Monday in a minute & Bored at your desk
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Getting to the Top – how to accelerate the process. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “A top secret security clearance requires a completely separate background investigation than a secret security clearance. . . . The rule with either clearance is that the more complete you fill out your SF-86, the easier it will be for you, and your investigator. How complete your paperwork is will also go a long way in speeding up the security clearance process.”
2. Top cleared jobs in 2013. Also from Lindy Kyzer, one last look back at 2013, which might predict a direction for 2014: “What security clearance careers were hottest in 2013? High demanded continued for cleared cyber experts and java developers, as well as linguists and program managers. Here’s a round-up of some of the top trending career categories, based on number of jobs posted to ClearanceJobs.com.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Iraq battling back al Qaeda in Anbar. Aljazeera.Com reports, “An operation is under way to drive hardline fighters out of Iraq’s Anbar province, with an aerial assault by government forces hitting east of Fallujah, and clashes between the Iraqi army and al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) near Ramadi leaving many dead. . . . Iraq’s Defence Ministry also released footage on Sunday that it said showed aerial bombings of al-Qaeda fighters’ hideouts, after the government vowed earlier in the day to launch a “major attack” to retake Fallujah. The city has been in the hands of fighters from ISIL since Saturday.” On Saturday, LongWarJournal.Org’s Bill Roggio reported, “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, an al Qaeda branch in the Middle East, and its tribal allies have taken control of Fallujah less than one week after launching an offensive in Iraq’s western province of Anbar.” WashingtonTimes.Com reports, “The U.S. has inserted 200 troops in Iraq since 2012, but they cannot directly help the Iraqi military repel a surge of al Qaeda fighters, even as the country succumbs to sectarian violence and insurgents claim control of two key cities.”
2. In Juba, U.S. Embassy evacuated. American Forces Press Services’ Cheryl Pellerin reports, “Marines evacuated about 20 U.S. Embassy staff members from the deteriorating security situation in Juba, South Sudan, on the same day the State Department announced it will add $49.8 million to humanitarian assistance the United States has provided to help victims of the conflict there. . . . At the State Department today, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said the United States is further drawing down staffing at the embassy in Juba ‘out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and security of our diplomatic personnel.’ As a result of the drawdown, she said, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, will provide consular services for U.S. citizens in South Sudan until further notice.”
3. In Syria, al-Assad endures. Christian Science Monitor’s Nicholas Blanford reports, “When protesters took to the streets of Syrian cities in March 2011, President Bashar al-Assad looked set to become the latest victim of a revolution . . . . But almost three years later, Mr. Assad still inhabits the presidential palace . . . . The tenacity of his regime, the evident disarray within the political opposition, and armed rebel groups’ drift toward Islamic extremism have spurred some in the West to voice what was unthinkable just a year ago: that Assad could actually win, and that his survival may even be preferable to a rebel victory, which could bring about a Syria dominated by Al Qaeda-affiliated extremists.”
4. Afghanistan accused of cross-border attacks. Khaama.Com reports, “The Afghan Taliban group leaders accuse the Afghan intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) behind the recent assassination of two senior Taliban figures in Pakistan. Taliban group leaders also suspect that the provincial security chief of southern Kandahar province, Gen. Abdul Razaq was behind the cross-border assassination campaign. . . . The Afghan intelligence officials have not independently confirmed the involvement of the Afghan security institutions in the recent killings, however a senior NDS official told Wall Street Journal, ‘The war is now shifting to the Afghan leadership.’ But another Afghan intelligence official said the deaths were the result of internal rifts within the Taliban movement.”
5. U.S. drones, and more, beating back Somali pirates. Time’s Noah Rayman reports, “It’s a testament to the success of recent antipiracy measures that hijackings of major shipments off the coast of Somalia plummeted to zero in 2013, according to the final numbers compiled by the U.S. Navy and released last week. . . . International naval patrols spearheaded by NATO and the E.U. have boosted security by deploying up to 20 warships to the area at one time . . . with U.S. surveillance drones over the coast of Somalia warning when pirates appear to be setting off.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Sequestration emasculates the defense lobby. DefenseOne.Com contributor Sara Sorcher reports, “Nobody is afraid of defense lobbyists now. Congress has defied them twice in two years, first by failing to undo the first round of defense cuts under sequestration, and again this week by floating a budget deal that would only partly pare back the next round. The fact that industry accepts this deal, a far cry from the grand bargain it demanded last year, shows just how far expectations have plummeted.”
2. Value Engineering: a revival in the contracting game. GovExec.Com’s Charles S. Clark explains, “In its first such update in two decades, the Office of Management and Budget has revised long-standing guidance instructing agency managers to adopt the private-sector discipline known as ‘value engineering’ to boost innovation and achieve savings. . . . Value engineering ‘challenges agencies to continually think about their mission and functions — in the most basic terms — in order to determine if their requirements are properly defined and if they have considered the broadest possible range of alternatives to optimize value . . . .’ Value engineering dates back to World War II when the Defense Department used it primarily in construction projects. It is has been widely adapted by private corporations under the name value methodology, or functional analysis.”
