Fred Burton

Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost authorities on security and terrorism. Mr. Burton oversees Stratfor’s terrorism intelligence service and consults with clients on security-related issues affecting their organizations or personal safety. He leads a team of terrorism experts and oversees Stratfor’s extensive coverage of the security environment in Mexico and closely monitors Mexican drug cartels, their areas of influence and their drug trafficking routes.

Mr. Burton is author of the best-selling memoir, GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, the story of his role in the fight against the burgeoning terrorist threat in the 1980s and beyond. His new book, Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, follows his 35 year old quest to solve the murder of an Israeli diplomat assassinated in his childhood neighborhood.

Before joining Stratfor, Mr. Burton served as a special agent in counterterrorism for the U.S. Department of State, where he was involved in many high-profile operations. He orchestrated the arrest of Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing, and investigated cases such as the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the killing of Rabbi Meir Kahane, al Qaeda’s New York City bombing plots before 9/11, and the Libyan-backed terrorist attacks against diplomats in Sanaa and Khartoum. Mr. Burton was appointed to the Border Security Council by Governor Rick Perry and has served as the Assistant-Director for Intelligence & Counter-Terrorism for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Mr. Burton has been featured in numerous media outlets, including ABC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Walls Street Journal, The Daily Show, NBC's The Today Show, CBS's The Early Show, CNN’s AC360, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera English, FOX News and The Financial Times.