ON THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
President Obama, at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation yesterday, tackled the controversial topic of sexual assault in the military head-on. The president was more direct in discussing sexual assault in the military, an issue that shot to prominence after a string of new reports of misconduct and the release of a Pentagon survey that found a large number of unreported incidents among the ranks. The Pentagon data estimated that 26,000 service members were sexually assaulted in unreported incidents last year, a 35% increase from 2010. Obama has said he will work with military leaders to put an end to the crimes. On Friday, he called on the graduates to following their “inner compass” in choosing between right and wrong. And he tried to underscore the seriousness of the matter by comparing the sexual misconduct cases to the battlefield photos that show “troops falling short on their standards” and “endanger our forces and undermine out efforts to achieve security and peace.”
A Mexican gang member suspected of working with illicit networks throughout Latin America plead guilty to killing two U.S. federal agents in Mexico.
Navy personnel are on the ground in Oklahoma to assist in the cleanup after the terrible damage caused by the tornado that struck there this past week.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
The CIA is set to reduce its involvement in America’s “drone war” and concentrate on spying against states such as China after President Obama announced a transfer of authorities and missions to the Pentagon. John Brennan, CIA director and architect of Obama’s expanded “targeted killing” campaign using unmanned aircraft, is believed to be preparing to transfer more control of the program to the Pentagon in the coming months, including oversight and control of the drone program focused on Pakistan. He is expected to oversee a redeployment of the spying agency’s resources towards traditional intelligence gathering following years of growth in its paramilitary role as part of the war on al-Qaeda. The overhaul comes after Obama received a report from his intelligence advisory board. It found inadequate attention being paid to China and the Middle East, The Washington Post reported. During his confirmation process, Mr. Brennan told senators the CIA “should not be doing traditional military activities” and he would reconsider the agency’s “allocation of mission”.
ON TECH, PRIVACY AND SECRECY
A new $126 million contract is set to bring the Navy’s electronic warfare competency into the 21st century. Exelis describes the ALQ-214 as a “next generation integrated countermeasures system” installed in U.S. Navy F/A-18 carrier-based aircraft, and also in F/A-18s operated by the Royal Australian Air Force. The system uses receivers and active countermeasures to form an “electronic shield” protecting the F/A-18 from hostile fire, and attempting to confuse also hostile radar signals to defeat detection. Exelis will be delivering the instant order of jamming systems for installation aboard U.S. Navy F/A-18s. A November 2015 delivery date is anticipated.
The Obama Administration fought to keep a search warrant for James Rosen’s private e-mail account secret, arguing to a federal judge that the government might need to monitor the account for a lengthy period of time. These new details are revealed in a court filing detailing a back and forth between the Justice Department and the federal judges who oversaw the request to search a Gmail account belonging to Rosen, a reporter for Fox News. A 2009 article Rosen had written about North Korea sparked an investigation; Ronald C. Machen, the U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department adviser who allegedly leaked classified information to Rosen, insisted that the reporter should not be notified of the search and seizure of his e-mails, even after a lengthy delay.
CONTRACT WATCH
A damning USA TODAY expose slammed the Pentagon’s information operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere–an ecosystem dominated almost exclusively by contractors.
The author of Winnie the Pooh has been revealed as a military propagandist in World War I.
