Saturday’s Top Ten

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1.  “Authorized leaks.” We meant to do that. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “A Department of Defense directive released earlier this month seeks to clarify instances where classified information may be declassified or disclosed to the press. The directive, “Congressional Notification for Authorized Public Disclosure of Intelligence Information,” was posted by the FAS Project on Government Secrecy. The directive came about as a part of the FY2013 Intelligence Authorization Act. Leaks have become a prominent issue for the Obama Administration, which has come under fire for both disclosing leaks for national security gain as well as prosecuting an unprecedented number of employees through insider threat prevention programs.”

2.  My other tank is a Saab.  Contributor Marc Selinger fantasizes a BMW tank (which all the rich kids have): “American job seekers might want to look to non-U.S. defense firms for opportunities at home. Two European technology companies – Saab and Thales – have recently taken steps aimed at helping them win a greater share of the slowing but still large American defense market. Saab, based in Sweden, announced Oct. 23 that it has consolidated four U.S. entities into a single defense and homeland security provider. The new company, Saab Defense and Security USA, is based in Sterling, Va., and brings together Saab Training USA, Saab Barracuda, Saab Support and Services and the defense elements of Saab Sensis.”

3.  Cleared Congress. Contributor Ashley LaGanga recaps how much Congress can accomplish in a week when they aren’t shooting spitballs across the aisles.

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1.  Blue on Green in Afghanistan. Reuters’ Dylan Welch and Mirwais Harooni report from Kabul, “A gunfight broke out between Afghan and foreign soldiers on the outskirts of the capital Kabul on Saturday, leaving at least one Afghan serviceman dead and a number of other soldiers injured on Saturday, according to Afghan and NATO officials. So-called “insider attacks” are severely straining ties between the NATO-led alliance and the Kabul authorities and further undermine waning support for the war in the West. They have become one of the Taliban insurgents’ most effective weapons against the coalition.”

2.  AFRICOM’s pirate fight. Armed Forces Press Service’s Donna Miles reports, “Capacity-building efforts being advanced by U.S. Africa Command are helping African nations confront maritime crime, including piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and events currently unfolding off the Nigerian coast, the Africom commander reported. In addition, Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez recognized ‘major progress’ in maritime security along Africa’s East Coast during an Oct. 23 virtual news conference. Incidents off the coast of Somalia, once a hotbed of pirating activity like that dramatized in the blockbuster movie, ‘Captain Phillips,’ have dropped dramatically.”

3.  “Fire torpedo one!” she exclaimed. DefenseMediaNetwork.Com explains, “The U.S. Navy has selected two Virginia-class attack subs to join the six ballistic missile/guided-missile submarines to have female crew members. Six female officers will join the Groton, Conn.-based USS Virginia (SSN 774) or USS Minnesota (SSN 783) by January 2015. . . . ‘Female officers serving aboard Virginia-class submarines is the next natural step to more fully integrate women into the submarine force,’ says [Secretary of the Navy Ray] Mabus. ‘Our Navy has proven over the years that one of our greatest advantages is our diversity. This is an advantage we should capitalize on across all platforms, including submarines.’”

4.  Rwanda and Congo tensions increase. Aljazeera.Com reports, “DR Congo troops have fired three shells over the border into neighbouring Rwanda, injuring at least one person, during resurgent clashes with M23 rebel fighters, Rwandan officials have claimed. Rwanda’s UN ambassador Eugene Richard Gasana told the AFP news agency on Friday that his country would not hesitate to retaliate if the firing continued. . . .The council has asked for an investigation into the origin of Friday’s shelling, diplomats said. Fighting between the DR Congo army and M23 rebels resumed on Friday, both sides and the United Nations said just days after the latest effort at peace talks collapsed.” Also in AFRICOM, Nigeria claims 74 Boko Haram Islamists killed.

5.  Kerry & Lew on congressional hot seat Thursday – on Iran’s nukes. Reuters’ Patricia Zengerle and Timothy Gardner reports, “Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will hold a briefing on Thursday on the status of nuclear talks with Iran for members of a U.S. Senate committee considering tough new sanctions on Tehran, Senate aides said on Friday. President Barack Obama’s administration has been pushing the Senate Banking Committee to hold off on the new sanctions in order to give negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program a chance.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1.  $38 million water-saver to Grumman. GovConWire.Com reports, “Northrop Grumman has won a $38 million task order from the General Services Administration and U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center to help identify methods for saving water and energy. The contract consists of a single base year plus two option years to work with the AFCEC and major Air Force commands and bases located around the world . . . .”

