Monday Mourning & Congrats Royals
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Cleared cinema. Contributor David Brown writes, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a janitor or a cybersecurity specialist, a clearance means your job matters a bit more than most. You have a secret and know the secrets of others, and if you blab too much, lives might be put at risk. That’s an awesome responsibility and makes you feel like a secret agent. But of course janitors, cybersecurity specialists, and others aren’t secret agents. We have to get our kicks vicariously. Here are five great spy movies to help you do just that. . . .”
Army force cuts. Contributor Jillian Hamilton writes, “Instead of implementing a round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the Pentagon is achieving the necessary reduction in force, seemingly one slice at a time. Without more money in the budget, the Army cannot continue to operate without the cuts. While a BRAC could be more efficient, it has been Congress‘ least desired path.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
AQ’s Afghanistan foothold. Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe reports, “multi-day operation in southern Afghanistan this month that involved 200 Special Operations forces and scores of American airstrikes targeted what was ‘probably the largest’ al-Qaeda training camp found in the 14-year Afghan war, the senior U.S. commander in Afghanistan said . . . . Campbell did not detail the composition of the ground force involved in the operation in Kandahar province, but credited Afghan Special Operations troops with being involved in a series of raids that produced key intelligence about insurgent groups.”
ISIS deep dive. The Atlantic’s David Ignatius reports, “ISIS is mysterious in part because it is so many things at once. It combines Islamic piety and reverence for the prophet and his companions with the most modern social-media platforms and encryption schemes; its videos blend the raw pornographic violence of a snuff film with the pious chanting of religious warriors; the group has the discipline of a prison gang (many of its recruits were indeed drawn from U.S.-organized prisons in Iraq), but also the tactical subtlety and capacity for deception of the most skilled members of Saddam Hussein’s intelligence services, who were also pulled into the ISIS net.”
Korea-Japan relations. AP’s Foster Klug reports, “Thousands of years of deeply complicated history bubbled beneath the surface images of handshakes and flashing cameras Monday at the first formal meeting of Japanese and South Korean leaders in 3½ years. The two Asian heavyweights’ relationship is so unique, so vexing, that the major accomplishment of the summit, which included a three-way meeting Sunday with China’s premier, was simply Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye rising, for now, above past disputes and agreeing to meet again.” See also, “South Korean Alliance ‘Ironclad’ in Face of Constant Danger.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Spectrum Warfare Assessment Technologies (SWAT) program. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Air Force researchers are creating a simulated spectrum warfare battlefield designed to try out new electronic warfare (EW) and electro-optical warfare systems to help U.S. military forces control the electromagnetic spectrum in future conflicts. . . . Spectrum warfare describes the U.S. military’s struggle to control radio communications, radar, electro-optical sensors, GPS satellite navigation, precision timing, data networking, and other facets of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as deny these abilities to the enemy.”
Bomber budget bout. Defense News’ Lara Seligman reports, “The Pentagon’s decade-long search for a next-generation bomber ended last week, but now a fight is brewing over how the new bomber fits into the Pentagon’s long-term spending blueprint. As all of the service branches brace for a tsunami of crucial — and costly — modernization programs next decade, top brass will have to reach deep into the Pentagon’s coffers to find cash for the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B).”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Ash Carter’s innovation imperative. Defense One contributor Secretary Ash Carter writes, “[W]e’re investing aggressively in innovation. We’re pushing the envelope with research into both new technologies and innovative ways to apply them. And whether it’s robotics, data science, cyber defense, biotech, or hypersonic engines that can fly over five times the speed of sound, private sector innovation and partnerships will be critical to our future.
Cybersecurity talent tap. Venture Beat contributor Ken Xie reports, “In the short term, the cybersecurity industry must fill the many thousands of jobs ranging from research positions to network security administration. This can happen in several ways . . . .”
CIA’s Red Cell works. Foreign Policy’s Micah Zenko reports, “From its origins, the Red Cell has been distinct from mainline analytical units in several consequential ways. First, its directors personally select the analysts who serve on the Red Cell from many well-qualified applicants within the intelligence community. Directors seek people who are analytically fearless, excellent writers, and deeply knowledgeable about history and world affairs. . . .”
Cryptography: a brief history of. Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Seth Schoen and Jamie Williams write, “[C]ryptography has always been far more than just a military or government tool. Government officials were never the only ones spending time and resources using and developing new encryption techniques. Indeed, far from being something that has been employed only by reigning officials, encryption has been used by civilians, businesspeople, and revolutionaries—including the Founding Fathers of the United States—for centuries. . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Taxing. “Paul Ryan’s rise to House speaker is fanning hopes that a once-in-a-generation tax overhaul might be on the horizon. The Wisconsin Republican who claimed the gavel last week is one of Congress’ preeminent tax experts, an ardent advocate of rewriting the code with lots of ideas on how to do it.”
Tribal warfare. “Despite President Obama’s two election victories, the nation has become increasingly racially divided in its politics and ‘tribal’ in its voting patterns, according to the president’s election pollster. ‘We’ve come a long way in a lot of different ways around race in this country, but if you look at our voting patterns, we’re as segregated in how we vote today as we were 40-some years ago,’ said Cornell Belcher, president of Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies and a Harvard University fellow.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Deeper involvements and higher costs in fight against Islamic State.” Reuters contributor Peter Van Buren argues, “Increasing American military engagement seems unlikely to lessen the chaos, or ameliorate the foreign policy challenges. It is an expensive escalation with little hope of a payoff.”
“Russian goals in Syria defined by timing.” AP contributor Steven Hurst argues, “While it remains unclear if Russia can succeed in Syria – by holding together a unified state whether led by Assad or another strongman – it is certain Kremlin intervention was strategically timed, has undercut U.S. tactics and has restarted negotiations to end the Syrian civil war.”
“Large-Scale Geoengineering and Threats to National Security.” Lawfare contributor Herb Lin argues, “An important national security concern—unaddressed in most of the discussions about the national security concerns associated with climate change—arises from the fact that some geoengineering options are relatively inexpensive to implement.”
“What It Would Really Take to Knock Out the Power Grid.” Defense One contributor John Breeden II argues, “Even if the bad guys don’t yet have the capability to do any real harm to utilities, it’s only a matter of time. If we want to make sure having the lights going out is still exclusively part of a marginally funny kid’s joke, we need to continue to take the threat seriously, and build up our defenses even as we network and expand our aging OT infrastructure.”
“Leadership stories.” Fast Company staff write, “This month, we learned how Oprah stays focused, what productivity experts do to keep their desks clean, and how getting the right amount of sleep really does impact your performance at work. Here are the stories you loved in Leadership for the month of October. . . .”
