Friday Finale & This Time Last Year: CIA’s Evolution of Power
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Your cell phone threat. “People accept a level of risk with information they shouldn’t. It hearkens back to the Cold War era, when Russia was known to send spies to dine in the Pentagon cafeteria, in hopes they’d capture individuals in an informal moment sharing sensitive information.”
The cleared forecast. “Government officials are pushing OPM to move beyond the current five and ten year periodic reinvestigation process, in favor of continuous, automated checks of clearance holders. One government official is even proposing every clearance applicant be assessed an ‘integrity score’ based on his or her likelihood to share classified information.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Deep dive into the dark history of ISIS. “The inside story of the radicals who became the leaders of ISIS, the many missed warning signs and the U.S. failures to stop the terror group’s brutal rise.” (PBS)
Rutbah down; Fallujah to go. “Iraqi military forces said Thursday that they have retaken the desert town of Rutbah from the Islamic State after a two-day battle during which commanders saw limited resistance from the militants. . . . The recapture is one in a series of victories for government forces in Iraq’s western Anbar province, and some Iraqi military and militia leaders say plans are in place to build on the momentum and attack Fallujah next.” (Washington Post) See also, “Sadr’s ‘Peace Brigades’ prepares for Mosul offensive.”
3D chess in the South China Sea. “Beijing demanded an end to U.S. surveillance near China on Thursday after two of its fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea. . . . Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands, while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased U.S. naval patrols and exercises in Asia.” (Reuters)
CONTRACT WATCH
Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS). “U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop a space robot to be based in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) to repair, maintain, and upgrade satellites operating in this high-altitude and difficult-to-reach orbit. . . . The RSGS seeks to create a dexterous robotic capability able to provide persistent robotic servicing capabilities in GEO — the orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface in which geostationary satellites operate.” (Military & Aerospace Electronics)
Lockheed’s getting after endo-atmospheric missiles. “This week the Arleigh-Burke Class guided-missile destroyer John Paul Jones participated in the test of software designed to find and track Medium Range Ballistic Missiles. The destroyer used the Aegis Baseline 9 terminal engagement capability in the test, according to a release from Lockheed Martin, which makes the software.” (DoD Buzz)
Boeing challenging Danish math. “Boeing is challenging the Danish government’s recommendation that Denmark select Lockheed Martin’s F-35 for its next-generation fighter fleet, claiming that the Danes used flawed data to determine the cost of each plane. . . . A Boeing official challenged the accuracy of this pricing information, saying that the Danes included the cost of some of the first five years of sustainment and training for the Super Hornet in calculating the upfront procurement cost, but did not do the same for the F-35.” (Defense News)
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
How the Mossad brought Eichmann to justice. “The Israelis walked Eichmann to the small second floor room prepared for him, and put him on an iron bed, shackling one of his legs to its heavy frame. They undressed him and a member of the team who was a doctor examined his mouth to make sure he did not have any poison. The prisoner protested that after all this time as a free man he was not taking such precautions, but the doctor still removed his false teeth to be sure and then inspected the rest of his body.” (The Daily Beast)
Foreign spies hacking our elections. “Hackers and spies have targeted campaigns since at least 2008. Earlier this month, the Office of the Director of National Security declassified a slide deck that was presented to the Obama Administration shortly after he was first elected, entitled ‘How to Use the Intelligence Community.’ That deck included a warning that foreign intelligence services ‘have been tracking this election cycle like no other.’”
Cross-domain fires in a throw-down with Russia. “These days, the charismatic commander of the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command is knee-deep in a project called The Russia New Generation Warfare study, an analysis of how Russia is re-inventing land warfare in the mud of Eastern Ukraine.” (Defense One) See also, “Allies test anti-tank capabilities in Lithuania.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Like summer vacation: no class. “Harry Reid said Thursday that Mitch McConnell’s description of him as ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ in a leaked book excerpt was a ‘classless’ move that he would never have done to his fellow Senate leader. In a brief interview, Senate Minority Leader Reid (D-Nev.) jabbed McConnell for not giving him any heads-up that his book would contain such a diss of Reid. In the excerpt, McConnell writes that Reid is ‘rhetorically challenged,’ acts differently in private than in public and that his ‘lack of restraint goes against what is expected from a party leader.’” (Politico)
Ivy League ideal. “A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday proposed that a bill raising the minimum age for dancers at strip clubs also allow the state of Louisiana to regulate strippers’ weight. State Rep. Kenneth Havard was discussing the bill, which would raise the minimum age for exotic dancers from 18 to 21, when he also threw out there that he’d like the dancers to remain under 160 pounds . . . . Havard also suggested the maximum age for a stripper under the law should be 28.” (Talking Points Memo)
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
Freedom fighters—a modest proposal. “It’s time for an American Foreign Legion. It would be a part of the Defense Department, but its enlisted members would be recruited globally. This encompasses the best of option three (sending more troops to the Middle East) without the pitfalls of option four (relying on private contractors and mercenaries).” (Washington Post)
Beyond diplomacy in Syria. “And so the talks continue in Geneva and America’s elite special operations troops roll on in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere, from Nigeria to Afghanistan. But few involved from the inside or watching from the outside expect those talks to make much immediate difference in the short-term on either front.” (Defense One)
Bringing the Air Force down to earth. “Until the operational culture changes, the Air Force will continue to masquerade low-altitude training as operationally viable despite not being organized, trained, or equipped to make it so. Make no mistake, exploiting the extreme low-altitude environment will ensure long-term viable interdiction and survivability well beyond the shelf-life of medium altitude stealth. Let’s stop going through the problem and seek to fight in the extremes again.” (War on the Rocks)
Go ahead and gossip. “If you work in an office, chances are good that you’re privy (or party) to daily discussions about your colleagues. That’s pretty normal. People want to know who’s gotten promoted and who’s been disciplined. . . . But while gossip can lead to real fallout, it’s important to recognize that it plays a valuable role in every organization’s social structure. Here’s how. . . .” (Fast Company)
