Losing Ukraine, Contract support, and Securing defense tech

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1. States take on the NSA. Contributor Charles Simmins reports, “Legislatures in several states are, or will be, considering laws intended to limit those activities in their states by punishing the Federal agencies or contractors doing business with those agencies. The NSA is finishing work on its Utah Data Center. The Utah state legislature is considering passing a law that ‘prohibits cooperation between a federal agency that collects electronic data and any political subdivisions of the state.’”

2. Contracting in Iraq. Also from Charles Simmins, “After the withdrawal of US troops in Dec. 2011, and the failure to negotiate a Status of Forces agreement (SOFA) with Iraq, it has fallen to civilians to fill in for the military. The number of contractors has fallen in the last year but still remains significant. And while most contractors are in non-combat roles, it is dangerous work. . . . contractors in Iraq are performing a vital, but also volatile, mission. As al-Qaeda gains ground, the Iraqi government is expected to outsource more of its military mission.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. Criminations and recriminations in Crimea. Christian Science Monitor covers AP’s Edith M. Lederer and Peter James Spielmann: “Ukraine’s fugitive president requested Russian soldiers in the strategic Crimea region ‘to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order,’ Russia’s U.N. ambassador said Monday, contradicting the president’s own comments last week, while Ukraine’s ambassador said 16,000 troops are now deployed there. . . . He told the [U.N.] council he was authorized to read a statement from Yanukovych — and offered to show council members a copy — requesting Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his armed forces to restore peace and defend the people of Ukraine.”

2. DoD disconnects from Russian military. American Forces Press Service reports, “The Defense Department has ‘put on hold’ military-to-military activities with Russia . . . . suspended activities include exercises, bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences. Although the Defense Department finds value in the military-to-military relationship developed in recent years with the Russian Federation to increase transparency, build understanding and reduce the risk of military miscalculation, [Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John] Kirby said, ‘we have, in light of recent events in Ukraine, put on hold all military-to-military engagements between the United States and Russia.’”

3. No nonsense from Netanyahu—security is central. Reuters’ Jeffrey Heller and Matt Spetalnick report, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told Barack Obama on Monday that he would never compromise on Israel’s security even as the U.S. president sought to reassure him on Iran nuclear diplomacy and pressure him on Middle East peace talks. In a White House meeting overshadowed by the Ukraine crisis, the two leaders avoided any direct clash during a brief press appearance but were unable to paper over differences on a pair of sensitive diplomatic drives that have stoked tensions between them.”

4. Syria advances in Syria. AP reports, “Syrian state media say government forces are advancing in battle and tightening their grip on the last rebel stronghold near the border with Lebanon. . . . Backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, Syrian troops have been on the offensive in Qalamoun since December, trying to sever a main supply route for the rebels from Lebanon.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. Acquisition takes a village. FederalTimes.Com contributor Michael Fischetti explains, “Government agencies are now largely dependent upon contract support to meet their mission. Yet, their organizational structure doesn’t reflect this new dependence. A robust contracting infrastructure in both the public and private sectors is necessary and must include the knowledge and experience embodied in professional competencies in program management, system engineering, finance, quality assurance, property, logistics, information technology, etc. to positively impact program outcomes and reflect organizational leadership and culture.”

2. Rolls Royce’s $54 million for Marines. GovConWire.Com reports, “Rolls-Royce Corp. has won an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth up to more than $54 million to provide support and parts for 50 KC-130 aircraft, three of which are for the government of Kuwait under the foreign military sales program. The company will also provide depot-level engine repair, propeller and propulsion system components to 47 aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps, and will perform more than 90 percent of contract work in Indianapolis.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. Protecting missile defense tech. NextGov.Com’s Rachel Oswald reports, “A new U.S.-funded report calls for tightening international export controls on the sale of technologies that could be used to skirt ballistic-missile defenses. The policy paper – produced by the RAND Corp. think tank for the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency – recommends the international Missile Technology Control Regime adopt new rules for members on the sale of 19 types of so-called ‘penetration aids.’ These are technologies that can be incorporated into an offensive missile and used to ‘saturate, confuse, evade, or suppress’ an attempted missile-defense interception.”

