National Security « Ed's Blog

April 29, 2012 • 10:40 AM 11

CYBERSECURITY VS. CYBERVAMPIRES: THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS

“There are two types of companies left in America; those that have been hacked and know it, and those that have been hacked and don’t know it.” (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, 500th Military Intelligence Group, 9/11, ABC News, American citizens’ privacy, and Sen. Sam Ervin, anti-Vietnam War, antitrust laws, Attack on Pearl Harbor, Bill Clinton, Capitol Hill, Chairman, Chinese hacking, Christopher Pyle, CISPA, co-sponsor, confidential information, Congressional inquiries, critical infrastructure, Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, cyber-Pearl Harbor, cybersecurity, cybersecurity company Good Harbor, cybersecurity experts, cyberthreats, cybervampires, death of a thousand cuts, Ed Ross, ewross, FISA, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, George H.W. Bush, hacked, impede Iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges, Iran, lesser of two evils, martial law in Hawaii, Military, National Coordinator for Security Infrastructure Protection and Counter-terrorism, on American soil, Pandora’s Box, Patriot Act, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, preaching to the choir, President Obama, Rep. Jarid Polis, Rep. Mike Rogers, research and development, Richard Clarke, Ronald Reagan, Sen. Frank Church, Senate, spy on American citizens, steal military and financial secrets, Stuxnet virus, surveillance, taiwan strait, U.S power grids, U.S. Army’s Honolulu Field Office, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. military routinely spied on American citizens, U.S. national and economic security, UK Daily Mail, unclassified networks, Vietnam War, whistleblower

April 22, 2012 • 2:31 PM 23

THE GSA AND SECRET SERVICE SCANDALS: SYMPTOMS OF A LARGER PROBLEM

Government scandals are nothing new; they have plagued every presidential administration in American history, and they will continue to do so. What’s disturbing about the current General Services Administration (GSA) and Secret Service scandals is what they tell us about the changing character of U.S. government employees involved in them. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, ewross, republicans, Ed Ross, President Barack Obama, terrorists, U.S. Army, Facebook, federal government, big government, U.S. military, moral fabric of American society, Government scandals, General Services Administration, GSA, Secret Service, character of U.S. government employees, chief executive officer, illegal, immoral, or inappropriate, cover their tracks, careless disregard, GSA acting commissioner, GSA’s Pacific Rim region, Jeffrey E. Neely, $823, 000 Las Vegas conference, $340.000 employee rewards program, government employees, boondoggles, push the envelope, Cartagena, Colombia, soliciting a prostitute, Top Secret security clearances, proximity to high-level U.S. government officials, hostile intelligence services, criminals, and assassins, target official Americans, surveillance, Colombian police, ethics and legal standards training, time to go back to fundamentals., United States Secret Service

March 25, 2012 • 11:40 AM 4

DON’T CONFLATE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD WITH THE EGYPTIAN ARMED FORCES

Critics of President Obama are condemning his administration’s decision to waive legislative restrictions related to Egypt’s democratic transition and allow Egypt’s annual Congressional appropriation of $1.3 billion in military assistance to go forward. There is much about the Obama administration’s Middle East policy to criticize; but in this case it made the right decision. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, Air Force, America’s national security interests, anti-Israel forces in Egypt, authoritarian and theocratic, certified to Congress, china, civilian control of the military, decision to waive legislative restrictions, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, DFAS, DSCA, EAF, Ed Ross, Egypt’s annual Congressional appropriation, Egypt’s democratic transition, Egyptian Armed Forces, Egyptian Parliament, ewross, Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, First Gulf War, FMF, FMS, FMS cases, Foreign Military Financing, Foreign Military Sales, freedom and democracy, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamist movement, Islamist state, israel, Israeli government official, middle east, Middle East policy, military assistance, Muslim Brotherhood, Navy, obama administration, President Hosni Mubarak, President Obama, russia, Salafists, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, secular institution, Sharia law, soviet union, strategic partnership, There is no peace without Syria, there is no war without Egypt, transition to democracy, U.S. Army, U.S. defense contractors, U.S. jobs, U.S. military assistance, United States

March 18, 2012 • 11:08 AM 53

AFGHANISTAN: THE BUCK STOPS WITH THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

The American generals that now command and have commanded U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan are among the best warfighters in U.S. history. The U.S. troops under their command are the most skilled, battle-hardened warriors America has ever put in the field. So what went wrong in Afghanistan that’s making victory so elusive if not impossible?

The answer to that question is not the violent reaction to Quran burnings or the massacre of Afghani civilians by a U.S. soldier. Neither is it that “Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires,” “it’s a tribal society immune to a strong central government”, “the real problem is in Pakistan,” or “the government of President Hamid Karzai is corrupt.” All are facts, but they are not the principal reasons the NATO effort in Afghanistan, despite success on and off the battlefield, is floundering. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, Abraham Lincoln, Afghan Security Force, Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, Afghanistan the good war, American generals, battle-hardened warriors, blood and treasure, build trust and confidence between the people and government, burning Qurans, commander-in-chief, corruption, counterinsurgency wars, counterterrorism, democrats, Ed Ross, ewross, Franklin Roosevelt, GEN David Petraeus, Gen John Allen, GEN Stanley McChrystal, George H.W. Bush, Iraq, Islamist-jihadist threat, Malayan counterinsurgency, Moro Rebellion, NATO forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Pakistan nuclear arsenal, Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Philippines Insurgency, politically isolate the insurgents from the population, President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, President Hamid Karzai is corrupt, republicans, rogue U.S. staff sergeant, secure the countryside, Somalia, surge, Taliban, tribal society, U.S. troops, U.S.-Afghanistan relations, unwinnable quagmires, Vietnam, Vietnam War, warfighters, Yemen

February 5, 2012 • 12:48 PM 17

DISSUADING IRAN FROM BUILDING A NUCLEAR WEAPON: THE LESSON OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Can the U.S. dissuade Iran from building a nuclear weapon without having to resort to the use of military force?

American presidents have a mixed record of success in the post-World War II world of influencing the decision making of our adversaries and avoiding war. Where they have succeeded—the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is the prime example—it was because they were prepared to use the full force of American power; and the adversary had no doubt that they would do so.

When it comes to Iran, Israel’s threat to use unilateral force complicates U.S. decision making, but it should not prevent Washington from taking the lead and doing what is necessary. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, adversaries, American power, American presidents, assassination, avoiding war, building a nuclear weapon, core beliefs, covert activities, deep underground facilities, dissuading Iran, Ed Ross, enriched uranium, ewross, influencing decision making, intermediate range nuclear missiles in Cuba, international affairs, Iran, Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian nuclear scientists, Iranian weapons facilities, Israel-Iran conflict, Israel’s threat, military force, Moscow, nuclear war, Obama administration’s attempts, October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, oil exports, post-World War II world, President John Kennedy, sabotage attacks, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, showdown with the Soviet Union, Soviet decision makers, Soviet Politburo, Stuxnet virus, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the essence of ultimate decision remains impenetrable to the observer, The Washington Post, U.S. decision making, uranium enrichment, world view, World War II veteran, zone of immunity

January 1, 2012 • 12:00 PM 11

THE NORTH KOREA CONUNDRUM: THE DINOSAUR THAT WON’T GO EXTINCT

How is it that Stalinist North Korea continues to survive into the 21st Century when its communist-sister nations evolved? North Korea, now under Supreme Leader number three, Kim Jong-un, is the dinosaur that won’t go extinct. The answer is that China nurtures and protects North Korea, preferring it the way it is; and until the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) becomes a greater liability to China than an asset, it will continue to exist as a throwback to another era. The goal of U.S. North Korea policy, therefore, should be to hasten that day. (More)

Filed under: National Security, 21st century, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, ballistic missile, Beijing, carrots and sticks, china, conundrum, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, dinosaur that won't go extinct, DPRK, Ed Ross, ewross, goose stepping, Japan, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong-il, Korean Peninsula, Kurt Campbell, most militarized country, north korea, nuclear armed, Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, nuclear weapons, perfected police state, proliferator, Pyongyang, reset, Russsia, Six Party Talks, South Korean naval vessel, soviet union, Stalinist North Korea, strategic patience, supreme leader, technology, Tokyo, United States, vestige of communism, Washington, world power

