ON THE FIGHT
The Army’s Combatting Terrorism Center profiles the four men who control the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). All four of these men – Nasir al-Wahayshi, Said al-Shihri, Qasim al-Raymi and Ibrahim Asiri – are on the CIA and military’s so-called “kill list”.
ON SYRIA
The Central Intelligence Agency is having difficulty gathering actionable intelligence in Syria, per the LA Times:
“A major impediment to determining who is who is that CIA officers largely have avoided entering Syria or traveling to the battle zones since February, when the U.S. Embassy in Damascus was shuttered for security reasons after threats by groups allied with the Assad government. Closing the embassy left the agency without a secure base from which to operate, and CIA personnel left the country, the officials said.”
“Syria is Iraq” by Thomas Freidman
FLASHBACK
(Reuters) – New York police believe Iranian Revolutionary Guards or their proxies have been involved so far this year in nine plots against Israeli or Jewish targets around the world, according to restricted police documents.
IN THE MEDIA
The Central Intelligence Agency has discovered a “4 to 5 inch stack” of documents related to their cooperation with a forthcoming Hollywood film about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new court filing. The documents were supposedly overlooked in the initial FOIA request.
TURNOVER
Northrop Grumman Corp. has announced the election of seven corporate vice presidents as two of its sector presidents announce retirement plans. James Pitts, corporate vice president and president of Electronic Systems, will retire on December 31, and Gary W. Ervin, corporate vice president and president of Aerospace Systems, will retire in early 2013. Effective January 1, 2013, Linda Mills, Thomas Vice, Gloria Flach, Kathy Warden, Christopher Jones and Mark Caylor will take on roles as corporate vice presidents in various sectors. David Perry will become corporate vice president and chief global business development officer effective immediately.
Colonel David Harris assumed control of the 449th Air Expeditionary Group from U.S. Air Force Colonel Dean Lee this week. 449th AEG is permanently stationed in Djibouti, and reports to Major General Carlton Everhart II, 3rd Air Force vice commander and U.S. Air Forces Africa commander.
Ben Scott, a former policy adviser for innovation to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will join the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) as a senior adviser.
After nearly 44 years in uniform, Lieutenant General Dennis J. Hejlik, Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe retired this week. Hejlik was the first commanding officer of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.
The Air Force has cut selective re-enlistment bonuses for over 20 different job specialties, or Air Force Specialty Codes, reflecting the budgetary pressures the Pentagon and the services remain under.
CONTRACT WATCH
The Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation’s Threat Systems Management Office has decided it wants to play the cyber game, too.
The U.S. Navy is extending the deadline for contractors bidding on the $5.4 billion Next Generation Enterprise Network project, Washington Technology reported. Bids were due July 18, but the Navy has moved the deadline back until Aug. 8 because of several amendments to the solicitation and severe weather in the Washington area that caused power outages.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has funded an app that scans mobile phones for security vulnerabilities known as X-Ray.
The Air Force is in the market for 58 vehicles of various sizes and shapes to use as target practice — and mock Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. Meanwhile, the Regional Security Officer at the US Embassy is Khartoum also wants some vehicles, hopefully not to use for target practice.
The Army is shopping for watches. Specifically, a watch that “has Army Reserve emblazed on one side of the the wristband in a blocked font and www.stayarmyreserve.com emblazed on the other wristband.” Well, okay then.
The Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict Stabilization Operations forgot to renew the contract for their satellite phones, which expires on July 28th. They use a Spanish MVNO (mobile virtual network operator).
The Department of State is also slowly but surely establishing their own supply chain for the vast US Embassy in Iraq. For the immediate future, supplies will be purchased in conjunction with the Defense Logistics Agency, but eventually State will have to buy its own coffee and toilet paper.
Meanwhile, State’s counternarcotics shop continues its spending spree of late, opting for two 19-passenger Beechcrafts.
The Defense Intelligence Agency is looking to augment the National Intelligence University with a seasoned academic.
AROUND THE WORLD
In a new legal directive, Police Chief Cathy Lanier explains the constitutional rights of DC citizens and gives her officers detailed instructions for respecting them.
A U.S. district court judge on Monday ruled that diplomatic cables published worldwide by WikiLeaks, the New York Times and the Guardian are actually still secret. Citing the Freedom of Information Act, the ACLU had requested that the State Department release 23 embassy cables. The State Department responded by releasing 11 redacted cables and refusing to release 12 others, because they’re classified as “secret.”
The United States will join partners from nearly 70 countries, international organizations, and the private sector at the United Nations in New York on July 25 for a plenary meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, a growing diplomatic effort taking action against criminal activity that threatens commerce and humanitarian aid deliveries along one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors.
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) William R. Brownfield will travel to Los Angeles, California, on July 25 where he will address members of the Conference of Western Attorneys General and other legal and law enforcement personnel. His remarks will highlight the Merida Initiative as well as INL’s work with state and local partners. Assistant Secretary Brownfield will also recognize the Pasadena Police Department for its collaboration with the Department of State to develop a criminal justice program overseas. Recently, the Pasadena Police Department deployed a police officer to support INL’s police program in Jamaica. He will join city officials and the police chief to sign a partnership agreement for future collaborations. On July 26, Assistant Secretary Brownfield will deliver remarks on the evolving nature of transnational crime and its global impact at the RAND Corporation as a part of their “Visiting Voices” lecture series
The Botswana Defence Force and the U.S. Embassy announced that Botswana will host a joint military exercise known as Southern Accord 12, August 1-17, 2012.