2. CENTCOM – in the crosshairs of the Syrian Electronic Army. DefenseOne.Com contributor Patrick Tucker reports, “The Syrian Electronic Army takes to Twitter to threaten an attack on U.S. Central Command if the United States conducts cyberwarfare operations against Syria. The shadowy hactivist group that supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned on Friday that the strike would reveal ‘the U.S. command structure was a house of cards from the start.’ . . . Posting the advanced notice to CENTCOM on Twitter did, however, suggest . . . an escalation of capabilities or that the SEA was forming new partnerships.”

3. iPhone your iCar. Wired.Com contributor Tim Moynihan reports, “Apple’s CarPlay looks like a slick, Siri-enabled way to interact with your iPhone in the car. While not a standalone in-car operating system, it is a “second screen” iOS interface optimized for the car — one that allows for deeper integration with iOS devices than any in-car system to date. This should make the creators of full-featured infotainment systems very nervous. The system will debut at the Geneva International Motor Show this week, and new cars from Mercedes, Volvo, and Ferrari will ship with CarPlay built in.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Run, Boehner, run. See Boehner run: “Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) plans to run for reelection as Speaker after the November elections, telling his hometown newspaper Monday that his standing within the Republican Conference is as strong as it has ever been. The Speaker’s future is a topic of constant speculation in Washington, and the recent retirement of several of his close friends, as well as his decision to buy a condo in Florida, has renewed talk that he will soon step down. . . . ‘It won’t even be close,’ he said of his leadership. ‘I think I’m in better shape with my own caucus than I have ever been in the last three years.’” [Humble, too.]

2. Didn’t see this one coming (sarcasm): “Capitol Hill Republicans on Monday suggested President Obama was partly to blame for Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, saying foreign and military policy mistakes by the administration have emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin to act without fear of American pushback. ‘President Obama’s attempt to seek peace through apologetic diplomacy while defunding and dismantling our military has failed,’ said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. ‘Today our enemies don’t fear us and our allies no longer respect us.’”

3. No more feck! “Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., blamed President Obama’s ‘feckless’ foreign policy for inviting the crisis in Ukraine on Monday, telling a pro-Israel group that the president has repeatedly failed to demonstrate American strength in the face of adversaries. McCain, a frequent critic of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy, was only the latest Republican to criticize the administration’s handling of the crisis, as other GOP critics piled on over the weekend. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN, ‘We have a weak and indecisive president that invites aggression.’”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “Putin’s Folly, and Our Own.” Time Foreign Affairs contributor Anatol Lieven argues, “We’re now witnessing the consequences of how grossly both Russia and the West have overplayed their hands in Ukraine. It is urgently necessary that both should find ways of withdrawing from some of the positions that they have taken. Otherwise, the result could very easily be civil war, Russian invasion, the partition of Ukraine, and a conflict that will haunt Europe for generations to come.”

2. “Ukraine is Putin’s great test.” Reuters’ John Lloyd argues, “There is a possible way out: it is for the West and Russia to work together to guarantee Ukrainian independence, free and fair elections and assist it financially with trade and modernization. The UN Security Council meets on the issue on next week. It may have the authority to bring the sides together before escalation becomes dangerous. Yet the likelihood of this is tiny. The only hope is for Putin to realize that if he invades, he will lose more than he gains.”

3. “A path to end Russia-Ukraine crisis.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “The Ukraine crisis, precipitated by a pro-EU revolution last month, represents an opportunity to challenge the notion that national identity runs along bloodlines. Humanity’s progress has been based on a broader view of community.”

4. “4 Reasons Putin Is Already Losing in Ukraine.” Time’s Simon Shuster argues, “In the coming days and weeks, Putin will have to decide how far he is prepared to take this intervention and how much he is prepared to suffer for it. It is already clear, however, that he cannot emerge as the winner of this conflict, at least not when the damage is weighed against the gains.”