FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Publicize your pedigree. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “If you’re searching for a cleared job, companies care who the issuing agency is. While clearance reciprocity has always been a topic of reform efforts, it’s still faster for a company looking to staff a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract to be able to find DHS-cleared professionals. Some of the most in-demand candidates are those with a DHS clearance.”
2. Cleared in Deutschland. Contributor Jennifer Cary offers, “One of the benefits of working for the military is job opportunities overseas. And while I can’t speak to the benefits of a contracting job, I can share what I’ve learned from my time in Germany as a Department of the Army civilian. Here’s my take on some common questions and concerns people have about living there. . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Going back to war, more formally. AP’s Deb Reichmann reports, “President Barack Obama is expected – as early as Tuesday – to ask Congress for new war powers, sending Capitol Hill his blueprint for an updated authorization for the use of military force to fight the Islamic State group. Haggling then begins on writing a new authorization to battle the Sunni extremists, who have seized territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed a violent form of Sharia law. That will lead to the first war vote in Congress in 13 years – one of the most important votes faced by members of the House and Senate.” See also, “Obama readying request to use force against Islamic State” and “Strategic areas near Mosul retaken by Kurdish forces.”
2. Getting still hotter in Ukraine. AP’s Peter Leonard reports, “Government forces on Tuesday reported a counter-offensive in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, while the rebels said they were successful in surrounding Ukrainian troops at a strategic railway junction. The intense fighting, which the U.N. says has killed more than 5,300 people since April, comes ahead of a crucial summit including Western leaders on Wednesday as well as peace talks later Tuesday.” See also, “Obama, Merkel Discuss Ukraine Situation, “Obama underscores ‘diplomacy first’ strategy” and “Russia to pursue independent foreign policy despite pressure.”
3. Russia saves the Abrams. DoD Buzz’s Michael Hoffman reports, “Army leaders have thus far taken up a losing battle against Congress to temporarily halt funding for its Abrams tanks. However, that changed in its latest budget proposal as the service has reversed course and asked for 50 percent more funding for the M1 Abrams tank over last year. . . . Last month, the new chairman for the House Armed Services Committee said it was proven right in its defense of the Abrams production line after the U.S. Army announced it would send more tanks to Europe following the aggressive actions of the Russian on the Ukraine border.”
4. Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau promises victory. Al Arabiya reports, “Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed in a new video released on Monday that the group would defeat a regional force fighting the extremists in Nigeria’s far northeast, Niger and Cameroon. . . . Troops from Nigeria have been backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and Niger in recent weeks because of increased concerns about Boko Haram’s threat to regional security.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Cyber industry poised for growth. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “Massachusetts cybersecurity firms applauded President Barack Obama proposed $14 billion toward cybersecurity initiatives in his 2016 budget.. If approved, the federal government would spend more money on intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, as well as cyber offensive measures. Waltham-based defense contractor Raytheon, whose government clients already use the firm for its cybersecurity capabilities and expertise, believes the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow even faster in the coming years.”
2. Best in defense. Defense News’ Aaron Mehta reports, “The US Air Force and Army have released the names of the top companies under the Pentagon’s Superior Supplier Incentive Program (SSIP), breaking the top 25 largest industry partners for each service into three tiers of performance. . . . The rankings were released Monday in a government statement. The ratings are based on an internal Pentagon data system known as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System. The Pentagon breaks down the companies by business segment in order to provide a clearer picture, which makes sense because companies like United Technologies have widely divergent business units, such as Sikorsky helicopters and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. The cyberwar to come. Washington Times contributor Emery P. Dalesio reports, “The United States may get a taste of cyber warfare at home the next time the country goes to war abroad as enemy leaders lash out by commanding computers to shut down U.S. electricity supplies or send household appliances haywire . . . . That could mean remotely controlling building thermostats or attacking communications networks – whatever soft targets hackers sent into action by an unfriendly government can reach, said [Mandiant Corp. founder Kevin] Mandia, who appeared with National Security Agency director Adm. Mike Rogers on a panel at North Carolina State University’s Emerging Issues Forum.”
