The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years, increasing its size more than fivefold to bolster the nation’s ability to defend critical computer systems and conduct offensive computer operations against foreign adversaries, according to U.S. officials.
The move, requested by the head of the Defense Department’s Cyber Command, is part of an effort to build an organization that until now has focused largely on defensive measures into the equivalent of an Internet-era fighting force. The command, made up of about 900 personnel, will expand to include 4,900 troops and civilians.
Details of the plan have not been finalized, but the decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, said officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the expansion has not been formally announced. The gravity of that threat, they said, has been highlighted by a string of sabotage attacks, including one in which a virus was used to wipe data from more than 30,000 computers at a Saudi Arabian state oil company last summer.
Sixty-two legislators sit on the House Armed Services Committee, the largest committee in Congress. Since January, 2011, when Republicans took control of the House, the committee has been chaired by Howard P. McKeon, who goes by Buck. He has never served in the military, but this month he begins his third decade representing California’s Twenty-fifth Congressional District, the home of a naval weapons station, an Army fort, an Air Force base, and, for the Marines, a place to train for mountain warfare. McKeon believes that it’s his job to protect the Pentagon from budget cuts.
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But by far the most adamant statement came from Dempsey. “I didn’t become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to oversee the decline of the Armed Forces of the United States, and an end state that would have this nation and its military not be a global power,” he said. “That is not who we are as a nation.”
Either the United States rules the world or Americans are no longer Americans? Happily, that’s not the choice the 113th Congress faces. The decision at hand concerns limits, not some kind of national, existential apocalypse. Force requires bounds. Between militarism and pacifism lie diplomacy, accountability, and restraint. Dempsey’s won’t be the last word.
For reasons we do not understand, searching this site (or any other site) via Google works better than the internal search. So instead of search for humint here, search at Google
Robert Steele lost everything when his conference was stolen in 2007 and 2008 by then ADDNI/OS, Eliot Jardines (who prior to being appointed visited Steele and promised not to do that), and his clearances were rescinded in 2006 by a (then) corrupt Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) process that refused to respect the Judge's findings in favor of Robert Steele and against DOHA on all counts related to 7,500 cheerfully declared foreign contacts, none of whom comprised bonds of affection, obligation, or common interest–they should never have been an issue. Steele could have survived one or the other, but not both at once. This led to the forced short sale of his townhouse, losing his one property and all savings. His oldest son wrecked the 1994 Buick Le Sabre. He is left with a 1964 MGB that has a rusted out bottom and cannot be sold (he's tried).
He has roughly $14,000 in personal liabilities, and one $3,000 liability from OSS.Net, Inc. (closed 31 December 2010) that the Commonwealth of Virginia has imposed on him, abusing their power by asserting that C Corporations with one director do not enjoy the same protection as do C Corporations with many expensive lawyers who create paper firewalls.
In tangible terms, Robert Steele is worth ($14,000). Lacking a PhD or clearances, Steele has been unemployable in any substantive capacity related to his skills. He appears to have been black-balled by DIA Office of Personnel which found him “unqualified” for over 30 positions in the 13-15 range in 2008. The DIA SES/DISL process has integrity, Steele was found qualified and interviewed for DISL HUMINT at DIA in 2008, he may even have been selected, but General Ron Burgess, USA had the final say and Steele was not offered the position. He has since been found qualified in 2012 and 2013 for SES positions including Assistant Inspector General for Intelligence at DoD, as well as a variety of 14-15 positions, but has only had one interview and not been selected for any positions as of today.
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As a classic example of bureaucratic disconnect, in 2009 Steele was requested BY NAME to be Chief Instructor for Intelligence and Information Operations at COINSOC in Iraq, and had a signed contract in hand from Raytheon for $276,000 a year, only $86,000 of which would be taxable. DOHA (still corrupt at that time) refused to do a simple NAC check to grant Steele the requisite SECRET clearance so he could go to a combat zone and earn a living. That one decision by DOHA (verbally, blowing off the Raytheon SSO, nothing in writing) has cost Steele — and the family he still has obligations to — $1.1 million dollars over four years.
Positive & Intangible Value Developments Below the Line
The world's premier human rights organizations often have entire communications teams with dedicated graphic designers to celebrate their work. But not every organization can afford to have a designer. Even those organizations that do have design gurus may decide, for strategic reasons, to keep tight control over their workflow so that they are not bombarded with too many requests. Not to worry! There are several open source design tools that allow anyone to create killer flyers, posters, icons, or campaign—the only limit is your imagination. More importantly, learning basic design allows you to approach your human rights work more creatively and reach audiences with more diverse forms of storytelling.
Open Source programs are different from resources that allow you to use an account for free up to a certain amount, and they do not require you to upgrade or purchase more capacity. When downloading each of the programs below, I recommend that you download the stable version for your platform (this will be clearly marked on the Download site). Stable versions lack the bells and whistles of experimental versions of software, but they won't crash after you've just filled in your thousandth pixel with burnt umber. All of these programs and tools are supported by voluminous YouTube instructional videos and Wikis. Just run a search online.
Invite your attention to both article immediately below and four comments on it, second below. Some of the comments appear pretty sound to me. Integrity of any institution of Mexican (MX) government seems questionable — “plata o plumba” is a long tradition in Latin America and the MX government has been in the press many times for corruption. They are reportedly using screening polygraphs on a very widespread basis and I'm not sure it's getting them what they thought it would. Of course, DHS law enforcement agencies operating along the border and recruiting Spanish-speaking employees from the region are having the same problems. I think the former SF weapons sergeant (18B) is sort of prescient — the proposed program for SF to train MX commandos may not turn out well for the US if it is in fact true.
Special forces create new command to train Mexican troops
January 18, 2013 12:00 am • Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is stepping up aid for Mexico's bloody drug war with a new U.S.-based special operations headquarters to teach Mexican security forces how to hunt drug cartels the same way special operations teams hunt al-Qaida, according to documents and interviews with multiple U.S. officials.
