Penny Wise – Flotilla Foolish – Rachel Ehrenfeld – The White House announced the deployment of the super carrier USS George H.W. Bush to the Persian Gulf. This 100,000-ton ship, with its 4.5-acre landing field and a crew of 6,000, has layered countermeasure and defense systems, including surface-to-air missiles and radar-guided Gatling guns (large-caliber machine guns firing over 100 rounds per second). Yet, it faces a real threat from anti-ship cruise missiles that travel 5 times the speed of sound, making them hard to detect, never mind destroy. Such weapons could render the USS George H.W. Bush and other American carriers sitting ducks…RADM Klunder’s name will be associated with getting the first laser weapon system on a ship, But he will be also remembered for cutting the funds for the work on the final stages of developing a real game-changing technology, a deployable Free Laser Electron (FEL) weapon, which he admitted is superior to the SSL.…more…
GPS Purposeful Interference – The Next Generation Urban Weapon of Mass Effect – Rachel Ehrenfeld – We experience everyday interference with our communication systems and devices dependent upon uninterrupted reception of signals from the United States Global Positioning System. If the signals between our GPS satellites and their receiving ground control stations, or the signals from the ground stations, were disabled by jamming or spoofing, the timing signals of all our digital systems will be disrupted. The ever-increasing integration of cyber-architectures with wireless technologies used for our critical infrastructure, communication and transportation systems, financial transactions, and every digital device means we are constantly dependent on uninterrupted GPS signals. However, the scope of this dependency will be suddenly understood only when all these systems and devices completely fail. Take an attack on Manhattan, for example.…more…
The Palestinians’ Latest Blood Libel – Rachel Ehrenfeld – Once again Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat’s attempt to smear Israel with a blood libel has been exposed by ACD Fellow, Jonathan D. Halevi ( Lt. Col. (ret.). On May 29, 2014, while Mahmoud Abbas was announcing the agreement between Fatah and the Islamist terrorist group Hamas on the appointment of a prime minister to form a unity government, Saeb Erekat, PLO Executive Committee member and head of the Palestinian negotiating team, accused Israel of sabotaging the peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. He claimed that among other things, Israel has been targeting Palestinians for “assassinations” since August 2013, when the talks began, and by the end of May 2014, “killed 66 Palestinians in cold blood.” However, the fatalities’ names and affiliations reveals that Ereket made this up in yet another attempt to portray Hamas as merely another political organization that is not, and has never been, involved in terrorism.…more…
A Euro for Your Thoughts – Sol W. Sanders — The European Union has entered a multifaceted and what promises to be an extended crisis. It will reshape European politics, and its outcome will have far-reaching effects on the world economy and international politics. Resolution of the crisis will come with even more difficulty since the Europeans, for the first time since the end of World War II, cannot count on a strong role of Washington as mediator and mentor. First off, it is important to remember that despite all the propaganda to the contrary about newly arriving power centers — and the weaknesses exposed by its current troubles…more…
News & Commentary:
Cyber Accidents Can Have a Purpose – Steven Chabinsky as reported on by Frank Konkel
South Korea -Realizing Change after the Ferry Sinking – David Hamon and S. James Ahn
Former ambassador [Robert Ford criticizes ‘behind the curve’ Syria policy – PBS Newshour
Jordan Has a Jihadi Problem Too. Just how large that problem is depends on whom you ask – David Schenker
On Iraq, It Is Amazing What This White House Does Not Know – Walter Russell Mead
The New York Times Defends Al-Qaeda – Raymond Ibrahim
Soviet Imperialism, Not Russian Nationalism, Animating Southeastern Ukraine and Russia Itself, Pain Says – Paul Goble
Capitol Hill Hearings
House —
Verifying Iran’s Nuclear Compliance – Foreign Affairs Committee
BioWatch: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward – Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications
“Whole Lotta Shakin”: An Examination of America’s Earthquake Early Warning System Development and Implementation – Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
The State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau: Budget, Programs,
and Evaluation – Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Examining U.S. Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan – Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
GAO Reports
Department of Energy: Enhanced Transparency Could Clarify Costs, Market Impact, Risk, and Legal Authority to Conduct Future Uranium Transactions –
United States Government Accountability Office
Nuclear Weapons: Ten-Year Budget Estimates for Modernization Omit Key Efforts, and Assumptions and Limitations Are Not Fully Transparent – United
States Government Accountability Office
Information Technology – Reform Initiatives Can Help Improve Efficiency and
Effectiveness – United States Government Accountability Office Testimony
Biosurveillance: Observations on the Cancellation of BioWatch Gen-3 and
Future Considerations for the Program – United States Government
Accountability Office Testimony
Afghanistan: Oversight and Accountability of U.S. Assistance – United States
Government Accountability Office Testimony, Statement of Charles Michael Johnson, Jr. Director, International Affairs and Trade
DHS Intelligence Analysis: Additional Actions Needed to Address Analytic
Priorities and Workforce Challenges – United States Government
Accountability Office
CRS Reports
Immigration: Visa Security Policies – Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy
U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress – Shirley A. Kan,
Specialist in Asian Security Affairs
Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress – Lennard G. Kruger, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues – Lennard G. Kruger,
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy