An Archive Is Not a Memory
Why using an AI agent’s memory should change it — and what separates retrieval from learning.
Read the pieceIntelligence / Security / Strategy
Beyondthe obvious.
Independent perspectives on intelligence, security and strategy. The threats we face. The assumptions that shape how we see them.
OMER ALALI / INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVESOpen archive
Areas of inquiry
Intelligence / Iran / The northern front / Security doctrine
01 / Selected writing
Notes from the field.
Iran and Four Historical Models of Nuclear Breakout
Pakistan, Libya, Syria and Iraq as comparative frameworks for thinking about Iran’s trajectory.
Read the pieceThe Intelligence Data Lake: When Technology Changes Analysis
The shift from pushing intelligence to pulling it, and the human relationship between collectors and analysts.
Read the pieceThree lenses
Connect the dots.
Intelligence, strategy and security doctrine. Three ways into the writing.
Selected reading
The Intelligence Data Lake: When Technology Changes Analysis
What changes when intelligence stops reaching the analyst and waits to be found? On technology and the human connections behind it.
Read the essaySelected reading
Iran and Four Historical Models of Nuclear Breakout
Pakistan, Libya, Syria and Iraq: four historical precedents for examining Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Read the essaySelected reading
The Northern Front: What Is Happening, and Why It Matters
What separates a diplomatic arrangement from removing a threat? On defining the objective before choosing how to achieve it.
Read the essay02 / Video
Beyond the headlines.
The War of Interests: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel
Regional interests shaping confrontation with Iran, ammunition shortages and the case for producing affordable, intelligent weapons at scale.
Watch
Building an Antifragile Israel
On the need for a new security doctrine, the limits of prediction and principles for making decisions under uncertainty.
Watch
Laser Interception: Capabilities, Limits and Promises
On laser interception, its relationship to existing air-defense systems and the need for precision when discussing military capabilities.
Watch03 / Podcasts
Room for deeper thinking.
The War of Interests: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel
Regional interests shaping confrontation with Iran, ammunition shortages and the case for producing affordable, intelligent weapons at scale.
ListenBuilding an Antifragile Israel
On the need for a new security doctrine, the limits of prediction and principles for making decisions under uncertainty.
ListenMaking Sense of the Regional Situation
A second Geekonomy appearance, examining the changing Middle East and assessing security developments.
Listen
OMER ALALI / RESEARCHER & ENTREPRENEUR
04 / About the author
Ask better questions.
I’m Omer Alali, a strategic intelligence researcher and entrepreneur. Previously an intelligence analyst at the IDF Intelligence Directorate and the Prime Minister’s Office. I write and speak about understanding adversaries, decision-making, and the gap between the information we have and what we make of it.
This is a collection of writing, interviews and conversations from over the years. Ideas worth returning to after the headlines have moved on.
Continue the conversation