All the News That’s Fit to Print & AP’s Top Picks
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCE JOBS.COM
1. Cyber Command – how big is just right? Contributor Chandler Harris explains, “As the Army ramps up the development of its cyber command force, it’s dealing with a number of growing pains including deciding how big this force should actually be. Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, U.S. Army Cyber Command’s commander, said in Federal News Radio that the Army can’t predict how large a force it needs primarily due to the rapid pace of technology change. He also said the leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden have also caused the military to rethink insider threat vulnerabilities.”
2. Going on the offensive in cyber space. Also from contributor Chandler Harris, “Revealing the capabilities of the U.S. nuclear arsenal is a key part of the U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy. So when it comes to the U.S. cyber warfare capabilities, the same tactic could be used to deter cyber war . . . . Offensive cyber operations may be a legitimate deterrence strategy.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. On Iran, back to the table in Geneva. Reuters’ Marcus George and Fredrick Dahl report, “Iran and six world powers will resume talks in Geneva on Thursday about how to implement a landmark nuclear agreement, a week after Tehran broke off the discussions in anger at an expanding U.S. sanctions blacklist. . . . The technical talks – expected to involve nuclear as well as sanctions experts – are meant to translate the political deal into a detailed plan on how to put it into practice. . . . The six powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are seeking to scale back Iran’s atomic program to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such intention, saying it needs nuclear power in order to generate electricity.”
2. al Assad pounds Aleppo from the air. AP’s Bryan Lucas reports from Beirut, “n a withering four-day air assault, the Syrian government pummeled opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, leveling apartment buildings, flooding hospitals with casualties and killing nearly 200 people. Rebels say the unusually intense airstrikes have prompted civilians to flee to the countryside and could portend a government ground offensive against the opposition-held half of the city, which has been divided for a year and half by grueling fighting. The air campaign’s timing – five weeks ahead of an international peace conference – also suggests that Syrian President Bashar Assad could be trying to strengthen his position on the ground while exposing the opposition’s weaknesses before sitting down at the negotiating table.”
3. al Qaeda’s Abu Mohammed al-Joulani claims victory in his grips. Aljazeera.Com’s interview with the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra: “In his first-ever televised interview, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, ruled out peace talks with President Bashar al-Assad and warned that Arab states should be cautious of the recent improvement of Iran-US ties. ‘The battle is almost over, we have covered about 70 percent of it, and what’s left is small. We will achieve victory soon. We pray to God to culminate these efforts with victory. It’s only a matter of days,’ he said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera’s Tayseer Allouni from an undisclosed location in Syria. Al-Joulani added that al-Nusra – designated by the UN, the US and other western countries as a terrorist organisation – would not accept the outcome of the upcoming international conference in Geneva scheduled for January.”
4. Defending against “the world’s most complex and dangerous threats.” American Forces Press Service’s Donna Miles reports, “Stratcom’s No. 1 mission is to ensure the United States has a credible nuclear deterrent that the president could call on at any time to go operational, if needed. [Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney], with vast experience in the Navy’s ballistic-missile submarine fleet, said this mission remains paramount. . . . Stratcom’s responsibilities have expanded beyond nuclear deterrence over the past eight years to include deterrence against a far more extensive set of threats and challenges. With that charter, the command also serves as the global synchronizer for ensuring space, cyberspace, missile defense and intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities across the military.”
5. Welcome to the State Department’s Terror List. LongWarJournal.Org’s reports: State Department adds Usamah Amin al Shihabi of the Al Nusrah Front’s Palestinian wing in Lebanon and Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s al-Mulathameen Brigade of Niger, Algeria, and Mali (a.k.a. the al-Murabitoon Brigade and al Mua’qi’oon Biddam).
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Boeing’s new Defense Chief. GovConWire.Com reports, “Christopher Chadwick, president of Boeing‘s military aircraft division, has been promoted to president and CEO of the company’s defense, space and security business segment in a series of executive appointments that take effect Dec. 31.” DefenseNews.Com adds, “Chadwick, a 31-year veteran of Boeing who was a program manager on the Bell-Boeing V-22 program, has been overseeing a military aircraft unit that is in the midst of transition as many of its legacy programs age. Now he will have to manage the broader defense portfolio through the US defense downturn.”
2. Ospreys flying East to Bell Boeing Goldmine for the winter? DoDBuzz.Com’s Richard Sisk reports, “Japan adopted its first “National Security Strategy” Tuesday aimed at shaking off the restrictions of its pacifist Constitution to confront perceived threats from China by buying a vast arsenal of advanced U.S. weaponry to include MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and F-35 fighters. . . . Under the plan, Japan would spend $240 billion over the next five years on new equipment for the military to include 17 MV-22 Ospreys, 28 F-35 fighters, three unarmed Global Hawk drones and 52 amphibious troop carriers to shore up the offensive capability of its Self-Defense Forces. If fully implemented, the Japanese strategy would provide a major boost for Bell Boeing, maker of the Ospreys, and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program. Both firms have struggled to attract interest from foreign buyers in their aircraft.”