2.  Billions and billions for bombers. AviationWeek.Com reports, “Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced Oct. 25 that they will team to compete on the U.S. Air Force’s Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, with Boeing as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin as primary teammate. The program is aimed at delivering 80-100 very stealthy, long-range bombers to the Air Force, with an initial operational capability in 2024-26, and with a unit cost ceiling of $550 million. The development is a sign of progress in a largely classified venture that has been underway since 2007, when the two companies originally agreed to work on what was then the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB) program, aimed at delivering a new bomber in 2018. (The deal was announced in early 2008.)”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1.  NSA spying will mean . . . more NSA spying. AP’s Deb Reichmann explains, “In the short run, Obama and Kerry are trying to quell international anger over classified disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Longer term, Snowden’s revelations about NSA tactics – that allegedly include tapping up to 35 world leaders’ cellphones – threaten to undermine U.S. foreign policy in a host of areas. It’s the vacuum-cleaner approach to data collection that has rattled foreign allies.” Germany’s Merkel seeks a no-spying agreementFrance wants in on that deal.

2.  Lawyers trying to take all the fun out of CIA’s torture program. Aljazeera.com reports, “Lawyers for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners charged with plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks have asked US President Barack Obama to declassify the CIA programme that subjected the defendants to interrogation techniques that have been described as torture. . . . Military officials have said much of the information is classified by the government because it could threaten national security if it’s released publicly. The defence lawyers say the evidence would show that the US violated the international Convention Against Torture, which President Ronald Reagan signed in 1988 and the US Senate ratified in 1994.”

3.  Hagel – NSA may lose Cyber Command. NextGov.Com’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “Former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden told Nextgov he expects the administration will appoint a dedicated Cyber Command chief either after Alexander exits or after his successor exits. . . . Cyber Command and NSA both operate in the same military domain, so they have had the advantage of being able to share resources and approaches — but each deserves its own powerful leader, said Peter W. Singer, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, who researches current and future defense needs.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1.  No, bid contract.  “First Lady Michelle Obama’s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that earned the contract to build the failed Obamacare website. Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned the no-bid contract to build the $678 million Obamacare enrollment website at Healthcare.gov. CGI Federal is the U.S. arm of a Canadian company. Townes-Whitley and her Princeton classmate Michelle Obama are both members of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.”

2.  Put on your walking shoes and join the fun: “Those who oppose the Obama administration’s vast spying programs will gather in the nation’s capital this weekend to urge the government to get out of their private lives. The Stop Watching Us: Rally Against Mass Surveillance, organized by a coalition of 100 organizations, companies and public figures, will take place Saturday, the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act into law.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1.  “Is this the end of the Iran status quo?Reuters contributor Ian Bremmer argues, “The worst-case scenario is that the West and Iran come close to a deal, but it falls apart, in a manner that the international community blames predominantly on the United States and Israel. This would embolden major markets like China and Russia to flout the sanctions, thus unraveling the West’s best bargaining chip with nothing to show for it in return. The West gets blamed, U.S. credibility is reduced even further, and Iran continues full speed ahead toward nuclear capability. That’s what the American-led sanctions have been able to avoid thus far, but we may be reaching the inflection point. The chance that the status quo continues is diminishing. Success is closer now than ever — but that only makes the situation more precarious than ever before.”

2.  “US-Saudi relationship status: It’s complicated.” Aljazeera.Com’s Mark LeVine argues, “The US-Saudi relationship has never been just about oil; it’s been about ensuring that the incredible capital oil production generates, strengthen key sectors of the US economy rather than those of its competitors or allies. If the Saudis are really thinking of upending this relationship, the long-term consequences could reshape the American economy and its politics in ways most commentators and even policy-makers have yet to consider.”

3.  2016’s winning strategy. TheDailyBeast.Com’s David Frum transports himself to 2016, returns, and here’s what he has to tell us: “The government shutdown and debt ceiling fight of 2013 may have looked disastrous from a national political perspective. But the dustups nonetheless earned Cruz the best fundraising list on the Republican side. While Rand Paul hesitated whether to play an ‘inside’ game of reassuring Republican donors or an ‘outside’ game of insurgency, Cruz’s fundraising allowed him to bypass the choice altogether, shoulder aside Rand Paul as the conservative favorite, and proceed straight to the main event: the battle against Gov. Chris Christie.”

THE FUNNIES

1.  Let it Snowden.

2.  Friends and Family Plan.

3.  Mouse attack.

 

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Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.