Policies affecting the intelligence community

China Declares Space War Inevitable

By Colin Clark on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

China Declares Space War Inevitable

In what appears to mark a major shift in Chinese military and arms control strategy, the head of the PRC’s air force has said in an official interview that military operations in space are an “historical inevitability.” General Xu Qiliang said that, “As far as the revolution in military affairs is concerned, the competition between military forces is moving towards outer space… this is a historical inevitability and a development that cannot be turned back.”

Northrop Offers New Intel Radar

By Colin Clark on Friday, October 30th, 2009

Northrop Offers New Intel Radar

During the days of the Cold War, intelligence analysts tracked Soviet missile deployments and launches, as well as mass maneuvers, using the technological wonders of change detection, the arcane art of looking at satellite and U-2 photos to see what had moved where and how fast they were moving. Now Northrop Grumman is developing a fast, broad-area radar that may give analysts better tools to work with.

DHS To Announce Cyber Merger

By Colin Clark on Thursday, October 29th, 2009

DHS To Announce Cyber Merger

In what could mark a major improvement to the nation’s ability to defend itself against cyber threats, the Department of Homeland Security will announce Friday that the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team will merge with the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications. The two groups — now separated by two floors — will now be co-located and will operate jointly.

US Must Plan for Nuke Wars

By Greg Grant on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

US Must Plan for Nuke Wars

In a world where the barriers to nuclear weapons proliferation are breaking down, military planners must prepare to fight on the battlefield one day after a nuclear explosion in a radioactive environment facing the prospect of second nuclear strike. This scenario is so complex and so costly that it renders obsolete many basic tenets of U.S. military power projection, says CSBA in a new report.

PLA Seeks ‘Accommodation, Not Confrontation’

By Colin Clark on Monday, October 26th, 2009

PLA Seeks ‘Accommodation, Not Confrontation’

In a rare public appearance, Gen. Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China’s Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, came to Washington and told an audience that his country remains a “developing country and would not, could not threaten developed countries.” In fact, the PRC seeks “accommodation, not confrontation.”

NRO Pledges On-Budget Spy Sats

By Colin Clark on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

NRO Pledges On-Budget Spy Sats

In his first public appearance, the director of the National Reconnaissance Office pledged to deliver the nation’s spy satellites on time and on budget after almost a decade of botched programs such as the Future Imagery Architecture.

Open Source Intel Use Soars

By Colin Clark on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Open Source Intel Use Soars

For decades America’s spies cultivated the idea that they knew things no one else did and got the information from sources no one else knew about. Then came 911 and the rules got rewritten as the veil got torn from the intelligence community’s shoulders. Open source information — stuff anyone with a brain and a healthy interest in finding something out — is now a key tool for our spies. And its use is rocketing upwards.

USDI Seeks Af-Pak Intel Holy Grail

By Colin Clark on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

USDI Seeks Af-Pak Intel Holy Grail

The Pentagon created a team one month ago and sent it to Iraq and Afghanistan to figure out how to achieve the Holy Grail of intelligence sharing, one network architecture that shares intelligence from every satellite, UAV and plane and gets it to everyone on the ground and in the air who needs it.

Share More Intel With Allies

By Colin Clark on Monday, October 19th, 2009

Share More Intel With Allies

The United States has much to gain and lilttle to lose in sharing much more intelligence with our allies, said the Pentagon’s head of intelligence. “There is very little risk in being more open with sharing,” said Jim Clapper, undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, at the annual Geoint conference.

Spy Sat Battle Joined On Hill

By Colin Clark on Monday, October 19th, 2009

Spy Sat Battle Joined On Hill

The Senate wants to build an unproven but technologically attractive reconnaissance spy satellite said to be relatively cheap. The House wants to build a technologically proven but more expensive spy satellite. So far, at least, they can’t agree on which one strikes the best balance between risk, cost and capability. And they may not be able to agree given how divergent their solutions are.

