C U R R E N T NEWS
E A R L Y B I R D
October 12, 2012
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CYBER SECURITY
1. Panetta Warns Of Dire Threat Of Cyberattack On U.S.
(New York Times)...Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned Thursday that the United States was facing the possibility of a “cyber-Pearl Harbor” and was increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could dismantle the nation’s power grid, transportation system, financial networks and government.
2. U.S. Readies Cyberdefense
(Wall Street Journal)...Julian E. Barnes and Siobhan Gorman
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday a series of recent electronic attacks that have been tied to Iran, both in the U.S. and abroad, herald a "significant escalation in the cyberthreat," and warned the U.S. would aggressively pursue the perpetrators, in what cybersecurity experts called a veiled warning to Tehran.
3. Private-Sector Cyberattack In Mideast Was Worst Ever
(Washington Post)...Ellen Nakashima
A computer virus that wiped crucial business data from tens of thousands of computers at Middle Eastern energy companies over the summer marked the most destructive cyberattack on the private sector to date, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Thursday night in a major speech intended to warn of the growing perils in cyberspace.
4. Panetta Sounds Alarm On Cyber-War Threat
(Battleland (Time.com))...Mark Thompson
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued what he said is a “clarion call” Thursday for Americans to wake up to the growing threat posed by cyber war. “The whole point of this is that we simply don’t just sit back and wait for a goddamn crisis to happen,” Panetta told Time. “In this country we tend to do that, and that’s a concern.”
5. U.S. Defense Chief Says Pre-Emptive Action Possible Over Cyber Threat
(Reuters.com)...Phil Stewart, Reuters
The U.S. military could act pre-emptively if it detects an imminent threat of cyber attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, urging stronger action to bolster America's defenses against such plots.
6. Official: US Blames Iran Hackers For Cyberattacks
(Yahoo.com)...Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
A former U.S. government official says American authorities firmly believe that Iranian hackers, likely supported by the Tehran government, were responsible for recent cyberattacks against oil and gas companies in the Persian Gulf and that they appeared to be in retaliation for the latest round of U.S. sanctions against the country.
AFGHANISTAN
7. Report: Contract Fraud Puts U.S. Troops At Risk Of IEDs
(USA Today)...Tom Vanden Brook
Afghan contractors responsible for preventing culverts from being used to hide roadside bombs on a major highway have falsely reported completing the work, putting American troops at risk, U.S. investigators revealed Thursday.
8. US Soldiers Say Still Focused On Afghan Mission
(Agence France-Presse)...Joe Sinclair, Agence France-Presse
...
After 11 years of war, 2,135 US soldiers dead, their Afghan colleagues turning on them, and widespread predictions the conflict will end in failure, coalition forces could be forgiven for suffering a dip in morale. But commanders and soldiers on the ground insist the challenges are bringing them closer together, even if the outcome of the war is uncertain and the perception of what constitutes success has changed.
PAKISTAN
9. Pakistan: Drone Strike Kills 18
(New York Times)...Ismail Khan
An American drone fired missiles into a compound in the Orakzai tribal region on Thursday, killing 18 Afghans and wounding 4, a senior local official in the area said. Drone strikes are rare in Orakzai, which lies to the west of the regional capital, Peshawar. Most strikes in the C.I.A.-directed drone campaign occur along the border with Afghanistan, concentrated in North and South Waziristan.
10. Taliban Unrepentant After Attack On Pakistani Teen
(USA Today)...Hani Yousuf and Janelle Dumalaon
The Taliban is threatening to finish off a 14-year-old Pakistani girl whom it shot for helping other girls go to school -- if she survives a wounding that has made her a hero to many Pakistanis.
MIDEAST
11. Syrian Jet Held Russian Arms, Turkey Claims
(Washington Post)...Liz Sly
Turkey claimed Thursday that it had found Russian munitions aboard a Syrian passenger jet forced to land in its capital, Ankara, drawing Moscow into the spiraling Syrian-Turkish tensions that are threatening to erupt into regional war.
12. Jordan: U.S. Forces Help Plan Shield
(Miami Herald)...Jamal Halaby, Associated Press
From the edge of a steep mountain overlooking a desert compound built into an old rock quarry, machine gunfire echoes just outside hangars where U.S. special operations forces are training Jordanian commandos.
13. Yemeni Officer At U.S. Embassy In Sana Is Shot Dead
(New York Times)...Nasser Arrabyee
A senior Yemeni officer working in the United States Embassy in Sana was killed here in the capital on Thursday in an attack that security sources said bore the hallmarks of the regional franchise of Al Qaeda. The killing comes amid sharp American scrutiny of security at foreign diplomatic posts in the wake of the militant assault one month ago on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, which killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other diplomatic personnel members.
14. The West’s Stalwart Ally In The War On Drugs: Iran (Yes, That Iran)
(New York Times)...Thomas Erdbrink
Sitting next to the half-open door of a Russian-made Mi-17 transport helicopter, the general who leads the Islamic Republic’s antinarcotics department pointed toward the rugged landscape of Iran’s volatile southeast, where its border meets those of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
ASIA/PACIFIC
15. Japan: US Pact Deters Clash With China Over Isles
(Yahoo.com)...Matthew Pennington, Associated Press
Japan said Thursday its security alliance with the U.S. is an important deterrent against conflict breaking out between China and Japan over disputed islands.
AFRICA
16. U.S. Looks For Solution To Mali Crisis
(Washington Post)...Anne Gearan and Craig Whitlock
The Obama administration is contemplating broad military, political and humanitarian intervention to stop a slide toward chaos and Islamic extremism in Mali, the top State Department diplomat for Africa said Thursday.
