FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Putting the X back in Xmas. Contributor John Holst unravels the mysteries of NORAD: “Soon, very soon, like the inevitable fruitcake delivery, there will be stories of the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD’s) ability to track Santa Claus. Puff-pieces will abound. All of these stories will talk of how NORAD tracks Santa as he and his reindeer fly and dash around the world. If you have children, this can raise some VERY AWKWARD questions, which we will attempt to answer here.”
2. Great gift ideas for your favorite little spy. What’s under contributor D. B. Grady’s virtual Christmas tree: “Spy agencies have long been known for the programs they secretly install on your computer. (Or on Iran’s computers, at least.) But you might be surprised to know that the U.S. intelligence community has also made available an assortment of free spy software, apps, and databases designed for everything from keeping your children safe to locking down your operating system. The best part is that you won’t even have to buy General Alexander a beer after. Here are 5 things you can download from government computers without going to prison.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. In Afghanistan, Blackhawk crash kills 6 American Soldiers. NYTimes.Com reports, “ix American soldiers died Tuesday when their helicopter crashed in a remote area of southern Afghanistan, in the single largest loss of life for foreign troops in nearly six months . . . . At least one crash survivor was rescued by a quick reaction force of American and Afghan soldiers . . . . Although Pentagon and military officials said there were initial indications of militants in the area after the helicopter crashed, by late Tuesday officials said it did not appear that there was any insurgent presence during or after the crash.” Khaama.Com reports, “The Taliban militants group in Afghanistan has claimed Taliban fighters shot down a US helicopter in southern Zabul province on Wednesday, which left 6 US troops dead. The group following a statement said, ‘Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate have shot down the helicopter of foreign troops in Shahjoi district today.’” Also, Afghan officials killed in Taliban attack in Nangarhar.
2. Pressure building in Kiev. Reuters’ Gabriela Baczynska reports from Kiev, “Ukraine’s president faced calls to resign on Wednesday over a $15-billion bailout from Russia which the opposition and protesters said had sold the country out to its former Soviet masters in Moscow. . . . Russia said it will buy Ukrainian bonds under a deal which keeps Kiev firmly in Moscow’s orbit and out of the European Union’s grasp but sowed doubts in some Ukrainians’ minds about what Yanukovich might have agreed to in secret. . . . Ukraine needs money to cover an external funding gap of $17 billion next year – almost the level of the central bank’s depleted currency reserves – and avoid defaulting on its debts.” UPI.Com reports, “White House denounces Russian . . . Ukraine bailout.”
3. Syria driving a wedge between U.S. and our Saudi ally. Christian Science Monitor’s Dan Murphy reports, “Saudi Arabia hasn’t been shy about pressuring the US into direct involvement in the Syrian civil war on the rebels’ side. The latest prominent Saudi to throw his hat into the ring is Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a member of the ruling family and the ambassador to Britain. . . . Saudi Arabia’s interests – and those of Israel, which is also opposed to efforts to forge a deal with Iran – are not really aligned with the United States’ interests in this case. The Saudis don’t want to see Iran, with its vast oil reserves, large economy, and substantial conventional military forces, strengthened by an end to sanctions, nukes or no nukes.”
4. Ohio National Guard airbase closure – redefining the military in an age of cuts. WaPo’s Rajiv Chandrasekaran reports, “After spending almost $600 million to buy a tiny fleet of the planes over the past six years, stationing them in Mansfield and at two other National Guard bases, the Air Force flew all of them to a junkyard earlier this year. . . . To Air Force leaders, it was all about economics. They deemed the small planes less efficient than larger, more commonly used transport aircraft. To National Guard leaders in Ohio, however, it was all about politics. The decision to get rid of perfectly good planes, they argue, was driven by a desire among active-duty Air Force leaders to shift the burden of budget cuts onto the National Guard. . . . Although the dispute is rooted in money, it involves fundamental debates about states’ rights and the future of the modern military.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Lockheed Martin pushing the F-35 envelope. AviationWeek.Com’s Amy Butler reports, “Lockheed Martin is considering all options to continue increasing the production rate of the multinational F-35, though officials are not yet to the point where they must draw on company funds to forward finance the manufacturing line. . . . The company delivered 13 of the single-engine, stealthy fighters in 2011, 30 in 2012 and 36 in 2013. Early in the program’s development phase, company officials hoped to increase the production rate by at least 50% year over year to gain enough volume to reduce the per-unit price. These hopes have dissipated, though, in the face of a string of program shifts culminating in 2010 with a major restructuring that slowed production until development gets closer to completion in 2016. Now, the Pentagon – by far the largest F-35 customer – is facing major budget cuts that could force the production rate to stay lower than planned for the fighter. The Air Force is looking at cutting as many as 24 aircraft over the next five years due to budget pressure, and the Navy is looking at far more drastic scenarios.”