November 20, 2011 • 11:47 AM 1

CUTTING DEFENSE AND AMERICA DOWN TO SIZE

Budget cuts already proposed by President Obama and those that could take effect if the “supercommittee” in Congress fails to agree on $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction could cut the defense budget more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, devastating U.S. military capabilities. The Congress, as currently configured, is unlikely to allow such deep cuts in defense; but that doesn’t mean they eventually won’t happen. Despite our debt, America still has vast resources, but there’s growing disagreement on what we should spend them on, what threatens us, and the missions the U.S. armed forces should undertake, with one side of the argument wanting to cut America down to size. (More)

Filed under: National Security, across-the-board defense cuts, aircraft, America's self image, armored fighting vehicles, big government, blood and treasure, china, collectivism, Congress, counterinsurgencies, counterterrorism, cutting defense, democracy, Department of Defense, Ed Ross, education, entrepreneurship, European-style social democracy, ewross, F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, freedom, gutting the defense budget, healthcare, individualism, Iran and Afghanistan, islamic world, John McCain, Leon Panetta, Military budget, military retirement, national debt, peace dividend, President Obama, Secretary of Defense, Senator, ships, social justice, social services, social-democratic state, supercommittee, threats, U.S. military, U.S. military capabilities, United States Congress, US Air Force, US Army, US Navy, utopianism, war weariness, weapon systems, withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, world war II

November 13, 2011 • 12:00 PM 93

MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN RAPIDLY BECOMING ONLY OPTION

Recent media stories tell us of an internal Israeli government debate over attacking Iran’s nuclear weapons program as the International Atomic Energy Commission’s (IAEA) prepares to release its report that Iran could soon have its first nuclear weapon. Taking out Iran’s dispersed nuclear-weapons-related installations—many of which are deep underground—is a difficult task; and Iranian retaliation on Israel and U.S. forces in the region could set off a destructive and costly war. Nevertheless, military action by Israel and or the United States is rapidly becoming the only option left after sanctions and covert action have failed to do the job. (More)

Filed under: National Security, assassinated, china, CISADA, classified documents, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act, Congress, covert military operation, cyber, Daily Telegraph, deception, diplomacy, double agents, Ed Ross, enrichment of uranium, ewross, front companies, Green Revolution, hitmen, IAEA, infiltration, intelligence committee, International Atomic Energy Commission, international community, Iran's nuclear weapons program, Iranian assassin, Iranian nuclear scientists, Iranian Revolutionary Guard, israel, Israeli government, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, military force, military strike on Iran, olive branch, President Obama, presidential finding, Quds Force, regime change, russia, sabotage, sanctions, Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Stuxnet virus, Tel Aviv, United States, US forces, Washington DC

July 10, 2011 • 10:45 AM 8

HOLDER DETERMINED TO PROSECUTE UNLAWFUL ENEMY COMBATANTS IN U.S. FEDERAL COURTS

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Attorney General Eric Holder is determined to prosecute unlawful enemy combatants (UECs) captured overseas in U.S. federal courts. And he has decided to do so with Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali national accused of terrorism captured in the Persian Gulf region in April and detained aboard a U.S. Navy ship. Bipartisan action in Congress prevented the Obama administration from trying terrorists held at Guantanamo in U.S. federal courts. Now Congress must close the loophole in the law to prevent Holder from trying UECs held on U.S. Navy ships in federal court. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, Ahmed Abdulkdir Warsame, al-Qaeda, Attorney General, Congress, democrats, Ed Ross, Eric Holder, ewross, Guantanamo, Inter-Continental Hotel, Kabul, Karen Greenberg, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, military tribunals, Mitch McConnell, Mumbai, New York City, obama administration, Persian Gulf, republicans, Senate Minority Leader, Supreme Court, teorrist, U.S. Federal Courts, U.S. Navy ship, United States federal courts, United States Navy, Unlawful combatant, Unlawful Enemy Combatants

June 26, 2011 • 12:43 PM 19

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

Are Republicans returning to their isolationist roots while Democrats under President Barack Obama become more interventionist?

