FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Google Defense. Contributor David Brown reports, “It would seem this is only the beginning of Google’s move into the national security arena. A look at Google’s broader portfolio suggests limitless ambition. It is a company that now owns a satellite firm, advanced mapping and geospatial technologies, self-driving cars, an unrivaled robotics portfolio, and a peerless collection of global user metadata. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrup Grumman helped us conquer the moon, and one day Mars. It seems Google is intent on conquering the Earth.”
2. Careers—Security Management. Contributor Jeffrey Fowler explains, “There is no one clear path to the perfect job in the security management field. That’s the good news. Today’s professionals can combine military, law enforcement, corporate security experience, higher education and other life experiences to land a great position. . . . Here are some words of advice gleaned from more than 30 years in the industry.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. ISIS—erasing history. TheDailyBeast.Com’s Christopher Dickey reports, “So the risk now—the virtual certainty, in fact—is that irreplaceable history will be annihilated or sold into the netherworld of corrupt and cynical collectors. . . . And it’s not just the monumental sculptures that are in danger, but thousands of artifacts and, also, ancient manuscripts from the many cultures—Islamic, Christian, and pagan—that inhabited the region of Mosul when it sat astride the caravan route that led from the Far East into the Near East and Europe.”
2. Operation Protective Edge—Israel goes after Gaza. AP’s Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem, “The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking at least 50 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a barrage of rocket attacks against Israel. The military said ‘Operation Protective Edge’ looks to strike the Islamic Hamas group and end the rocket fire that has reached deeper into Israel and intensified in recent weeks amid tensions over the killing of three Israeli teenagers and the apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.” See also from Aljazeera.Com, “Rockets from Gaza follow Israeli air strikes.”
3. Afghanistan’s Bush-Gore moment. Khaama.Com reports, “Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday declared victory in the second round of election and warned to resist the upcoming government claiming that the government and electoral bodies were involved in massive fraud during the runoff election. Abdullah was speaking among thousands of his supporters in Loya Jirga hall following the announcement of preliminary vote results. . . . The independent election commission of Afghanistan on Monday released the preliminary vote results for the runoff election which puts Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the lead. The release of preliminary results by IEC was rejected by Dr. Abdullah’s criticizing the electoral bodies for not separating the fake votes.” Also from Khaama.Com, “Abdullah’s supporters tear down Karzai’s poster in Loya Jirga hall.” Christian Science Monitor reports, “Afghanistan’s presidential election results are in and the trouble may be about to start.”
4. Drawdown in Europe. DefenseNews.Com’s Andrew Tilghman reports, “Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and chief of the US European Command, said new missions to keep US ground troops and aircraft in Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Baltics and Romania, are putting a strain on his current force of about 67,000 troops. ‘We may need to add additional rotational forces to cover the sustained and persistent presence that we are now envisioning’ . . . .”
5. No Easy Day for Matt Bissonnette—Pentagon’s suit. MatthewWaid.Com reports, “The Obama administration is actively pursuing legal action against a former Navy SEAL to seize the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received for writing a best-selling but deeply controversial memoir about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. . . . The book was never cleared with Pentagon officials before it was published, which means that operational details about the raid could have been remained in the book despite Bissonnette’s insistence that he scrubbed anything classified.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Focal Plane Array (FPA) on notice. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Army researchers are surveying industry for companies able to develop advanced visible-light and near-infrared focal plane array (FPA) sensors for applications such as electro-optical payloads, weapon sights, night vision, and sensors for unmanned vehicles. Officials of the Army Contracting Command at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Belvoir Division at Fort Belvoir, Va., issued a sources-sought notice last week (W909MY14QATDI) for the Advanced Visible/Near Infrared TDI Focal Plane program.”
2. Fed’s impending spending spree. NextGov.Com’s Rebecca Carroll reports, “Agencies didn’t always save the bulk of their spending for September, but that’s how it has worked out recently – and this year, the pattern is especially pronounced . . . . Agencies will make 35.4 percent of their 2014 purchases between this month and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, with most of that activity occurring in September . . . . In a typical recent year, 32.4 percent of all spending took place in the fourth quarter, and 18 percent occurred in September alone . . . . The numbers are even higher for specific procurement types and at certain agencies. For instance, in the last five years, 39 percent of government information technology purchases were made in the fourth quarter.” Read Deltek’s analysis.
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Information War. Esquire.Com’s Ben Collins explains, “America is now a country with a majority populace open to—and even rooting on—the idea that the best way to kill corruption and spur on innovation is to make information available for all. And it’s even willing to go against its elected officials to make that happen. But this didn’t start with Edward Snowden. This started with Aaron Swartz.”
2. NSA’s Incidental Data. The Atlantic contributor Conor Friedersdorf reports, “Have you ever emailed a photograph of your child in the bathtub, or yourself flexing for the camera or modeling lingerie? If so, it could be your photo in the Washington Post newsroom right now, where it may or may not be secure going forward. In one case, a woman whose private communications were collected by the NSA found herself contacted by a reporter who’d read her correspondence.” Read Washington Post’s original story. Related, see from TheHill.Com, “Is there a second NSA leaker after Snowden?”
3. FAA’s UAV five-year plan. AviationWeek.Com’s Graham Warwick reports, “Responding to an auditor’s report critical of its progress toward integrating unmanned aircraft into national airspace, the FAA says it expects to complete a plan by the end of August for a phased implementation approach over five years. The Transportation Department’s Inspector General’s (IG) conclusion that FAA will miss Congress’s September 2015 deadline for integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system (NAS) will come as a surprise to no one watching its progress.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Mid-term motivation: “Democrats and Republicans are returning to Congress more focused on energizing the midterm electorate than moving legislation. The GOP believes it is months away from an election that will hand it control of the Senate, giving it a check on President Obama’s final two years in office. House Republicans plan to bring legislation to the floor authorizing a lawsuit against Obama’s use of executive action, a move they believe will underline the importance to their base voters of coming to the polls in November to elect a GOP House and Senate. The White House and Senate Democrats are equally focused on winning in November. They see the House lawsuit as a classic case of Republican overreach, and believe it will backfire.”
2. Holding the bag. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry declined an official White House offer to greet President Barack Obama when he lands at Austin’s airport Wednesday. The Republican governor, who has repeatedly criticized Obama for his handling of the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border, wrote the president and asked for a more ‘substantive meeting.’ ‘I appreciate the offer to greet you at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, but a quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas . . . .’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Getting the Sunni Gang Back Together.” NewYorker.Com contributor Steve Coll argues, “In statecraft, as in life, it is useful to be clear-eyed about who one’s friends really are—to identify those who will put themselves at risk for one’s interests in a crisis, apart from protecting their own. There is serious trouble brewing for the United States—not just in Iraq and Syria, but in Turkey, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, which may be destabilised by the spreading conflict.”
2. “Fiddling While Iraq Burns.” New York Times contributor Carol Giacomo argues, “It is hard to know if American involvement in the area could prove effective, but the administration is right to at least wait and see if the government in Baghdad will dedicate itself to representing all Iraqis, and calming the sectarian divisions that have allowed extremists to take root.”
3. “Israel looks within.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “Israel can be proud of its moral hand-wringing. The country is often held to a higher standard than its Arab enemies. That can be often unfair, but one reason for it is that Israel sets a standard on how to judge itself in those cases in which its civilians or soldiers cause harm to innocent Israeli Arabs or Palestinians. Meekness in the face of a human rights crime is a trait worth living up to, and noting.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Overdue.
2. “Sue me.”
