This will be on the test: With little fanfare the United States has revised its assessment of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Officials said the U.S. intelligence community has determined that Iran has become capable of enriching uranium and completing the nuclear fuel cycle. In 2005, a CIA study assessed that Iran would require five to…

Update: Much, much more at Terrorism Unveiled. The CT Blog doesn’t take kindly to too much coverage of Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar and his lead-footed technique for eliminating tar-heels. Claiming it trivializes “real” terrorism it is suggested that students of the problem would be better served studying our own home-grown variety terrorists rather than an ignorant…

When it uncovers terrorists or uncomfortable connections close to home it is a bad thing, when it might help re-election it is a good thing.

This isn’t to say that there is a credibility problem here, but if things hold true to form, the script for this debacle has already been written. I think we all wish them well, but we a lesson can be learned from a recent comment about another kind of software deployment. In fact, following such…

It helps to know who is in charge. This is particularly true in the military and para-military government organizations. To outsiders this seems a tempest in a tea cup, but very specific and often powerful authorities come with being a particular person in a particular position. This is illustrative of what can happen when people…

“. . . to protect our (future) phony-baloney jobs!” A Senate committee yesterday rejected a bipartisan proposal to establish an independent office to oversee the enforcement of congressional ethics and lobbying laws, signaling a reluctance in Congress to beef up the enforcement of its rules on lobbying. I am tempted to say that intelligence work…

Thanks guys. This was just what I needed; a new reason for my kids to wonder why daddy doesn’t love them enough to move to the Magic Kingdom. 😉

Or gall, or balls or . . .

What are the real (practical) priorities of our IC agencies? Here is a hint: It isn’t helping capture or kill terrorists. Give up? It’s getting more money and responsibility than the guys across town. The only significant difference between any given agency is any unique collection platform they bring to the game, otherwise what is…

In case you ever wondered what really made the world go round but were afraid to ask. Victory gardens are thing of the past, as are other efforts the government used to use to help bolster support for war efforts. Back in the day you needed that kind of commitment when waging total war. Today,…