3. Ms. Pac-Man coming to contracting. Also from GovExec.Com, “The service that oversees the government’s acquisition workforce wants to use interactive computer games to train the next generation of government contracting officers, solicitation documents show. The games, which will be accessible through a mobile application, will cut down on the cost of in-person training and give future contracting officers more flexibility to learn by experience, and by failure, than in-person training where there’s less room to explore innovative approaches . . . . The games must allow users to branch out on different paths based on decisions they make rather than each decision being simply rated “right” or “wrong,” the agency said. Users should also receive some reward, such as earning points, for decisions that result in a successful contract.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. What happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas: CES International. Time contributor Doug Aamoth covers the Consumer Electronics Show: “It’s tough to numerically pinpoint which days of CES are which. If you’re in the tech media, Monday’s really the first full day of CES, but you show up on Sunday (or earlier) because there are a few things on Sunday; if you’re a tradesperson, Tuesday’s really the first full day of CES. Actually, Tuesday is the first official day of CES, seeing that the show this year runs from January 7 to January 10. January 7 is the first day the show floor is open. To see what’s new, minute by minute, follow Wired.Com’s Tim Moynihan.
2. Cyber Threats in 2014: a forecast. IBTimes.Co.UK’s David Gilbert looks to 2014’s vulnerabilities: “In the cyber security world, 2013 has been more than a bit of an eye-opener for most people. The level of sophistication and power that some people wield over your online activity has been revealed to be far greater than almost everyone ever imagined. . . . As more and more of our lives become digital, this trend is only likely to continue, and so we have asked experts around the world to tell us what they think the cyber threats for 2014 will be.”
3. Israeli missile shields – up. DefenceTalk.Com reports, “Arrow III, an upgraded component of the Israeli missile shield, was successfully tested for the second time, the country’s Defense Ministry announced. The kamikaze satellites launched by the system are capable of intercepting missiles in space. . . . The kamikaze satellites, fired by the Arrow III system, have been also known as “kill vehicles.” They are able to identify and trail chemical, biological or nuclear warheads above the Earth’s atmosphere. The interceptors then ram into the missiles and destroy then at an altitude, where the disintegration is safe. The kind of missiles Arrow III can intercept are used by Iran and Syria, and are believed to be held by Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Go back east, young woman: “Published reports citing anonymous GOP insiders say Liz Cheney plans to quit the Republican Wyoming Senate primary and abandon her effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney moved her family from Virginia to Wyoming to run for the seat. Her effort to replace Enzi, a Senate veteran, angered and upset many Republicans and her campaign faced a number of problems. . . . Cheney will reportedly cite family reasons when she announces her withdrawal from the contest.”
2. Filibuster fluster: “Reid and the Senate Democratic majority enraged the GOP last year by moving to cut off the filibuster for most presidential appointees and judicial nominations. They left in place a 60-vote threshold for legislation. But in a rare Sunday television interview, Reid stopped short of categorically ruling out such a move in the future. ‘We’re not there yet . . . . No, I’m not thinking about that today.’ In the same interview, Reid denounced in his typically harsh rhetoric Republican opposition to a range of Democratic priorities, including an extension of long-term unemployment insurance, raising the minimum range and strengthening background checks for gun purchases.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Saudi isolation could be a threat to the region.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Samer Abboud argues, “As Western appetite for supporting Syria’s opposition wanes, Saudi Arabia’s ability to exert more influence in the conflict will only increase. Saudi Arabia certainly has the material resources and capacity to compensate for any Western withdrawal of aid to the opposition. And with fewer competitors, the Kingdom will be better positioned to mould the opposition and rebel groups in its own vision. While some may welcome the isolation of Saudi Arabia, it seems that such isolation is not forcing a retreat, but rather an entrenchment of the Kingdom in the Syrian conflict.
2. “The hidden consequences of Snowden’s NSA revelations.” WaPo contributor Robert J. Samuelson argues, “Unless you’ve camped in the Alaskan wilderness for two decades, you know — or should — that millions upon millions of Americans have consciously and, probably in most cases, eagerly surrendered much of their privacy by embracing the Internet and social media. . . . Vilifying the NSA — letting Snowden dictate the terms of debate — promotes bad history and bad policy. It’s bad history, because the most powerful assaults on privacy have originated in markets. It’s bad policy, because weakening the NSA leaves the United States more exposed to cyberattacks.”
3. “Future terrorists.” LATimes.Com contributor, former representative of California’s 36th Congressional District, and head of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Jane Harmon argues, “We must make our case persuasively to others and isolate those who would cause us harm. Narratives can inspire people to do terrible things, or to push back against those extremist voices. Relying on the Internet alone to communicate a counter-narrative is insufficient: Many more strategies must be employed.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Camel love.
3. Colorado weather.