3. The Clouds are dissipating. FederalTimes.Com’s Nicole Blake Johnson reports, “Federal agencies spent hundreds of millions of dollars last year buying cloud services through General Services Administration contracts, but the contracts GSA designated specifically for cloud did not get much of the action. Instead, agencies used GSA’s governmentwide contracts, such as Alliant, for many of the procurements. About $550 million in cloud service purchases went through the agency’s GWACs, compared with less than $100 million on GSA’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Email-as-a-Service contracts . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. 300 pages of stop it! AP’s Julie Pace and Kimberly Dozier report, “A presidential advisory panel has recommended sweeping changes to government surveillance programs, including limiting the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records by stripping the National Security Agency of its ability to store that data in its own facilities. Court orders would be required before the information could be searched. In a 300-page report released Wednesday, the five-member panel also proposed greater scrutiny of decisions to spy on friendly foreign leaders, a practice that has outraged U.S. allies around the world.” See Christian Science Monitor’s Mark Clayton’s report on the same.
2. “Big Data and Big Brother.” Part IV of Justin Heinz’ series: “For social media users concerned about how their information is being used, one might better direct concern at some of the world’s major Internet companies, who, unlike DHS, are collecting personal information, holding it in their databases and even selling it to other companies.” Refresh your memory with Part 1: Intelligence in the Digital Age: The NSA PRISM Program; Part 2: Intelligence in the Digital Age: Authorizing NSA Espionage; and Part 3: Intelligence in the Digital Age: When the NSA Comes Calling.
3. Hail to a new Cyber Czar. NextGov.Com’s Bob Brewin reports, “In the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act passed by House lawmakers last week, Congress required the Defense Department appoint a high level Principal Cyber Advisor with a broad oversight portfolio that includes offensive and defensive cyber missions, resources, personnel, acquisition and technology. . . . Congress also directed the Pentagon to conduct a broad analysis of its cyber operations to include manpower requirements, education and training, the potential for offering bonuses for cyber personnel and the use of ‘virtual deployments’ to support operations. The mission analysis also should assess cyber forces’ current and future equipping needs as well as the department’s dependence on industry partners, foreign allies and other outside entities to perform cyber operations.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Mincing squishy words: “Somewhat vulnerable to attack”: The ongoing budget sequester, mostly cemented in the new Republican-Democratic budget compromise, will make the nation ‘somewhat vulnerable’ to attack in the next few years as the military absorbs bruising budget cuts, warned the nation’s top Army officer. Gen. Raymond. T Odierno, United States Army chief of staff, says that the readiness of the service’s brigades will suffer for three to four years as the military cuts forces and deals with the abrupt slash of $500 billion. . . . Odierno explained that it will take that long for the service to handle the cuts and realign spending priorities, and that the nation in the meantime will be vulnerable.”
2. Kool-Aid anyone?: “John Podesta was just named as a new senior-level adviser to President Obama last week, but he’s already ruffling Republican feathers. In a profile published late Tuesday by Politico Magazine, Podesta is quoted comparing Republicans to the infamous cult led by Jim Jones, who was responsible for the 1978 cyanide poisoning of more than 900 of his followers in Guyana. . . . ‘They need to focus on executive action given that they are facing a second term against a cult worthy of Jonestown in charge of one of the houses of Congress’ . . . . Podesta apologized for his impolitic comment. . . . Podesta made the comment in an interview in the fall before Obama recruited the former Clinton administration chief of staff to join his team.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Africa: Learning the hard lessons of Arab Spring.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Acheikh Ibn-Oumar argues, “In order to avoid putting the long standing Afro-Arab relationship in jeopardy, the elites in both regions should rise to their historical responsibilities and bridge the gaps that start to take shape. African democracy advocates must emphasise the most important lessons of the Arab Spring. . . . . Bouazizi’s sacrifice and the social and political earthquake it has triggered, is proof that any autocratic regime, no matter how mighty and how bloody, can be defeated by poor, downtrodden, ordinary citizens.”
2. “On Arab Spring anniversary, Tunisia again inspires.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “The Arab Spring has faltered in places such as Egypt, Syria, and Libya. And despite its own rough moments, Tunisia provides a lesson in how to adopt the necessary qualities – freedom, tolerance, equality, inclusiveness, and adherence to law – to build a democracy.”
3. “Ukraine’s Murky Future.” USNews.Com contributor Olga Oliker argues, “. . . while some see Ukraine choosing between European-style democracy and economic, political, and cultural backwardness in Russia’s shadow, the fact is that Ukraine faces a difficult and murky path in any direction. The country is in dire financial straits, needing billions in loans to avoid bankruptcy. The Russian deal’s loans and discounted gas could avert crisis in the near term, but will do nothing to support the reforms needed for economic sustainability in the long term. Conversely, the tough conditions EU association would impose would make it difficult for any Ukrainian government to stay in power long enough to effect positive results.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Power of words.
2. Ahem!