17. White House Appoints Veteran Retired Diplomat To Serve As Senior Envoy In Libya
(New York Times)...Michael R. Gordon
The Obama administration said on Thursday that it had recalled a veteran diplomat, Laurence Pope, who retired from the Foreign Service 12 years ago, to serve as the senior American envoy in Libya.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
18. Intelligence Chief Hints At New Spy Satellites; Biggest Change In 30 Years
(AOL Defense (defense.aol.com))...Colin Clark
The United States has boosted into orbit new spy satellites that mark "the most significant change to our overhead architecture in at least three decades," said the head of military intelligence, Mike Vickers. Vickers also said these National Reconnaissance Office's satellites comprise "a truly integrated system of systems for the first time."
ARMY
19. DoD Pushes Forward On Critical U.S. Army Radio Program
(DefenseNews.com)...Paul McLeary
The Pentagon’s chief acquisition officer has signed off on an order for 3,726 battlefield networking radios from General Dynamics, company officials told Defense News. The first 800 radios will be shipped to the U.S. Army by the end of this month, they said.
20. Women Fight For Combat Roles
(Los Angeles Times)...David Zucchino
Two female soldiers sue the Pentagon, saying that excluding them from battle posts is unconstitutional.
21. Fort Hood Suspect's Beard Raises Bias Questions
(Yahoo.com)...David Dishneau, Associated Press
An Army appeals court on Thursday questioned whether a military judge exceeded his authority in ordering the suspect in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, to remove his beard or be forcibly shaved.
NAVY
22. CNO: 2 Carriers In 5th Fleet Through March
(NavyTimes.com)...Sam Fellman
The Navy’s top officer said Thursday that the service will continue stationing two aircraft carriers in 5th Fleet through March, a standing requirement that has pushed the fleet’s pace and one that officials are tracking closely.
AIR FORCE
23. U.S. Air Force Probing Glitch With Launch Of GPS Satellite
(Reuters.com)...Irene Klotz, Reuters
The U.S. Air Force on Thursday launched an investigation into a glitch with the flight of an unmanned Delta 4 rocket that carried a GPS navigational satellite into orbit last week.
MARINE CORPS
24. USMC Emphasizing Special Ops And Cyber
(Aerospace Daily & Defense Report)...Michael Fabey
While the U.S. Marine Corps is drawing down its force levels to reflect the nation’s pullback from overseas military operations, the service also is shifting focus to more covert or cyber-based operations, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says.
DETAINEES
25. Lawmakers Fret Anew About Gitmo Detainees
(Washington Times)...Kristina Wong
Trial transfers to U.S. at issue as suspects in Cole bombing, 9/11 attacks remain incarcerated.
26. Senate Democrat Launches New Study On 'Housing Gitmo Detainees In The U.S.'
(Danger Room (Wired.com))...Noah Shachtman and Spencer Ackerman
The idea of closing down Guantanamo Bay and transferring its detainee population to the United States was supposed to be dead. But someone forgot to tell Congress’ independent research agency. At the behest of a powerful senator, it’s exploring “the ability to house Guantanamo detainees in the U.S.,” according to an internal document acquired by Danger Room. The results are slated for publication eight days after the presidential election.
POLITICS
27. Romney Would Boost Pentagon Spending, Cut Civilian Workers: Advisers
(Reuters.com)...Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters
Republican Mitt Romney would accelerate spending on new Navy warships, cut the Pentagon's civilian workforce and speed up development of new weapons systems if he wins the 2012 presidential election, two advisers said on Thursday.
28. For Brown, Politics And Military Entwine
(Boston Globe)...Glen Johnson
Guard duty adds to opportunities.
BUSINESS
29. KBR Gets Army Logistics Contract
(Yahoo.com)...Associated Press
Defense contractor KBR Inc. said Thursday that it has been picked as one of the main contractors on a project that gets Army equipment ready for deployment.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
30. Security, Intelligence Workers Get Whistleblower Protection
(Washington Post)...Joe Davidson
President Obama has done what Congress has not — extend whistleblower protections to national security and intelligence employees.
COMMENTARY
31. Not All That It Can Be
(ForeignPolicy.com)...Winslow Wheeler
The myth of American military superiority.
32. Turkey's Dangerous Assad Dilemma
(Wall Street Journal)...Fouad Ajami
As Turkish forces along the Syrian border exchange fire with the army of Bashar Assad, and Syrian refugees pour into Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a proud Islamist, might better appreciate the wisdom of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The secular founder of modern Turkey advised his countrymen: Look West, leave the old lands of the Ottoman Empire to their feuds and backwardness.
33. The Taliban's Latest Target: A 14-Year-Old Girl
(Wall Street Journal)...Sadanand Dhume
Too many Pakistanis claim that terrorism is America's problem. The brutal assault on Malala Yousafzai may force them to face the truth.
34. Why Iran Can’t Follow China’s Lead
(New York Times)...Ray Takeyh
IRAN is undergoing one of its most momentous changes since the 1979 revolution as the aging Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, strives to ensure that the Islamic republic’s revolutionary precepts will survive him. China presents a cautionary tale for the ayatollah; it proves that it is possible for an authoritarian political system to survive long after its ideological claims have faded from the scene.
35. A President Shying From War
(Washington Post)...Michael Gerson
...
The problem revealed in Libya is not only incompetence or deception. It is also a wartime president who refuses to be a wartime leader.
36. Marine Mammals And The Navy’s 5-Year Plan
(New York Times)...Editorial
Between 2014 and 2019, the United States Navy hopes to conduct testing and training exercises in the Atlantic and the Pacific that will involve sonars and explosives of many different kinds.