FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Government Gallup. From Chandler Harris: “In the current presidential race, the idea of eliminating entire departments of government has been proposed, including axing the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Yet 63 percent of American’s aren’t convinced that this would be a good thing, according to a Gallup poll.”
Parlez-vous français? From David Brown: “Your parents probably had their hearts set on ‘brain surgeon’ or ‘nuclear physicist,’ so when you announced your intention to major in French literature, they might have held their smiles but they cried a little inside. What they didn’t anticipate was the establishment of U.S. Africa Command, and the pressing need for fluent speakers of the French language. Starting in the 17th century, France colonized vast stretches of Africa, and today the French language is spoken by 120 million Africans. Accordingly, that is very often the language that U.S. advisors must use when training partner nations.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
ISIS in Turkey. War on the Rocks contributor Aaron Stein reports, “The Islamic State has well-established networks in Turkey, with clusters of people based in Istanbul, Ankara, Konya, Adana, Izmir, ŞanlıUrfa and the Gaziantep. These networks funnel men and material to the Syrian civil war, with the city of Gaziantep serving as a key hub for cross-border trade and the manufacture of suicide vests and explosives . . . .”
Pakistan’s nukes. National Interest’s Daniel DePetris reports, “Conventional wisdom suggests that a nuclear-armed Iran is the most pressing potential nuclear threat to Israel. . . . However, Azriel Bermant, a research associate at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, offered a different take earlier this year in a column he wrote for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: the real threat might come from Pakistan.”
North Korea rock-steady. Voice of America’s Brian Padden reports, “Despite purges of numerous high ranking officials, including the execution of Kim’s uncle and mentor, Jang Song Thaek in 2013, and last year’s removal of the country’s defense minister, Hyon Yong Chol, there are no indications of growing instability in the North Korean leadership . . . . And the tougher international sanctions that were recently imposed have actually seemed to strengthen the North Korean leader’s authority and power.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Contracts that deliver. Government Executive’s John Kamensky reports, “The ‘“pay for success’ movement in the non-profit world is starting to take hold at the federal, state, and local levels. But a prerequisite is having some way of measuring success—and ensuring that funding models encourage it.”
On order: Atlas SeaFox mine-disposal UUV. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S Navy mine warfare experts are strengthening the counter-mine warfare capabilities of the littoral combat ship (LCS) with an order last week for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and munitions that detect, pinpoint, and destroy underwater anti-ship mines. Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington placed an $11.2 million order last Thursday with Atlas North America LLC in Yorktown, Va., for SeaFox explosive and inert rounds, as well as an AN/SLQ-60 shipboard SeaFox control system for the LCS.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“A cyber attack turned out the lights on 80,000.” Reuters contributor Peter Apps argues, “Both the sophistication of [cyber-attacks] and our dependence on these systems continues to rise at an exponential rate. And more than a decade and a half into the 21st century, we are still seriously struggling to come up with intellectual and policy frameworks to even begin to manage these challenges.”
“Why trade secrets bill will deter cybercrime.” The Christian Science Monitor’s Melanie Teplinsky argues, “Until recently the dominant approach to cybersecurity in the US was to batten down the hatches. We almost exclusively focused on reducing our vulnerability to cyberattack and espionage. This approach didn’t work.”
“We Trust People Who Are Clearly Untrustworthy.” Fast Company contributor Art Markman writes, “Trust is actually a central part of our ability to survive in complex environments. . . . Here’s why we’re sometimes prone to awarding trust to people who we’ve seen to be less than trustworthy. . . .”
