Recent Iranian Rocket Tests Are Raising Concerns

Iran test fires a Fajr-3 missile [file photo] Photo: IRNA / Reuters

Iran ICBM Advances -- Washington Free Beacon

Iran conducts test of new rocket motor with ICBM capability.

U.S. intelligence agencies recently detected Iran conducting a static ground test of a large rocket motor that could be used for a future intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to U.S. officials.

Disclosure of the recent rocket engine test comes as Congress is prodding the Obama administration to deploy a third ground-based missile defense interceptor base on the U.S. East Coast.

“This engine could be used for an ICBM,” said one official familiar with the intelligence reports of the test.

No other details were available. A Defense Intelligence Agency spokesman declined to comment on the test.

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My Comment: The Iranians have stated in the past that their goal was to deploy long-range missiles to deter their enemies .... these tests are just an indication that they are fulfilling their promises.

Picture Of The Day

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel conducts a news conference at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station in Colorado Springs, Col., June 28, 2013. Hagel was on a two-day tour of military installations in Colorado. During the trip, Hagel met with Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Russia's Navy Shows The Flag In the Mediterranean

Russian warships arrived at the Syrian port city of Tartus

Russia Flexes Its Muscles In The Mediterranean -- Deutsche Welle

Russia is in the midst of negotiations for a military presence on Cyprus. In addition to being part of a plan to build up its naval forces, analysts say Moscow needs to find an alternative to its base in Syria.

Reports that Russia is withdrawing all military personnel from its naval base in Syria and replacing them with civilian workers are wrong, the Russian Defense Ministry made announced on Thursday (27.06.2013) in Moscow. There is no need for the military to be based in Tartus, a city on Syria's Mediterranean coast, the press release said, "because maintenance of Russian warships was taken over by civilians long ago."

According to the ministry's statement, Tartus would remain Russia's naval base within the Mediterranean. But at the same time Moscow is clearly preparing for a loss. It has long been speculated that Russia, in the event of a regime change in Damascus, would give up the Tartus base. And now it seems they have found an alternative.

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My Comment: They want to show the flag .... and to watch over the events that are unfolding in Syria.

Special Operations Forces Are Voicing Doubts On Having Women In Their Ranks

Under a new policy, women in the Marine Corps are eligible for combat-related positions, such as scout sniper. The Pentagon formally announced Jan. 24 that the 1994 Combat Exclusion Policy had been rescinded. (Photo by: Lance Cpl. Vincent White. U.S. Marine Corps)

Fear Of G.I. Jane: Special Operations Forces Are Worried About Adding Women -- Washington Times

Publicly and privately, U.S. commandos are casting doubt on the sexual revolution looming over Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Delta Force and Green Berets.

The Pentagon staged a press briefing last week to announce a two-year study to refine combat physical standards and find the best way to install women in the male bastion of infantry, armor and special operations. A decision on which combat roles will be open to women is expected in 2015.

It is the special “ops” group — with its secretive isolation in small teams where physical stamina matters most — that has commandos the most nervous.

“The only option now is to offer reasons why they can’t do it,” said an Army special operations veteran who believes U.S. Special Operations Command will cave to White House demands to include women. “I haven’t heard that anyone has the courage to say they can’t do it, either. Maybe the new [military occupational specialty] can be 18P — Special Forces camp follower. Is that PC enough?”

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My Comment: Bottom line .... expect the standards to be lowered.

Navy Offers $160K Bonuses To SEALs For Re-Enlisting

Great SEALs of the United States… -- Battleland/Time

…are slated to get bonuses of up to $160,000 for re-enlisting, according to the Navy.

These aren’t for rookies, but for the cream of the crop: SEALs who have been in uniform for at least 18 years. Contrary to public perception, SEALs and those who support them tend to be older and more experienced than most sailors. These bonuses are aimed at keeping senior enlisted and chief warrant officers on board.

