Ideas
Ep. 32: The $750 billion military; USAF’s Kessel Run; Happy Birthday to the Guard, and more.
Welcome to our podcast about the news, strategy, tech, and business trends defining the future of national security.
Science & Tech
The US Is Buying Phone Hacking Tools for Ghana’s Police
The State Department wants Ghanaian law enforcement to be able to access Android, Windows, and BlackBerry devices used in transnational crime.
Defense Systems
DOD on track to take over background checks
The Pentagon is readying to absorb the National Background Investigations Bureau ahead of an anticipated executive order.
Science & Tech
Project Maven Overseer Will Lead Pentagon’s New AI Center
DOD rewards three-star with the lead on its new AI-development center.
Ideas
Academic Paywalls Harm National Security
Embracing the open-access movement would help defense leaders make America safer and strengthen their ties with the tech industry.
Policy
New Armed Services Chair Says He Will Fund Military, Not Drive Foreign Policy ‘Like McCain Did’
'My job is to make sure we have the resources...I try not to get into debates,’ Inhofe says in an exclusive interview.
Ideas
Maria Butina's Guilty Plea Could Illuminate Russian Ploy to Shape 2016 Election
The onetime graduate student admits to being a foreign agent who sought to establish back channels to Republicans through the NRA.
Policy
Senate Votes to Curtail Yemen Involvement in Rebuke of Trump
The 56-41 vote is largely symbolic — for now — but it shows that congressional outrage with Riyadh is unlikely to cool.
Policy
Trump’s New Africa Plan: Fewer US Troops and Aid, More Investment and Deals
To compete with China in Africa, the White House aims to encourage U.S. investment but will continue a troop drawdown and plans a harsh re-evaluation of foreign assistance.
Science & Tech
The Government’s Bioterror-Response Website May Be Leaking Sensitive Data
DHS inspectors and a whistleblower say the site, which would be used to coordinate federal responses to a bioterror attack, isn’t secure.
Ideas
Pentagon to Take Over All Security Clearances in Nine Months, Officials Say
The move will mean absorbing the National Background Investigations Bureau and its 2,000 employees.
Policy
From Small Wars to Great Power, Trump’s Africa Reset Could Change US Military’s Role
The U.S. is cutting 10 percent of its counterterrorism troops in Africa. Will China and Russia fill the gap?
Ideas
Trump’s New Vetting Center Just Opened. Will It Make Us Safer?
Too little is known about the visa and immigration center, including the extent of its authority and whether adding a bureaucratic layer will cause more problems than it solves.
Science & Tech
How DHS Is Trying to Sort Good Cyber Tools from Snake Oil
The department is investing in ways to do apples-to-apples comparisons of the many cyber products on the market.
Defense Systems
Second JEDI protest dismissed
Amazon Web Services moved to intervene in Oracle's lawsuit over the Defense Department's JEDI cloud buy, as the Government Accountability Office dismissed IBM's pre-award protest over the same procurement.
Defense Systems