2. Spying since Snowden. Frontline’s Sarah Childress reports, “Obama’s 2014 directive required the intelligence community to put in place ‘appropriate safeguards’ for the personal information of people caught up in the surveillance dragnet. Most of those aren’t specified. But the government has made one significant change. For the first time, the personal information of non-U.S. citizens now can only be kept for five years—the same length as Americans’ data, according to the ODNI report. If, within five years, agents haven’t determined whether the information is important, it must be deleted—unless the DNI determines that there’s a national security reason to keep it.”
3. Rethinking cybersecurity: hacker trapping. AP’s Youkyung Lee reports, “Ever since the Internet blossomed in the 1990s, cybersecurity was built on the idea that computers could be protected by a digital quarantine. Now, as hackers routinely overwhelm such defenses, experts say cybersecurity is beyond due an overhaul. Their message: Neutralize attackers once they’re inside networks rather than fixating on trying to keep them out.”
4. Trust us (we’re with the government). National Journal’s Dustin Volz reports, “President Obama on Monday admitted that revelations about the National Security Agency’s international spying operations had hurt the U.S.’s reputation in Germany—but he asked for more patience from the close diplomatically as he works to bolster privacy safeguards on the handling of foreign data. . . . [T]he president quickly defended the importance of the NSA’s intelligence-gathering practices, showing impatience with the international community for its growing skepticism of his administration’s concern for the civil liberties of foreigners.”
5. CIA whistleblower Kiriakou back home. The New York Times’ Scott Shane reports, “John C. Kiriakou, the first C.I.A. officer to be imprisoned for leaking classified information to a reporter, has been released to home confinement after serving nearly two years in federal prison in Pennsylvania. Under the conditions of his release last Tuesday, Mr. Kiriakou, 50, is required to stay for the next three months at his house in Arlington, Va. . . .” See also, “CIA torture whistleblower says it was ‘worth it.’”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Incredible shrinking audience. “More than a dozen congressional Democrats say they plan to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress amid conflicting signals over whether he will pull out from the March 3 address. Netanyahu struck a defiant tone during a campaign event in Israel on Monday, saying he was ‘determined’ to present the case for why Israel opposed the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran ‘before the members of Congress and the American people.’ . . . But multiple reports on Monday suggested that his office was weighing ways Netanyahu could alter his plans to mend what has become a tough diplomatic breach, and the Israeli leader did not explicitly mention the speech to a joint session in his public comments.” See also, “Bernie Sanders says he will skip Netanyahu.”
2. Procrastination. “With House and Senate lawmakers running out of time to pass a Department of Homeland Security spending bill, it is becoming more likely Congress will have to resort to another short-term funding measure. Time for passing a DHS spending bill is running short. Congress will not be in session next week, and a temporary funding bill that is keeping the department operating will run out on Feb. 27. That means that unless Congress comes up with a deal now, lawmakers will have a matter of days to pass legislation when they return on Feb. 23. . . . Negotiations between the two parties on a long-term deal appear to be going nowhere.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Signs of desperation in West’s latest moves to halt Ukraine crisis.” Reuters contributor Lucien Kim argues, “Europe’s last big test was the blood-letting in the Balkans 20 years ago. But the break-up of Yugoslavia, despite all its horror, was a regional conflict confined to regional boundaries. Even if nobody asked the Ukrainians, Ukraine is about Russia’s future relationship with the West. Overnight, it seems, Europe has become a very dangerous place again.”
2. “Russian Army Facing Big Problems in Ukraine.” The Moscow Times contributor Alexander Golts explains, “Russian President Vladimir Putin would only agree to a settlement in order to end the rapid depletion of Russia’s financial resources as it fights a so-called ‘hybrid war.’ But the problem goes beyond money: Several years ago Moscow reorganized its armed forces such that it is now extremely difficult to fight a protracted military conflict of the ordinary type.”
3. “What Obama’s Budget Is Really About.” US News contributor David Brodwin argues, “With the release of its annual budget last week, the Obama administration threw nearly $4 trillion worth of birdseed to an agitated and generally unappreciative flock of congressional pigeons.”