Polling results and recent statements by Republican presidential hopefuls suggest that Republicans are becoming more isolationists. Conversely, while the far left remains staunchly anti-war and non-interventionist, President Barack Obama, in the mold of his post-World War II Democratic predecessors, appears to be leading Democrats, albeit unwillingly, toward greater interventionism. He seeks to maintain substantial U.S. forces in Iraq. He continues the war in Afghanistan. He’s intervened in Libya. And he is conducting not-so-secret wars in Pakistan and Yemen. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 1945, 9/11, Afghanistan, anit-war, anti-interventionist, Bay of Pigs, Bill Clinton, Bosnia, Chinese Civil War, CIA, conservative Republicans, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, Democratic Party, Dwight Eisenhower, Ed Ross, ewross, Facebook, French Indochina, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Germany, GOP New Hampshire debate, Grenada, Hamid Karzai, harry truman, insurgents, intervened in Libya, interventionist Democrats, Iraq, isolationist Republicans, isolationist roots, Japan, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lyndon Johnson, military over extension, Mitt Romney, nation building, NATO, Panama, Pat Buchanan, Pew Poll, post Vietnam War, President Barack Obama, republican party, Ronald Reagan, Rwanda, sarah palin, Sen John McCain, South Korea, terrorists, U.S. Marines, Vietnam, war in Afghanistan, war weariness, world war II

June 19, 2011 • 12:45 PM 9

NEGOTIATING WITH THE TALIBAN: A SMART MOVE WITH THE RIGHT CARROTS AND STICKS

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The United States of America does not negotiate with terrorists (individuals or states); at least not the kind that plot and carry out terrorist attacks in U.S. cities or that holds hostages and makes unacceptable demands. It does negotiate with its enemies on the battlefield; and President Hamid Karzai’s announcement Saturday that Afghanistan and the United States are engaged in peace talks with the Taliban is a smart move with the right carrots and sticks. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 1973 Paris Peace Accords, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, American public opinion, anti-war protests, automony, carrots and sticks, cease hostilities, china, corruption, Ed Ross, ewross, fall of Saigon, Hamid Karzai, incentives and disincentives, Indochina, International Security Assistance Force, international terrorist organization, Islamist militia group, Kabul, nationalists, negotiating with the Taliban, North Vietnamese, North Vietnamese Communists, opium trade, outrageous demands, peace settlement, peace talks, political solution, President Barack Obama, quid pro quo, Republican challengers, Richard Nixon, Soviet Forces, soviet union, split hairs, stealth helicopter, Taliban leaders, terrorists, tribal culture, tribal regions, U.S. Navy SEAL, U.S. Presidential election, unconditional surrender, Viet Cong, Vietnan

June 12, 2011 • 12:00 PM 26

THE ULTIMATE EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO AMERICA: A NEW WORLD ORDER

America as we know it faces the ultimate existential threat—a new world order (not the conspiracy theory) at which America is no longer the hub—and it will take much more than a change of the occupant in the White House to stem the tide.

America has faced many existential threats in its 335-year history. In every case, it has emerged stronger, more prosperous, and better prepared for the next one. Politically, economically, and militarily we have become the hub of the modern world order. That order is now threatened by the confluence of our monumental national debt, a global economic crisis, political upheaval in the Arab and Muslim worlds, the rise of China, and the desire by many countries that have benefited from the current order to change it. (More)

Filed under: China-Taiwan, Climate Change, National Security, Politics, 2012 election, Afghanistan, Arab world, arms sales to Taiwan, car bombs, china, domestic economic issues, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy issues, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Iraq, Israel's 1967 borders, Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, jobs, John Bolton, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, national security, Newt Gingrich, President Barack Obama, President Obama's approval rating, presidential debates, Rasmussen Reports poll, Republican nominee, Ron Paul, sarah palin, there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. economy, U.S. forces, Vulcans, war, we got bin Laden

June 5, 2011 • 12:00 PM 8

NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE 2012 ELECTION

The state of the U.S. economy and jobs are the overwhelming issues that will determine the outcome of the 2012 presidential election. Still, in a close race, national security issues could play the decisive role.