US Losing Space Race

By Colin Clark on Monday, October 19th, 2009

US Losing Space Race

The nation that made it to the Moon in 12 years now struggles to build a satellite in that time and is at risk of losing its preeminence in space. So said one of the top four space intelligence lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, chairman of the House Select technical and tactical intelligence subcommittee.

Ex-CIA Officer Pushes Counterterror

By Greg Grant on Friday, October 16th, 2009

Ex-CIA Officer Pushes Counterterror

The debate on the way ahead in Afghanistan continues, with the lines drawn between those who advocate a small footprint counterterrorism straegy versus advocates of the large footprint counterinsurgency approach. Former Afghanistan CIA case officer and counterterrorism adviser Marc Sageman makes a reasoned argument for continuing the counterterror approach and says that even if the Taliban were to regain power in Afghanistan, it is far from certain it would allow al Qaeda free reign there.

Hate Crime Worries Dog Defense Bill

By Colin Clark on Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Hate Crime Worries Dog Defense Bill

With the Senate likely to vote next week on the defense authorization bill, concern is growing that one or more senators may filibuster the bill to make clear their displeasure or unease with hate crimes legislation that was attached to the bill.

House Grills Experts Over AfPak Strategy

By Colin Clark on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

House Grills Experts Over AfPak Strategy

Three of Washington’s top experts on the Afghanistan-Pakistan troubles appeared before the House Armed Services Committee and appeared as divided as the rest of the country is on just what to do next.

Iran Nuke ‘Conceivable’ This Year

By Greg Grant on Monday, October 12th, 2009

Iran Nuke ‘Conceivable’ This Year

Iran has reached a “level of progress” where it is “conceivable” that it could build a nuclear device as early as this year and could field a nuclear armed missile force some time between 2011 and 2015, says CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman in a new book. The “cumulative weight of evidence” has grown so large that it’s difficult not to conclude that Iran is building nuclear warheads to put atop long range missiles, he says.

GOP Keeps Heat On Euro Missile Plan

By Colin Clark on Friday, October 2nd, 2009

GOP Keeps Heat On Euro Missile Plan

House Republicans mounted a spirited critique of the Obama administration’s new European missile defense plan, saying the intelligence does not support the administration’s claims of a change in the threat. GOP members also claimed the new plan would not sufficiently contain the threat from Iran.

Iran Nukes Make Strange Bedfellows

By Colin Clark on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Iran Nukes Make Strange Bedfellows

When I did my first story about Israeli capabilities for striking Iran’s nuclear sites it was 2006 and the consensus view was that Israel might well try a strike someday but probably not just yet. Today, the timeline is short. We have Saudi Arabia telling Israel it can overfly on the way to Iran. And the Saudis are trying to buy Russian missile systems to keep them out of Iranian hands.

Four Stars Debate Bigger NRO

By Colin Clark on Friday, September 25th, 2009

Four Stars Debate Bigger NRO

Expect fireworks from a pair of meetings yesterday and Wednesday about the future of what was one of Americas most closely guarded secret weapons, the National Reconnaissance Office. A tiger team is meeting to discuss what could be an enormous expansion of the NRO’s power, from its current focus on building and operating highly classified imaging and radar satellites to building and operating all US military and intelligence space and ISR assets

Israel Real Missile Defense Focus

By Greg Grant on Friday, September 18th, 2009

Israel Real Missile Defense Focus

In recent months, the rhetoric coming from high level Israeli military and political officials in meetings with U.S. officials has become increasingly hawkish as Israel sees a narrowing window of opportunity to inflict enough damage to slow Iran’s progress in developing a nuclear weapon and at a small enough cost. The Obama administration has been frantically cobbling together a package of incentives to try and convince the Israelis to keep their bombers out of Iranian air space.

A Plane For All Seasons

By Bryant Jordan on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

A Plane For All Seasons

Hawker Beechcraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin are pooling resources and technologies to develop a trainer-cum-combat ready aircraft that may also pull duty for close air support or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Officials from the two companies formerly announced the team effort today at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Symposium in Maryland.