On April 15, 2013, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnev set off two explosives near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The explosions resulted in three fatalities and over 250 injured. Three days later, the FBI identified the Tsarnevs as suspects and released their photos to the press. When the brothers were confronted by the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
Army – Cultural and Situational Understanding
ATP 3- 24.3 Cultural and Situational Understanding. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Headquarters, Department of the Army, April 2015. “Understanding culture is essential in conducting irregular warfare. Irregular warfare requires a deliberate application of an understanding of culture due to the need to understand a populated operational environment, what specifically is causing instability,… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Coast Guard, Combating Nuclear Smuggling, Federal Reserve Banks’ Information Systems Controls
Coast Guard: Timely Actions Needed to Address Risks in Using Rotational Crews, GAO-15-195: Published: Mar 6, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 6, 2015. Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS Research and Development on Radiation Detection Technology Could Be Strengthened, GAO-15-263: Published: Mar 6, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 6, 2015. Management Report: Areas for Improvement in the Federal Reserve… Continue Reading
Brookings Essay – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Terrorists
The Big Snoop – The divergent views of four respected experts help frame the debate over the future of the NSA in the Snowden Era – Stuart Taylor, Jr.: “With the approach of the first anniversary of the most copious and sensational leakage of intelligence secrets in history, the consequences of his actions continue to… Continue Reading
DARPA – Breakthrough Technologies for National Security
Breakthrough Technologies for National Security: “For more than fifty years, DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] has held to a singular and enduring mission: To make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. The genesis of that mission and of DARPA itself dates to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and a commitment by… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Federal Chief Information Officers, Homeland Security
Federal Chief Information Officers: Reporting to OMB Can Be Improved by Further Streamlining and Better Focusing on Priorities, GAO-15-106: Published: Apr 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 2, 2015: “Federal agencies annually invest over $80 billion on IT. As part of overseeing this spending, OMB directs federal CIOs to report on their management of IT in… Continue Reading
CRS – Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism
Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism: In Brief, Catherine A. Theohary, Specialist in National Security, Policy and Information Operations. John W. Rollins, Specialist in Terrorism and National Security. March 27, 2015. “Recent incidents have highlighted the lack of consensus internationally on what defines a cyberattack, an act of war in cyberspace, or cyberterrorism. Cyberwar is typically conceptualized as… Continue Reading
The United Kingdom: Background and Relations with the United States
CRS – The United Kingdom: Background and Relations with the United States, Derek E. Mix, Analyst in European Affairs. March 27, 2015. “Many U.S. officials and Members of Congress view the United Kingdom (UK) as the United States’ closest and most reliable ally. This perception stems from a combination of factors, including a sense of… Continue Reading
White House Announces A New Tool Against Cyber Threats
“It’s one of the great paradoxes of our Information Age — the very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used by adversaries to inflict great harm. The same technologies that help keep our military strong are used by hackers in China and Russia to target our defense contractors and systems that support… Continue Reading
POGO – Watchdog Scrutinizes Pentagon Spending in Afghanistan
POGO – “Part of something is better than all of nothing. Keep this proverb in mind while reading the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) top-level analysis of Department of Defense (DoD) reconstruction spending in Afghanistan. Between FY 2002 and FY 2014, Congress appropriated $104 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction, 80 percent of which is… Continue Reading
Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2015 Action in the 114th Congress
CRS – Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2015 Action in the 114th Congress, William L. Painter, Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy. March 16, 2015. “This report provides a brief outline of the FY2015 annual appropriations measure for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its enactment by the 114th Congress. It serves as a… Continue Reading
US leads upward trend in arms exports, Asian and Gulf states arms imports up
“The United States has taken a firm lead as the major arms exporter globally, according to new data on international arms transfers published today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Overall, the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 16 per cent between 2005–2009 and 2010–14. The volume of US exports… Continue Reading
