Friday Finale & This Time Last Year: Desertion, ISIS in Afghanistan, Ransomware
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Foot in the CIA door. Contributor, barrister, and in-house counsel Sean Bigley writes, “If you’re lucky enough to make it through the endless security ‘processing’ and psychological games that constitute the Agency’s hiring process, the CIA may be a great place to work. But if you are, as anecdotal evidence suggests, like most applicants, that doesn’t happen. Instead, you can expect to receive a security clearance denial . . . .”
Social media mayhem. Contributor David Brown writes, “It is reasonable to assume that your utterances in the public square are fair game. If you hold a clearance while also being a vocal, public supporter of Boko Haram, the government needs—indeed, has an obligation—to know. . . . But if you’re sending a private Facebook message to Grandma expressing reservations at the legitimacy of American exploits overseas, not only is that message fair game for investigators, but you are instantly suspect.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Taking on Boko Haram. The New York Times’ Eric Schmitt and Dionne Searcey report, “The Pentagon is poised to send dozens of Special Operations advisers to the front lines of Nigeria’s fight against the West African militant group Boko Haram . . . . Their deployment would push American troops hundreds of miles closer to the battle that Nigerian forces are waging against an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians in the country’s northeast as well as in neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.”
Syria heats up before cool down. Washington Post’s Hugh Naylor reports, “Warring parties in Syria’s multifaceted civil war have continued to fight and jostle for territory on Friday ahead of a partial cease-fire that is supposed to come into effect at midnight. The truce has been pushed by the United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, as a last-ditch measure to reduce hostilities that have produced a dangerously intensifying proxy war involving regional and world powers. . . .” See also, “Syria war rages hours before deal to halt fighting.”
ICBM bow shot. Reuters’ David Alexander reports, “The U.S. military test-fired its second intercontinental ballistic missile in a week on Thursday night, seeking to demonstrate its nuclear arms capacity at a time of rising strategic tensions with Russia and North Korea. The unarmed Minuteman III missile roared out of a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late at night, raced across the sky at speeds of up to 15,000 mph (24,000 kph) and landed a half hour later in a target area 4,200 miles (6,500 km) away near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific.” See also, “South Korea dismisses China warning.”
Army readiness worries. Army Times’ Michelle Tan reports, “In their remarks to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on defense, Murphy and Milley cited the growing threat of radical terrorism, a revanchist Russia, a rising China and provocative North Korea as reasons why there are more than 190,000 soldiers committed in 140 countries around the world. Both men have said that readiness is their top priority as the Army reduces its end-strength . . . .”
Election watch: Iran. Vice News’ Reese Erlich reports, “Iranians vote on Friday in a momentous election in this country of 77 million, the second-largest economy in the Middle East. Whether they vote or stay home may be the deciding factor for a reformist or a conservative victory . . . . About one third of Iran’s 55 million eligible voters are under 30. They tend to vote for reform-minded candidates, and a large youth turnout could steer Iran further away from the strict conservatives.” See also, “Crucial polls a test for Rouhani,” “Iranians vote,” and “Iran’s youth plan to vote.”
Warthog wins! DoDBuzz’s Richard Sisk reports, “The U.S. Air Force has given up on trying to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft at least until 2022 and likely well beyond . . . . After repeatedly losing the battle with Congress over continued funding for the aircraft, Carter said that the fiscal 2017 proposed budget for the Pentagon was putting off the next fight over retiring the aircraft known as the ‘Warthog’ to generations of ground troops until 2022.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Contractors back to Iraq. Government Executive contributor Marcus Weisgerber reports, “The number of private contractors working for the U.S. Defense Department in Iraq grew eight-fold over the past year, a rate that far outpaces the growing number of American troops training and advising Iraqi soldiers battling Islamic State militants. The sharp increase . . . underscores the military’s reliance on civilians even for missions with relatively small troop presence.”
Cyber contract squashed. Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “A trade group representing federal contractors says it is frustrated the Department of Homeland Security has left vendors in the dark after scrapping a 2-year competition for cybersecurity support jobs. . . . DHS explained to council members it was in the best interest of the government to cancel the procurement because of changes in DHS Office of Cybersecurity & Communications needs, the scope of the contract and the availability of other contract tools that might fit better . . . .” See also, “Cyber budget.”
Bomber block. Defense News’ Joe Gould and Lara Seligman report, “The powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John McCain, told reporters Thursday he would not authorize the Air Force’s Long Range Strike-Bomber so long as it was procured using a cost-plus contract — a contracting vehicle he has railed at in the past.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Cyber dream team. Fast Company’s P. Claire Dodson reports, “Call it the T-Team. The Obama administration is bringing together some of biggest names in tech to tackle ISIS online. Executives from Apple, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and MTV met at the Justice Department on Wednesday to discuss a new project nicknamed ‘Madison Valleywood,’ a combination of slang industry names. . . . the group spoke with counterintelligence officials about how best to combat ISIS on social media, where the terrorist group is gaining ground and inspiring lone-wolf operations.” See also, “Cyberwar against IS.”
NSA fair share. The New York Times’ Charlie Savage reports, “The Obama administration is on the verge of permitting the National Security Agency to share more of the private communications it intercepts with other American intelligence agencies without first applying any privacy protections to them . . . . The change would relax longstanding restrictions on access to the contents of the phone calls and email the security agency vacuums up around the world, including bulk collection of satellite transmissions, communications between foreigners as they cross network switches in the United States, and messages acquired overseas or provided by allies.”
DoD’s “Alan Parsons Project.” Army Times’ Leo Shane reports, “High-powered “Star-Wars”-style lasers could be coming to military vehicles within a few years. Or it could be decades. Or centuries. As part of their research budget pitch to Congress on Wednesday, Defense Department officials professed confidence that long-promised ‘directed energy weapons’ are in the reach of military experts . . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
In the shell. “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley say they plan to use a meeting with President Obama next week to reiterate their opposition to holding hearings or voting on any Supreme Court nomination from Obama.”
Vitter twitter. “Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) announced on Thursday that he is blocking a vote on the nomination of the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) until the agency responds to inquiries regarding their role in Congress’s Obamacare exemption. The Republican senator has been investigating a special exemption that Members of Congress and their staff received from an amendment to the Affordable Care Act requiring them to enter into a health care market that did not offer any provisions.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Securing Syria Region-by-Region from the Bottom Up.” Defense One contributors Ilan Goldenberg and Nicholas Heras argue, “As the United States builds these power centers, it should pursue a post-war Syria that remains whole but with a weak central government and power devolved to local federalized authorities, reflecting the sectarian and military realities on the ground.”
“The Cost of Security in the iPhone Era.” US News contributor Bradley Wilson argues, “The same privacy protections Apple is now encumbered with regarding the iPhone will organically extend to other devices that also collect personal data, such as automobiles, refrigerators, televisions and Internet routers. . . . Striking a balance relying on technology alone is challenging, as Apple is undoubtedly learning.”
“Why Russia and China may cheer for a President Donald Trump.” Reuters contributor John Lloyd argues, “Political leaders have never operated as globally as they do now; the globe had never been so threatened by massive destruction as it is now; it has never needed joint action, agreements with substance, an end to feuds, as it does now. But we find ourselves, not in a new and hopeful era, but in a return to a cold war that could make the world cold and dead.”
