CIA Said to Have Won Turf War Against Intel Chief
CIA Director Leon Panetta and National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair squared off in May over Blair’s effort to choose his own representative at U.S. embassies to be his personal eyes and ears abroad, instead of relying on CIA station chiefs. Blair issued a directive in May declaring his intention to select his own representatives overseas. Panetta followed up shortly thereafter with a note telling agency employees that station chiefs were still in charge. The dispute made it all the way to national security adviser Gen. James L. Jones. An official in Blair’s organization said the White House decided the matter this week in the CIA’s favor.
State Department officials get insight on Army Special Operations interpersonal communications capabilities
These future PSYOP Soldiers are engaging pseudo tribal leaders to address true-to-life dilemmas common to today’s operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama Seeks to Deepen U.S.-East Asia Engagement
Obama will visit Japan, Singapore, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) November 12–19. His trip includes participation in the annual leaders’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore and also a meeting with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said in a press briefing November 9. “The overarching theme is that America is a Pacific nation, it understands the importance of Asia in the 21st century, and it’s going to be very engaged in a very comprehensive way to make progress on a whole series of issues that are critical for our prosperity and our security,” Rhodes said in a conference call with reporters in Washington.
Court: CIA Didn’t Violate Plame’s Rights
In the ruling Thursday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2007 lower court decision. It barred Plame from revealing the length of her tenure with the CIA.
ARCA to Launch First Romanian Space Vehicle on Friday 13th
On Friday, November 13th , ARCA will launch the Helen rocket, Romania’s first space vehicle. The launch will take place on the Black Sea shore, with the Navy’s support. The test flight will begin around 10 a.m. Launch procedures will last around three hours. The Helen Rocket will be launched from the world’s largest solar balloon and will use an innovative stabilization system.
Lebanon sentences 4 Israeli spies to death
The four were found guilty of “conspiring with Israel, allowing it to launch an attack against Lebanon and to make contacts with its agents in Lebanon.”
Blackwater and the Limits to Outsourcing Security
There are two basic reasons why certain functions should never be outsourced. First, it would make effective accountability impossible — as in the case where a program operates in secret and has the potential for abusive conduct. Second, if the public interest would require oversight by a governmental (and therefore politically accountable) actor.
DOD modernizes cryptographic device
DOD will switch to the Really Simple Key Loader, or RASKL, from Sypris Electronics, a subsidiary of Sypris Solutions, in replacing the KYK-13 devices. Cryptographic key fills load cryptographic keys into electronic encryption machines. The RASKL is rugged, small and lightweight, and it requires no formal training; it uses a one-button “key squirt” process for loading. It holds up to 40 modern electronic keys and is depot repairable.
Surveillance State, U.S.A.
Don’t be too surprised, then, when, in the midst of some future crisis, advanced surveillance methods and other techniques developed in our recent counterinsurgency wars migrate from Baghdad, Falluja, and Kandahar to your hometown or urban neighborhood. And don’t ever claim that nobody told you this could happen — at least not if you care to read on.
Did Hoekstra Compromise A Sensitive Intelligence Program?
In confirming, on the record, that the government knew about Hasan’s e-mails to al-Awlaki, Hoekstra, at the very least, could have given the cleric notice that his e-mails were being monitored, officials said. But even more than that, his words appear to confirm a sensitive capability that the N.S.A. regularly employs to collect intelligence: to wit, that it can monitor ostensibly private e-mails sent from outside the United States to people inside the United States.
Why did a top Israeli intelligence officer join the KGB?
“The nightmare of every intelligence organization is to find an enemy agent at the heart of its own intelligence community, inside the working environment of the highest-ranking decision-makers in the country,” the Shin Bet site says. “Such an agent has access to extremely sensitive information, including strategic plans, to which he is liable to cause damage. The affair of Shimon Levinson – a retired army intelligence colonel, a former member of the Shin Bet and the Mossad, and a chief of security in the Prime Minister’s Office – was a case of this nightmare coming true.”
Forces in Afghanistan Capture Terrorism Suspects
Afghan and international forces in Afghanistan today captured a sought-after Taliban commander following a firefight in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, and also captured a Haqqani terrorist group leader in another area, military officials reported.
DOD expands access to Defense Connect Online
Defense Connect Online (DCO), the Defense Department’s online collaborative tool previously accessible only to those holding DOD common access cards, will now be accessible to to sponsored non-DOD personnel who serve as mission partners. Under the new policy, government employees with .gov e-mail addresses who are sponsored by CAC holders may take advantage of DCO’s tools that include Web conferencing, chat, video, application and desktop sharing, and voice-over-IP capabilities.
Send stealthy, encrypted missives via the web with Norbt
Norbt (not to be confused with Eddie Murphy’s epic film character) uses client side, browser-based cryptography to secure your transmissions. Your recipient must correctly answer the secret question. Once they do, your note is decrypted and displayed for their eyes only.
DHS Keeping Close Eye On FCC Broadband Plan
The Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the FCC’s broadband plan, according to Rand Beers, under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, which he suggests will need to take into account sufficient infrastructure to handle real time video for command center situational awareness, mapping systems, censors for emergency medical response, weather status, and more.
JOURNAL: The Mumbai Model of Urban Takedowns
In short: the breadth (number of sites/zones attacked), speed, and duration of urban assaults are increasing. However, even with these upgrades, the improvement in the productivity of urban assaults is, at best, only slightly better than linear. Why? The costs and the training required to accomplish these attacks, once factored in, are still extensive (made even less effective by the loss of the attackers in the assault).
Searching an Encrypted Cloud
Recent advances in cryptography could mean that future cloud computing services will not only be able to encrypt documents to keep them safe in the cloud–but also make it possible to search and retrieve this information without first decrypting it, researchers say.
Book review: The Great Gamble by Gregory Feifer
Eight years into the international military intervention in Afghanistan and the constituent members of ISAF are beginning to ask themselves the same question the Soviets were asking at the same point: to be or not to be here? More likely than not, ISAF will reach a different answer than the USSR did and with time the two attempts to pacify and modernise Afghanistan will be seen in completely different lights. Right now, however, it’s still fashionable among the chattering classes to draw parallels between the two conflicts (the argument being that if the USSR failed in Afghanistan, ISAF surely will too).
Homeland Security Unveils New Job Site for Veterans
The site, http://www.dhs.gov/veterans, also serves as a resource for veterans organizations to learn about the department’s veteran outreach initiatives.
Defense Acquisitions: Strategic Airlift Gap Has Been Addressed, but Tactical Airlift Plans Are Evolving as Key Issues Have Not Been Resolved
The Air Force and Army have not completed a plan for meeting Army direct support requirements, which could affect future decisions on both the C-27J and the C-130J. DOD’s recently established portfolio management structure is supposed to provide a useful forum to address the broad range of airlift investment decisions. However, efforts so far have primarily focused on new programs rather than addressing gaps and making other airlift decisions such as when and how many C-5s to retire or the appropriate mix of C-130s and C-27Js needed to perform Army missions.
Worth Watching: Dan Deakin (MedC2)