The service is offering bonuses of varying sizes to Naval Special Warfare sailors and chief warrant officers willing to serve up to seven more years. “Qualified members may re-enlist for six years and simultaneously sign a 12-month extension to maximize the seven year NSW CSRB [Naval Special Warfare Critical Skills Retention Bonus] opportunity,” the Navy’s personnel shop says. Bonuses have regularly been used to keep SEALs serving.

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My Comment: The Navy clearly wants to keep their senior sailors and chief warrant officers.

The Pentagon Really Doesn't Want Soldiers Reading About The NSA Leaks

The Pentagon insisted the Department of Defense was only seeking to restrict access to certain content. Photograph: Rick Wilking/Reuters

US Army Blocks Access To Guardian Website To Preserve 'Network Hygiene' -- The Guardian

Military admits to filtering reports and content relating to government surveillance programs for thousands of personnel

The US army has admitted to blocking access to parts of the Guardian website for thousands of defence personnel across the country.

A spokesman said the military was filtering out reports and content relating to government surveillance programs to preserve "network hygiene" and prevent any classified material appearing on unclassified parts of its computer systems.

The confirmation follows reports in the Monterey Herald that staff at the Presidio military base south of San Francisco had complained of not being able to access the Guardian's UK site at all, and had only partial access to the US site, following publication of leaks from whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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Previous Post: The U.S. Defense Department Is Blocking All Articles About The NSA Leaks

More News On The US Military Filtering Reports On the U.S. Government Surveillance Program

Restricted web access to The Guardian is Armywide, officials say -- The Herald
Army reportedly blocking military access to Guardian coverage of NSA leaks -- NBC
U.S. Army Blocks Access to The Guardian Due to Security Concerns -- Daily Tech
Sorry, that's classified: Army blocks staff access to The Guardian -- The Verge
Army admits restricting soldiers' access to NSA coverage -- CNet
U.S. Army Restricts Access To 'The Guardian' Website -- NPR
U.S Army Blocks Guardian Articles On Snowden N.S.A Leak -- IBTimes
US Army restricts access to Guardian website over secrets in NSA leak stories -- RT
Blackout: Defense Department Blocks All Articles About NSA Leaks From 'Millions' of Computers -- US News and World Report
The Army really doesn't want soldiers reading about the NSA leaks -- The Week
The Guardian Blocked By The Army After NSA Stories -- Huffington Post
Army blocks Guardian website: report -- Politico

Did NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Had Help In Stealing NSA Secrets?

Who Helped Snowden Steal State Secrets? -- Wall Street Journal

The preparations began before he took the job that landed him at the NSA.

In March 2013, when Edward Snowden sought a job with Booz Allen Hamilton at a National Security Agency facility in Hawaii, he signed the requisite classified-information agreements and would have been made well aware of the law regarding communications intelligence.

Section 798 of the United States Code makes it a federal crime if a person "knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States" any classified information concerning communication intelligence.

Mr. Snowden took that position so he could arrange to have published classified communications intelligence, as he told the South China Morning Post earlier this month. The point of Mr. Snowden's penetration was to get classified data from the NSA. He subsequently stated: "My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked, that is why I accepted that position."

My question would be, then: Was he alone in this enterprise to misappropriate communications intelligence?

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My Comment: I suspect that this is a question that many in the U.S. Justice Department and the intelligence community are trying to figure out right now.

U.S. Congress To The Kremlin: Give Edward Snowden Back To The U.S., Or Else

Capitol Hill To Moscow: Give Edward Snowden Back To The U.S., Or Else -- Daily Beast

With Obama still unable to get Putin to give up leaker Edward Snowden, members of Congress are stepping up—and preparing punitive measures of their own, reports Josh Rogin.

If the Obama administration can’t force Russia to turn over NSA leaker Edward Snowden, leaders on Capitol Hill from both parties say they are preparing punitive measures of their own to try and force Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop Snowden from fleeing to a country outside of America’s reach.

“We are exploring what are the leverage points. I’m trying to put together a package to let the Russians know how serious we are,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told The Daily Beast in an interview. “We have to respond, this is a defining moment in the relationship.”

