FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Spotting the shady candidate. Contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “A candidate might have the skills and the ability to get a clearance, but do you trust them? With recruiting increasingly online, and social sites such as Linked In offering up a growing foreign audience, it’s even more important to be able to spot what’s real—and what’s fake—in an online resume or profile. . . . Here are six ways to spot a shady candidate . . . .”
2. Salary negotiations. Also from Jillian Hamilton, “A candidate who wants to negotiate salary is someone who shows confidence. Be sure to leave some room in the offer for negotiating, but don’t lowball them with the initial offer. The negotiation process is about relationship building. Be prepared to ask a candidate for salary expectations and justifications for a higher starting salary. Know what bargaining tools you have to offer.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Hamas 101. Council on Foreign Relations’ Jonathan Masters reports, “Hamas is the largest and most influential Palestinian militant movement that, along with the more moderate Fatah party, serves as one of the two primary Palestinian political factions. Founded in 1987 during the first Intifada, Hamas is a Sunni Islamist group and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization violently opposed to the state of Israel. Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawana al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement), has exercised de facto rule over the Gaza Strip since wresting the territory from its rival Fatah, which governs the West Bank, in 2007.” See also, “Gaza toll tops 700” and “Pentagon Supports Emergency $225M for Israel’s Iron Dome.”
2. Russia’s role in Ukraine. Defense Media Activity’s Nick Simeone reports, “Despite questions about its possible role in last week’s downing of a commercial airliner over Ukraine, Russia continues to arm and train pro-Russian separatists in the region and has dispatched more than 100 additional pieces of military equipment across the border in recent days, a Pentagon spokesman said today. ‘We know that they sent, for example, last week a column of over 100 vehicles which included tanks, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems,’ Army Col. Steve Warren said, adding that these actions are consistent with Moscow’s behavior in eastern Ukraine for several months.” See also, “Cold War Aura Returns.”
3. ISIS’ “full-blown Army.” Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is no longer a terrorist organization, but rather something that is ‘in fact, worse than Al Qaeda . . . . A full-blown Army. . . . They are a self-sustaining organization and flush with cash, no question.’. . . As the Iraqi military seeks to battle ISIS, however, the advance of the Islamist insurgents ‘poses a threat to US interests,’ Elissa Slotkin, acting principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy, told lawmakers. Even so, she added, ‘Iraqis must do the heavy lifting.’” See also from DefenseOne.Com, “ISIL Is Now a ‘Full Blown Army’ in Iraq.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Lithuania—in the market for Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). DefenseNews.Com’s Jaroslaw Adamowski reports, “The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has announced plans to acquire new infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to replace the country’s M113 armored personnel carriers. . . . The ministry has requested information from nine unnamed foreign defense manufacturers which make IFVs. The companies have been asked to reply by mid-October, with the planned contract scheduled to be awarded in 2015, the ministry said in a statement. The estimated amount of the procurement was not disclosed. Currently, the Lithuanian armed forces operate 224 M113s . . . .”
2. F-35 export woes. AviationWeek.Com’s Richard Aboulafia explains, “Low production numbers lead to high unit prices—well above $100 million in the most recent buy. For the next buy (Low-Rate Initial Production Lot 7), the target price of the least expensive variant, the F-35A, is still $98 million. These high prices keep procurement numbers low, creating a cycle. It’s not a B-2-like death spiral, but it’s a recipe for program stagnation. . . . Thus the grounding is a problem only if it jeopardizes the timing of export orders. And there is a risk here. It isn’t just contract delays. In target market countries, the F-35’s enemies will use this incident as an argument in favor of holding a competition, rather than permitting a sole-source selection with a subsequent firm contract.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Gaza—boon for laser defense. DoDBuzz.Com’s Michael Hoffman reports, “The success and the cost of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system proves the worth in developing laser missile defense systems . . . . It only costs a few bucks to fire a laser versus the expensive costs of advanced missiles. Lasers also have the convenience of not running out. Swarming is a serious threat for air defense systems, especially with cheap micro drones hitting the market. A swarm of these drones could easily overwhelm an air defense system armed with a limited number of missiles.”
2. Electric airplanes—flying high and fast. Wired.Com’s Alex Davies reports, “[Chip] Yates, a pilot and motorcyclist with an appetite for tackling challenges others deem crazy or impossible, flies a highly-modified Rutan Long-EZ, called the Long-ESA. Fitted with a battery that produces 258 horsepower (193 kW) instead of the 118-hp engine it came with, it can hit 220 mph and fly up to 14,701 feet. It goes from a standstill on the runway to 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) in 5 minutes, 32 seconds. That’s the equivalent of running a quarter mile in 45 seconds, but going straight up . . . .”
3. Invisible Internet Project—not so invincible. Reuters’ Joseph Menn reports, “Researchers have found a flaw that could expose the identities of people using a privacy-oriented operating system touted by Edward Snowden, just two days after widely used anonymity service Tor acknowledged a similar problem. . . . no anonymity system is failsafe . . . and those in jeopardy should focus on compartmentalizing their efforts so that a single breach would not expose everything about them.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Obstacle Congress: “The committee established by Congress to advise the government on how to prevent another 9/11-scale attack recommended in its 2004 report that Congress get out of the way of the Department of Homeland Security and let its leaders do their job. A decade later, that still hasn’t happened. The Department of Homeland Security says that in 2013, its staff held more than 1,650 congressional briefings and had 161 witnesses appear at 105 hearings. By Homeland Security’s count, the hours it has spent to meet the demands of Congress cost the agency the equivalent of 66 work years. . . . 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean said there was no one he talked to who didn’t say congressional oversight was a major problem impeding antiterrorism efforts.”
2. Cruz control: “Sen. Ted Cruz is urging House Republicans to reject legislation addressing the border crisis, arguing that passing a bill through the lower chamber would play into the hands of Senate Democrats. The Texas Republican’s move to sway GOP lawmakers will hamper any House effort to pass a border bill before Congress adjourns for its summer break at the end of next week. In a Wednesday morning meeting, Cruz told a group of more than 20 House conservatives that they would regret passing legislation addressing the Texas border crisis because Senate Democrats were likely to gut it and use it as a vehicle to pass other immigration legislation.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Only Collective Action Can Save Near-Earth Space.” AviationWeek.Com’s James Clay Moltz argues, “In the face of emerging challenges, it is easy to fall back on isolationism, nationalism and fear-mongering. But such strategies are more likely to worsen the space environment and harm long-term U.S. interests in space’s economic development.”
2. “Sanctions finally find Russia’s Achilles heel.” Reuters contributor William E. Pomeranz argues, “Sanctions may not be enough to persuade Putin to change course in Ukraine, nor, unfortunately, will the tragic downing of the Malaysian airliner. Yet the sanctions are slowly inflicting serious damage on the Russian economy and no one knows when the next gray line will be crossed. The risk premium for Russia is rising.”
3. “On stupidity and war.” Aljazeera.Com’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara argues, “In the final analysis, if Israel doesn’t start packing and leaving the occupied territories sooner, many Israelis will start leaving it later because conditions are bound to get much worse. Late is better than never learning the primary lesson from this conflict: It’s the occupation, stupid.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Hamas ceasefire.
3. Rest assured.