Given the inherent advantages President Barack Obama has on national security as an incumbent president and the likelihood that Republicans will nominate a candidate better suited to challenge Obama on domestic issues, Mr. Obama will have an advantage. Insufficient attention by the Republican nominee to national security issues could be a politically fatal mistake. (More)

Filed under: National Security, The Presidency, 2012 election, Afghanistan, Arab world, arms sales to Taiwan, car bombs, china, domestic economic issues, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy issues, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Iraq, Israel's 1967 borders, Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, jobs, John Bolton, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, national security, Newt Gingrich, President Barack Obama, President Obama's approval rating, presidential debates, Rasmussen Reports poll, Republican nominee, Ron Paul, sarah palin, there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. economy, U.S. forces, United States presidential election 2012, Vulcans, war, we got bin Laden

May 8, 2011 • 12:00 PM 10

U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN: There’s a Lot of Explaining to Do

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U.S. military assistance to Pakistan has been much debated since U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden not far from the doorstep of the national military academy in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and only a short drive from downtown Islamabad. It’s inconceivable, many knowledgeable people believe, that the Pakistan government, or at the very least its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) organization, didn’t know Bin Laden was there. How can we continue to give Pakistan billions of dollars in military assistance each year if they are knowingly harboring our worst enemies? (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, Abbottabad, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, Charles Krauthammer, classified, Democratic, Ed Ross, ewross, F-16s, FY11, FY12, game changer, Government, hearings, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Islamabad, Islamist-Jihadism, israel, Jonathan Pollard, Kkabul, middle east, military assistance, Mullah Omar, Mumbai attacks, Muslim world, North Africa, obama administration, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Pakistani, Pat Buchannan, People's Liberation Army, PLA, PLAAF, Rabat, republican, Robert Gates, Taliban, United States Navy SEALs, US Congress, US Navy SEALs

May 1, 2011 • 11:19 AM 12

GENERAL PETRAEUS TO CIA: Is He the Right Person to Replace Panetta?

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President Barack Obama has named CIA Director Leon Panetta to replace Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and GEN David Petraeus to replace Panetta. My April 18 column discussed the kind of person that should replace Gates and concluded that Panetta may not be the right person for the job. What about Petraeus; is he the right person to lead the CIA in these troubled times, and how will Osama Bin Laden’s death affect how Petraeus does his job. (More)

Filed under: National Security, 9/11, ADM Mike Mullen, ADM Sidney Souers, ADM Stansfield Turner, bureaucratic battles, Central Intelligence Agency, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA, CIA interrogators, CJCS, clandestine service, David Petraeus, Director Central Intelligence, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Director of the CIA, Ed Ross, ewross, GEN Michael Hayden, General Petraeus, Guantanamo, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Leon Panetta, LTGEN James Clapper, middle east, North Africa, Pakistan, Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, President Barack Obama, President Harry Truman, Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon

Ed's Blog

THE GSA AND SECRET SERVICE SCANDALS: SYMPTOMS OF A LARGER PROBLEM

DON’T CONFLATE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD WITH THE EGYPTIAN ARMED FORCES

AFGHANISTAN: THE BUCK STOPS WITH THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

DISSUADING IRAN FROM BUILDING A NUCLEAR WEAPON: THE LESSON OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

THE NORTH KOREA CONUNDRUM: THE DINOSAUR THAT WON’T GO EXTINCT

MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN RAPIDLY BECOMING ONLY OPTION

HOLDER DETERMINED TO PROSECUTE UNLAWFUL ENEMY COMBATANTS IN U.S. FEDERAL COURTS

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

NEGOTIATING WITH THE TALIBAN: A SMART MOVE WITH THE RIGHT CARROTS AND STICKS

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

THE ULTIMATE EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO AMERICA: A NEW WORLD ORDER

NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE 2012 ELECTION

U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN: There’s a Lot of Explaining to Do

GENERAL PETRAEUS TO CIA: Is He the Right Person to Replace Panetta?

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

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