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Nearly five years after 9/11, reports show the federal government has made limited progress on sharing terrorism information because of uncertainty about what to share, and how to do so without infringing on civil liberties. States are filling in some of the gaps by setting up intelligence fusion centers, though those activities also are stirring…
FronPage Symposium. Gaubatz goes off the end a bit, but the rest do a crack-up job. Key points: Ledeen: The truly amazing fact is that the White House is very obviously opposed to revisiting these questions. They say they want to look forward, not back into the past. But this wrongheaded view undermines a good…
The Federal Page addresses issues related to retirees and in particular IC staffers. With substantial numbers of baby boomers likely to leave government for retirement in the next 10 years, the Bush administration and Congress are looking for ways to keep experienced hands. Most federal agencies have plans to ensure that critical jobs are filled…
The FBI broke with one of its most storied traditions Wednesday, announcing changes in its top management that, rather than elevating onetime agents, tapped officials with extensive experience outside of the bureau for several key positions. The realignment, unveiled by Director Robert S. Mueller III, put nonagents — including one who is a former oil…
(Thanks to Tom for a well-needed laugh) What do you do when people stop listening to your drivel? Start a slap-fight. I’ll let you all decide which character is Larry and which is Michael.
. . . when ex-single-source analysts try to deal with multi-source intel: In a screed Rolling Stone is passing off as journalism, James Bamford becomes the latest in a growing crowd of hacks to smear our friend Michael Ledeen. […] But this [Italian documents] forgery nonsense is a sideshow compared to Bamford’s ludicrous account of…
Man oh man, you take 48 hours for a business trip and 480 hours of work pile up. For the time being you’ll have to be satisfied with a few snippets I can post during lunch and too-brief down-periods. Right now just a note of comfort for everyone on the west coast that CTU…
You could be on a secret government database or watch list for simply taking a picture on an airplane. Some federal air marshals say they’re reporting your actions to meet a quota, even though some top officials deny it. The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told 7NEWS that they’re required to submit at…
Courtesy of Ralph Peters in the NY Post: * Famed for its penetration, Israeli intelligence failed this time. It didn’t detect the new weapons Iran and Syria had provided to Hezbollah, from anti-ship missiles to longer-range rockets. And, after years of spying, it couldn’t find Hezbollah. This should set off global alarm bells: If Hezbollah…
Fighting cyber-crime requires an Enron-like scandal to force the hand of legislators, the FBI argued today. Only after such an event could the necessary reforms be made to allow authorities to effectively battle online criminals, according to FBI special agent Shéna Boswell-Crowe. […] “I do not think that [cyber-crime] has had its day. There has…
The Weekly Standard posts a well done bit of research (got to get me a think-tank job) on what is really needed in our war efforts from an intelligence perspective. Since I think it deserves a full read I’m not going to post an extract, suffice it to say that when presented with an opportunity…
Army STRATCOM tries and fails: Information Operations Newsletter Compiled by: Mr. Xxxx Xxxxxx US Army Strategic Command G3 Plans, Operations, and Exercises Information Operations Branch Table of Contents […long list of somewhat relevant IO-related news stories . . .] Everyone wants to be TWI-3; no one wants to make the effort. Guys, if your audience…
Welcome OTB readers . . . Christine Axsmith, a software contractor for the CIA, considered her blog a success within the select circle of people who could actually access it. Only people with top-secret security clearances could read her musings, which were posted on Intelink, the intelligence community’s classified intranet. Writing as Covert Communications, CC…
U.S. officials said Tuesday the U.S. intelligence community was grappling with policies to effectively share information. […] Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., chairman of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, said he was not satisfied with progress on reforming national intelligence capabilities to counter threats. […] The U.S. Congress mandated modernization…
Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte may have his eye on history as he attempts to secure a prime downtown Washington property – Navy Hill, overlooking the Potomac River – for his headquarters. During World War II, the property’s gracious Central Building, constructed in 1910, served as the home office for William “Wild Bill”…
Syria will allow UN humanitarian aid into rebel-held territory through its main border crossing which closed during a political impasse at the UN. 4.1 million people in north-west Syria depend on this aid from the UN. the UN Security Council failed to agree on Thursday on extending the operation, it says it is studying Syria’s…
The head of Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin has rejected an offer for his fighters to serve as a unit in Russia’s army, according to President Vladimir Putin. Putin told newspapers that many group commanders backed the plan to be led by a senior Wagner figure, but Prigozhin rejected the offer. These talks were held…
Thailand’s Pita Limjaroenrat failed to secure his initial bid for the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday. He was derailed by a high-stakes parliamentary vote that featured many no-shows and almost 200 abstentions. Despite support from his eight-party alliance, the leader of the Move Forward party was unable to secure 375 votes in the bicameral parliament.…
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met on Thursday to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its rules of operations. The two leaders sought to initiate urgent negotiations between their countries and Sudan, and want to finalize agreements within four months. Egypt and Ethiopia have butted heads for…
Apple re-released its recent Rapid Security Response updates for iOS and macOS after the original patches caused a website access issue. MacOS Ventura 13.4.1 (a), iOS 16.5.1 (a), iPadOS 16.5.1 (a), and Safari 16.5.2 addressed the actively exploited WebKit vulnerability CVE-2023-37450. The bug allowed attackers to exploit arbitrary code attacks after users accessed malicious content…
Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who staged a coup and has ruled Thailand for nine years, has announced his retirement from politics. Despite initially promising a temporary tenure, Prayuth remained in power as prime minister, reshaping the country’s power structures and suppressing dissent. His conservative political party performed poorly in the recent election, and his…
Private equity firm TPG announced plans to acquire Forcepoint’s Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure (G2CI) business on Monday. The business was created in 2018 to act as Forcepoint’s government cybersecurity unit and will be spun out as an independent entity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal is reportedly valued at around $2.5 billion.…