Friday Follies & Farewell James Schlesinger
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Overclassifying—gumming up the works. Contributor Christopher Burgess explains, “The processes by which sensitive government information is protected often includes placing a security classification on the piece of information. There are few, if any governments which do not use a form of data classification to ensure the most sensitive and perhaps damaging to a nation’s well being is protected appropriately. Similarly, information which has little or no sensitivity should never be affixed with that same classification used by the most sensitive information. When this occurs, we call this ‘over classification,’ and over classification truly is the enemy of classification.”
2. Caution: working from home. Also from Chris Burgess: “While start-ups can offer great opportunity, any international request should be met with extreme caution, especially for cleared professionals. Foreign entanglements – even those of a legal variety – can put your security clearance in jeopardy. It’s important to validate every opportunity, and watch out for red flags.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. “The next Bin Laden.” National Journal contributor Michael Hirsh explains, “Intelligence officials and terrorism experts today believe that the death of bin Laden and the decimation of the Qaida “core” in Pakistan only set the stage for a rebirth of al-Qaida as a global threat. Its tactics have morphed into something more insidious and increasingly dangerous as safe havens multiply in war-torn or failed states . . . .”
2. Air Force cheating. AP’s Robert Burns reports, “At least 82 missile launch officers face disciplinary action, but it was the four ‘librarians’ who allegedly facilitated the cheating, in part by transmitting test answers via text message.” See also DefenseNews.Com’s “USAF Removes 9 Commanders in Nuke Missile Cheating Scandal.”
3. More bombs in Iraq. Aljaeera.Com reports, “A series of bombings targeting commercial areas of Baghdad have killed 22 people and left scores wounded as residents were heading out on the town in the latest spasm of violence to strike the Iraqi capital, according to officials. The attacks happened on Thursday within minutes of each other . . . .”
4. Russia reinforcing. American Forces Press Service’s Jim Garamone reports, “Russia continues to reinforce units along the eastern and southern Ukraine border . . . . Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week that the Russian troops were massing for regularly scheduled exercises.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Being more business (like). FederalTimes.Com’s Michael Fischetti reports, “Government contracting does have considerable regulation . . . . In many cases, a primary hurdle is that a customer can have unique requirements, making that customer the only customer.”
2. $24 billion from Qatar. DefenseNews.Com’s Awad Mustafa reports, “The Qatari Armed Forces today announced deals with US weapons manufactures worth US $7.6 billion, including Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles and PAC 3 Patriot systems. . . . The agreements signed by the Qatar Armed Forces included more than 20 contractors, according to the show organizers, involving tanks, artillery, missiles and warships from different countries, including France, Germany, China, Turkey and the US.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Lousy technology. NextGov.Com’s Laura Ryan reports, “The Federal Communications Commission is charged with regulating the nation’s technology and telecommunications industries. But in house, the commission’s own equipment is so deficient that its leader came to Congress this week pleading for an upgrade.”
2. Nuclear failure. Also from NextGov.Com, Diane Barnes reports, “A congressionally mandated panel says a key Energy Department agency has ‘failed’ in its mission to effectively oversee U.S. nuclear-arms operations.”
3. China’s hack attacks. Reuters reports, “Hacking attacks on Chinese computers in 2013 rose by more than half compared with the previous year, with attacks coming from the United States making up a significant proportion, China’s top Internet security agency said on Friday.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Full speed ahead: “An investigation commissioned by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and carried out by attorneys close to the governor has absolved Christie of wrongdoing in the ‘Bridgegate’ scandal, finding that he had no prior knowledge of lane closings ordered by one of his senior aides. A report published Thursday by the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which summarizes findings from more than 250,000 documents and interviews with more than 70 people, concluded Christie ‘did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes.’”
2. Boehner’s best: “Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can be a salty guy. The barkeeper’s son has a fondness for profanity, whether he’s on the House floor or a stone’s throw from the Oval Office, snapping at colleagues in private or voicing outrage on television. The Speaker has dropped the F-bomb on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), called multiple Republicans ‘assholes’ and raised ‘hell’ about countless Obama administration proposals and decisions. In public, Boehner’s obscenities tend to be in the PG-13 vein, rather than rated R.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “The Certainty of Donald Rumsfeld (Part 2).” New York Times contributor Errol Morris explains, ‘The known known, the known unknown and the unknown unknown seemingly have straightforward interpretations. Or do they?”
2. “Forget the drama: A solution for Crimea.” Reuters contributor Anatole Kaletsky argues, “Politicians, the media and even financial analysts often have vested interests in dramatizing confrontation — the media because battles are more interesting than negotiations; politicians because confrontations makes them seem tough; analysts because high drama justifies high pay.”
3. “Ukraine crisis: US Congress may be accountable.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Shai Franklin argues, “Putin has never been our soul mate, but his takeover of Crimea and looming encroachment of Eastern Ukraine were not inevitable. Had Yanukovich proceeded with the EU Association Agreement last autumn, there would have been trouble, including a new gas shut-off and economic sanctions against Kiev, but there would have been no military trigger.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Without cheating.
3. Hail Mary.