2. BAE and Brit’s revived Trident program. NTI.Org reports, “The British government is proceeding with plans to renew the country’s nuclear force, despite there not being a final political decision in place on the matter. The Conservative Party-led coalition government on Monday announced nearly $129 million in new contracts related to the still-unfinalized project to replace the nation’s expiring fleet of Trident ballistic missile-armed submarines by building four Successor-class vessels, the London Telegraph reported. The deal with BAE Systems is for electrical gear, hull components, fittings and propulsion system parts.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. NSA house of cards tumbling down, according to Snowden. AP’s Bradley Brooks reports from Rio De Janeiro, “National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wrote in a lengthy ‘open letter to the people of Brazil’ that he’s been inspired by the global debate ignited by his release of thousands of NSA documents and that the agency’s culture of indiscriminate global espionage ‘is collapsing.’ . . . He wrote that he’d be willing to help the South American nation investigate NSA spying on its soil, but could not fully participate in doing so without being granted political asylum, because the U.S. ‘government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak.’”
2. Tough words from a tougher woman on NSA spying. TheGuardian.Com’s Ian Traynor and Paul Lewis report, “In an angry exchange with Barack Obama, Angela Merkel has compared the snooping practices of the US with those of the Stasi, the ubiquitous and all-powerful secret police of the communist dictatorship in East Germany, where she grew up. The German chancellor also told the US president that America’s National Security Agency cannot be trusted because of the volume of material it had allowed to leak to the whistleblower Edward Snowden . . . . Snowden is to testify on the NSA scandal to a European parliament inquiry next month, to the anger of Washington which is pressuring the EU to stop the testimony.”
3. China’s techno-snatchers stealing defense secrets. Reuters’ John Shiffman and Duff Wilson explain, “In the past 20 years, the United States has spent trillions of dollars to create and deploy the world’s best military technology. It also has enacted laws and regulations aimed at keeping that technology away from potential adversaries such as Iran, North Korea and the nation that poses perhaps the most significant long-term threat to U.S. military supremacy, China. China’s efforts to obtain U.S. technology have tracked its accelerated defense buildup. The Chinese military budget – second only to America’s – has soared to close to $200 billion. President Xi Jinping is championing a renaissance aimed at China asserting its dominance in the region and beyond. . . . As China rises to challenge the United States as a power in the Pacific, American officials say Beijing is penetrating the U.S. defense industry in ways that not only compromise weapons systems but also enable it to secure some of the best and most dangerous technology.” Read Part I, “War of Words” and Part II, “Sea Change.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Budget cuts like a knife: “The budget deal the Senate is likely to approve Wednesday will mean an easing of the automatic spending cuts, or sequester, but it’s also exposing a deep political rift among Republicans. The deal passed a crucial test Tuesday, when the Senate agreed 67-33 to limit debate. Twelve Republicans – a surprisingly big number – joined 53 Democrats and two independents to back the cutoff. Fifty-one votes will be needed for final passage.”
2. Bad cop : Good cop – Podesta is here: “When President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, approached John Podesta a few weeks ago about taking over the high-aggravation job of White House counselor, the biggest concern wasn’t that he would say no. After all, he had already done so twice before. Obama’s team was more worried that Podesta would say no and that word of his rejection would leak, making the White House look feckless and desperate at the end of Obama’s brutal fifth year in office. So, the circle of people in the know was kept to a small handful; it was so closely held that even the perpetually plugged-in ‘Davids’—Obama confidants Axelrod and Plouffe—weren’t consulted. . . . How Podesta chooses to execute is not a settled question, and how his formidable personality meshes with Obama’s no-drama palace guard—led by gatekeeper-in-chief McDonough—remains to be seen.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Did Arab uprisings deepen the Sunni-Shia divide?” Aljazeera.Com contributor Rima Majed argues, “Sectarianism is an invented concept that it is created using historical, economic and cultural material for the purposes of political mobilisation. The usage of such a sectarian discourse, especially in times of heightened violence and instability, helps crystallise sectarian identities and serves to recruit more individuals into those very political battles that are framed under religious terms.”
2. “. . . a totalitarian attack on human rights . . . ” TheGuardian.Com contributor Larry Klayman argues, “As an American, and a proud one, I thank the Guardian and Edward Snowden for their courage in reporting the truth about NSA’s unconstitutional actions. Without them, the entire US citizenry would have been left in the dark about this communist-like, totalitarian attack on human rights, which one would expect from countries like Putin’s Russia or China, but not in the United States of America.”
3. “How to Explain What’s Happening in Ukraine.” Time contributor Andrea Chulpa argues – and explains – “For Ukrainians, E.U. membership means more than economic opportunities and mobility. It is about distancing themselves from Putin, who is said to revere Stalin, the very dictator who tried to erase Ukraine and managed to partition it, at least politically. If that weren’t enough, just this past week, Putin tightened his control of the press by shutting down Russia’s leading news agency, RIA Novosti. This is just another chilling reminder of the Holodomor to the Ukrainian people and a reason they continue to protest in arctic temperatures to get away from his grasp.”
THE FUNNIES
1. A good plan.
2. Just do the job.
