FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Women in combat? Contributor Ashley LaGanga writes, “Three months ago, the Department of Defense announced it would open all remaining combat positions to women. As the branches begin to incorporate women into combat, Defense Secretary Ash Carter issued seven guidelines. As a practical matter, how will the services tackle the course of integration?”
Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts. Contributor Ron Kness explains, “Career training via the MyCAA program opens up myriad employment opportunities for military spouses so they can not only help earn money for their family, but establish themselves in a career of their own.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
CIA v. DoD. Los Angeles Times’ Nabih Bulos , W.J. Hennigan and Brian Bennett report, “Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter five-year-old civil war. The fighting has intensified over the last two months . . . .” See also, “Are Cia-Backed Syrian Rebels Really Fighting Pentagon-Backed Syrian Rebels?”
Palmyra secure. Vice News’ Louisa Loveluck reports, “Syrian troops surged into Palmyra on Sunday morning, dealing a blow to the Islamic State (IS) after a 10-month reign of terror in the ancient desert city. . . . IS appears to have suffered unprecedented losses during the battle to keep the town.” See also, “The Fight to Retake Mosul.”
ISIS retreats. ICYMI, Washington Post’s Liz Sly reports, “As European governments scramble to contain the expanding terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State, on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria the group is a rapidly diminishing force.” See also, “Pentagon Wants to Deploy More Troops to Iraq,” “Pentagon announces death of senior Islamic State leader,” and “ISIS second-in-command killed by U.S. Special Forces.”
Easter massacre Jamaat ul-Ahrar. Washington Post’s Shaiq Hussain and Erin Cunningham report, “The death toll in a devastating suicide attack on picnicking families in the city of Lahore rose to 72, with another 230 injured . . . . The blast Sunday evening ripped through crowds of families celebrating Easter at the city’s largest park, transforming a joyful scene of picnicking families into a spectacle of chaos and horror. It was unclear how many of the dead were children.” See also, “Pakistanis hunt militants behind blast that killed at least 70.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Cell phone blocks on call. Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “[T]he Federal Bureau of Prisons is looking for a contractor that can create a blackout zone within prison facilities while still allowing authorized devices to function normally. The bureau issued a request for information at the beginning of the year — which was reopened on March 23 — asking about the private sector’s ability to ‘actively or passively prevent inmates from utilizing any type of contraband electronic communications device.’”
Anti-drone market watch. Open Source reports, “The global anti-drone market is expected to reach USD 1.14 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 23.89% between 2017 and 2022. The anti-drone systems are being adopted on the large scale by various verticals to protect against unidentified drones entering into the premises, thereby causing security concerns. In the coming years, counter drones technology would play a very crucial role fighting the drone strikes and the spying drones.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
CIA autonomy. Foreign Policy contributors Yochi Dreazen and Seán D. Naylor write, “Since its creation in 1947, the CIA has steadily evolved from an agency devoted to its mission of spying on foreign governments to one whose current priority is tracking and killing individual militants in an increasing number of countries. It has been well documented that the agency’s growing scope and depth of influence in the counterterrorism fight reflects its growing skill at hunting America’s enemies from Pakistan to Yemen.”
NSA meets Unit 8200. Jewish Press’ David Israel reports, “National Security Agency chief, Admiral Michael Rogers, arrived in Israel last week on a work visit focusing on tightening relations with unit 8200 of IDF Intelligence on cyber warfare, especially against attacks by Iran and Hezbollah . . . . Cooperation between NSA and unit 8200 has been deep and intimate and lasted several decades.”
Dirty bombs. Defence Talk reports, “The world needs to do more to prevent ‘nuclear terrorism’, the head of the UN atomic watchdog has warned ahead of an important summit and in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks. . . . Highlighting the risks, in December Belgian police investigating the November 13 Paris terror attacks found 10 hours of video of the comings and goings of a senior Belgian nuclear official.” See also, “Belgium Attacks Loom Over Final Nuclear Security Summit.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Ohhhhhhh. “Sen. Ron Johnson suggested Sunday that President Obama’s failed leadership has lead to the rise of the Islamic State. . . . Johnson said Obama hasn’t shown leadership to make other countries want to join the coalition against the Islamic State, especially Europe — which should be “more primed” to join the U.S. in the fight.”
Inside the shell. “There are plenty of plausible reasons why Republicans might eventually fold in the standoff over the Supreme Court: Overwhelming public opinion, a Democratic pressure campaign, and vulnerable GOP senators trying to save their jobs, to name a few. But there’s another even more persuasive reason they won’t: The wrath of the right wing.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Obama’s Most Important Achievement in the Middle East.” The Atlantic contributor Jeffrey Goldberg argues, “Obama will ultimately be judged on whether he combats jihadism successfully (without, it should be said, forming an alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran, or even the Assad regime itself, in the process). He was first voted into power in part by promising to refocus America’s attention on Sunni jihadism. But by removing a deadly ‘x’ factor from the equation, he has done the world a service that ought to be acknowledged.”
“A Real Strategy for Fighting the Islamic State.” US News contributor Peter Rolf argues, “America cannot respond to the terrorists in the same manner they attack, at random moments in various locations around the world. America’s strategy must be clear, consistent, ongoing, and must eventually lead the world in a united front against those who would destroy the institutions of the West.”
“Reframing The Third Offset As A 21st-Century Model For Deterrence.” War on the Rocks contributor Andy Massie argues, “For the Department of Defense to successfully sustain a third offset strategy through the next administration, it needs to more clearly articulate the problem rather than simply proposing solutions. Or we can just answer the mail.”
THE FUNNIES