Graham declined to elaborate on what his “package” of items to pressure Russia might include. For some Republicans, such as Graham and his cohort Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Putin’s handling of the Snowden issue is only the latest sign that Russia is backsliding when it comes to democracy and the rule of law.

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My Comment: Yup .... Russian President Putin is shaking with fear.

Ex-Stasi Spy Boss: NSA's Reported Spy Program 'Would Have Been A Dream Come True'

Protestors greeted President Obama when he visited in June. They are upset over the NSA spying. Claudia Himmelreich/McClatchy

Ex-Stasi Boss Green With Envy Over NSA's Domestic Spy Powers -- CNet

For Wolfgang Schmidt, who used to head East Germany's feared spy service, the NSA's reported spy program "would have been a dream come true."

For Wolfgang Schmidt, it was just bad luck that he was 20 years too late and living on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain.

The former head of the Stasi, which was East Germany's secret police force, betrayed a fair bit of envy about the powers enjoyed by his former Cold War nemesis in the aftermath of revelations about the extent of the National Security Agency's surveillance powers.

"You know, for us, this would have been a dream come true," he said in a wide-ranging interview with McClatchy.

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Update #1: Former Stasi Officer: The NSA Domestic Surveillance Program Would Have Been 'A Dream Come True' For East Germany -- Business Insider
Update #2: NSA’s Surveillance Operations the Envy of Former Stasi Commander -- Reason
Update #3: Memories of Stasi color Germans’ view of U.S. surveillance programs -- McClatchy News

My Comment: I do not remember the link .... but a week ago I read a similar Russian post on former KGB officers who were voicing the same sentiment. I ahve to shake my head .... when former communist spy-masters are voicing a wish of having the same tools that the NSA/intelligence community is using .... that is when you know that we have a problem.

NSA Surveilalnce Scandal -- News Updates June 28-29, 2013

White House 'Doesn't Know' What Files NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Has Accessed -- Daily Mail

* Obama adviser admits they 'don't know' which files Snowden has copied
* Further classified documents have been exposed on U.S. data collection
* NSA leaker Edward Snowden remains in the transit area of Moscow airport after leaving Hong Kong on Sunday
* U.S. demanded Russia extradites him immediately but Putin refused

The true extent of the security threat posed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is 'unknown', according to a top government aid, as it is revealed the White House is unsure what secret files he possesses.

The revelation came as a new batch of highly classified documents was made public across the internet yesterday, revealing how the U.S. government has collected online data in bulk.

Fugitive leaker Mr Snowden, who worked as an undercover computer specialist with the CIA before contracting with the National Security Agency, remains in the transit area of Sheremetyevo Airport, in Moscow. He had been expected to fly to Cuba but has not reportedly left Russia.

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More News On The NSA Surveillance Scandal

The New White House Line On NSA: “Snow-who?” -- Buzz Feed
NSA expanded bulk collection of internet data under newly uncovered surveillance programs -- The Verge
Obama administration reportedly allowed NSA to gather Americans' Internet data until 2011 -- FOX News/AP
Senators accuse government of using 'secret law' to collect Americans' data -- The Guardian
NSA says agency surveillance helped foil 54 plots -- Reuters
NSA Head Alexander Says Spy Programs Stopped Terror Plots Abroad -- Bloomberg Businessweek
NSA director tells staff to remain focused -- Washington Post
Leaks Damage National Security, NSA Director Says -- US Department of Defense
Snowden, While on the Run, Poses Greater Risk to U.S. -- Wall Street Journal
Ecuador cools on Edward Snowden asylum as Assange frustration grows -- The Guardian
What an NSA charm offensive looks like -- Jack Shafer, Reuters
The NSA Can't Tell the Difference Between an American and a Foreigner -- Shane Harris, Foreign Policy
Where should Snowden go? His dad, Russia, and Ecuador all weigh in. -- Christian Science Monitor
Extraditing Edward Snowden -- Council On Foreign Relations
NSA Leaks Are Said to Have Changed the Ways Al Qaeda Talks, but How Much? -- Rebecca Greenfield, The Atlantic