ON THE FIGHT
The French Foreign Minister paid a visit to Mali to conduct a fact-finding mission and ascertain just how long French forces might stay.
The New York Times’ Mark Mazzetti releases an excerpt from his new book, detailing the lack of a viable detention program and the choices that led to the aggressive targeted killing program in Pakistan, apparently with the complicity of Pakistan itself.
ON THE FORCE
The Air Force is bracing for a future where there are more drones than missions, and has even considered the possibility of mothballing some of its legacy remotely piloted aircraft.
The National Security Agency may shutter a secretive listening post in the northwestern United States amid budgetary constraints and the establishment of a consolidation plan that would see many NSA activities centralized in Texas and Maryland.
A 29-year-old Air Force pilot perished this weekend in Afghanistan after his fighter jet crashed into the unforgiving terrain.
A top Army general and former commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa was relieved of duty for sexual misconduct and apparent alcohol abuse.
The US military has disbanded provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan, amid concerns that Afghan forces may not be capable of assuming all the roles US forces have played over the years.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Anne-Marie Slaughter has been tapped as the next President of the New America Foundation, a prominent Washington-area think tank and advocacy organization.
The service secretaries of the Army, Air Force and Navy will forfeit a significant chunk of their pay to show that sequestration isn’t just felt by the lower ranks.
A New York Times op-ed raises serious questions about the realities of moving the drone program from the CIA to the Pentagon.
KEYW Holding Corporation has named Deborah Bonanni to its Board of Directors. Bonanni retired in 2012 and served as the Chief of Staff of the National Security Agency.
ON TECH
NYPD has launched its first-ever facial recognition unit, in a bid to track and identify criminals via social media tools like facebook and Instagram.
Tech giant Google is pushing back against the Department of Justice’s use of national security letters, a controversial practice that allows the federal government to obtain all manner of personal and sensitive information without a warrant.
ON SECRECY – OR LACK THEREOF
The FBI has interviewed former Director David Petraeus in an apparent bid to probe the unauthorized disclosure or retention of classified information.
CONTRACT WATCH
Tunisia has received its first C-130J special mission plane in a deal with Lockheed Martin that would supply hundreds of millions of dollars of military equipment to the struggling nation.
