorism U.S. Congressman Jeff Duncan (R, SC) referenced "The al-Qa’ida-Qods Force Nexus" report.^[74] The text of both Congressman Duncan’s remarks and the summary section of Smith’s report are included in a section of the Congressional Record titled "The Al Qaeda-Qods Force Nexus."^[75][76]

According to a January 4, 2012 report by Fox News Channel correspondent Catherine Herridge, Smith authored a report titled "A View to Extremist Currents in Libya" for policymakers on Capitol Hill. Herridge reported: "‘Despite early indications that the Libyan revolution might be a largely secular undertaking … the very extremist currents that shaped the philosophies of Libya Salafists and jihadis like (Abd al-Hakim) Belhadj appear to be coalescing to define the future of Libya,’ wrote Michael S. Smith II … The report, which includes lengthy translations from LIFG so law and policymakers may directly assess the group's stated intentions, also includes a series of questions for consideration. Among them: whether the transitional government in Libya is showing a willingness to cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism operations and whether the number of al Qaeda affiliated militants has grown in Libya since the death of Qaddafi."^[77]

Also in the report, Smith asserted that officials may "want to carefully consider whether some of the Salafist-jihadis who are assuming prominent roles in Libya should be apprehended due to their involvements with such entities as the LIFG and/or al-Qa’ida, which are still designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S. That is, before these elements realize the opportunity to advance their jihad to the next logical stage, which could entail mobilizing violent extremists for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, and possibly Europe and elsewhere in the West."^[78] He concluded this report with the following assertions: Developing stronger situational awareness solutions will be the key to averting a scenario in which the West fosters opportunities for extremist groups to transition Libya into the next major base of operations for militant Islamist movements. Apprehending ... known al-Qa’ida members and affiliates who were extradited to Libya and are now members of Libyan militias may also help prevent Libya from becoming a major incubator for Islamic terrorism. Additionally, policy makers must examine past mistakes made by working with Islamists in order to avoid repeating them in Libya."^[79]

A March 26, 2013 article by Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge focused on Congressional lawmakers’ concerns about the Obama administration’s decision to try in a criminal court Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (an al Qaeda spokesman who lived inside Iran for about a decade^[80]) notes: "A new report by the Kronos advisory group being circulated to lawmakers, called ‘Iran and The Global Jihad,’ assesses that Al Qaeda set up a management council or ‘shadow shura’ because it understood ‘America’s decades-long aversion’ to conflict with Iran."^[81] Titled "Iran and The Global Jihad: Exploring how the ‘impossible’ became inevitable," the report was coauthored by Smith and former Dutch military intelligence analyst Ronald Sandee.^[82][83]

Additional Information

Geostrategic Views

In June 2011, Smith coauthored a column with Thomas P.M. Barnett for World Politics Review. Claiming the fall of the Assad regime would greatly reduce Iran's influence in the Middle East — hindering Iran's ability to mobilize Hezbollah militants to commit acts of terrorism against Iran's enemies by disrupting arms supply routes that cross Syrian territory — Smith and Barnett encouraged U.S. government officials to provide more support to efforts focused on delivering regime change in Syria.^[84]

In an opinion piece published by Fox News, Smith characterized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s July 3, 2012 apology for the accidental killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers who fired on U.S. forces during a joint U.S-Pakistan operation conducted in November 2011 as a gesture the "Pakistanis and other foreign observers in Southwest Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa" would perceive as "A display of American weakness."^[85][86] The apology, which prompted the government of Pakistan to reopen NATO supply routes to Afghanistan that cross Pakistani territory, was reportedly also opposed by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.^[87]

Views regarding al Qaeda’s "post-Arab Spring" activities and contemporary US counterterrorism policies

During an October 3, 2012 guest appearance on a Fox News national security program hosted by former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs K.T. McFarland, DEFCON-3, Smith asserted one area of criticism the Obama administration should prepare to address in the wake of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya pertains to its policy of "inaction" when opportunities arose "to go in, especially into Libya during the Arab Spring, and begin to capture, recapture, or kill a lot of jihadis like the individual who’s believed to have led the assault on the US consulate in Benghazi. The policy, however, was one of inaction."^[88] Asked by Fox News national security correspondent K.T. McFarland if he thought events in Libya like the September 11, 2012 attacks reflect an example of success with al Qaeda’s possible efforts to "hijack" Arab Spring revolutions, on October 3, 2012 Smith stated: "I’m not absolutely certain about that. I think what we see in the post-Arab Spring era is much stronger influence being asserted by the Muslim Brotherhood. And, as we know, the Muslim Brotherhood’s top thought leaders like Yusuf al-Qaradawi don’t necessarily play well with al Qaeda’s Core leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. But we do see a different dynamic — and certainly strong relations between the Brotherhood and various al Qaeda figures — on a country-by-country basis, particularly in Yemen. Now, of course, we do see in Egypt that the Brotherhood’s top political player, Egypt’s new president, is certainly accommodating the use of Egypt as safe haven for a lot of high-profile figures who have been involved with the ‘global jihad,’ which we typically think of as something being led by al Qaeda. Meanwhile, I think we might want to look upon the September 11, 2012 attacks and similar events in this light: Al Qaeda — and, I think, just like the present day top sponsor of al Qaeda’s global jihad, which is Iran — has had a much easier time exploiting policy vacuums in Washington than leadership vacuums in the Arab Spring."^[89]

The Charleston Meeting

Along with Kronos Advisory, LLC founders Gen Livingston and Mallory Factor, Smith is also a founder of The Charleston Meeting, an invitation-only center-right political forum hosted in Charleston, South Carolina that borrows the model Factor developed for his New York-based Monday Meeting forum.^[90][91][92]

Miscellaneous

In 2010, Smith served as a member of the transition team of South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis.^[93]

According to information published by Wikileaks, Smith previously worked as a special assistant to the late L. Ronald Scheman (d. 2013), who, according to information published by The Washington Post and United States State Department, was a senior advisor to Kissinger McLarty Associates and former US executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank.^[94][95][96]

References