terrorism

The US Navy’s Nuclear Proliferation Problem

US Navy reactors currently use about 100 nuclear bombs’ worth of HEU each year, more than all of the world’s other reactors combined.

Afghanistan Has Been ‘Gut-Wrenching,’ ‘Deeply Personal’ For IC: DNI

"There's no question that as you pull out... our intelligence collection is diminished," Haines said. "In Afghanistan, we will want to monitor any reconstitution of terrorist groups."

Exclusive: Navy CNO On Rooting Out Extremists

"We have a responsibility to educate those that are leaving the service that they are going to be recruited by these people, and they need to be aware that they're going to have people reach out via email or social media" Adm. Mike Gilday says.

Don’t Shutter The Minerva Initiative: Social Science Helps DoD

While the current Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is reported to not believe the research the MRI funds is “science,” letting the program go would be a significant loss for the Defense Department and produce little financial benefit.

Prepare For the Worst From Iran Cyber Attacks, As DHS Issues Warning: Experts

Experts warn that Iran almost certainly now has the cyber tools to inflict physical damage on US critical infrastructure.

‘Golden Age Of SIGINT May Be Over’: New Encryption Foils IC Eavesdropping

"End-to-end encryption of all communications and data, differential privacy, and secure communications for all users are likely to be the new reality," says a new DARPA-funded study.

Aid To Israel Isn’t Foreign Aid; It’s An Investment

Israel faces increasingly tight restrictions on its Foreign Military Financing from the U.S., as Breaking D readers know. In the past, when the US provided Israeli with grants under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, Israel could convert 25 percent of the aid from dollars into shekels to buy Israeli products and support local R&D. The […]

Help Egypt Help Israel On Middle East Peace

As the Trump Administration tries to force Palestinians to the bargaining table by cutting funding to the UN relief agency that serves them, closes the PLO’s offices here and continues to tout its forthcoming “deal of the century,” few in national security circles are discussing the chances of Peace in the Middle East. In this […]

Counterterror Costs Since 911: $2.8 TRILLION And Climbing

WASHINGTON: After a small group of forlorn men huddled in the middle of Afghanistan succeeded in their plan to strike the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, America declared a global war against them. That war has sucked almost $3 trillion dollars from the US, according to a study by the respected Stimson Center […]

US Must Help Curb Illegal Fishing,Terrorism, Piracy, Drug Sales

Illegal fishing. Yes, Fishing. This growing international problem is a key factor in geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, piracy off the Horn of Africa, and the deadly narco-trade across Latin America. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, an illicit business which generates annual profits of $15.5 billion to $36.4 billion, poses a significant […]

What Will ‘Actually Solve’ Terrorism Problem?

This is the second of James Kitfield’s in-depth analysis of the continuing challenges posed by America’s so-called “forever wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the height of its powers several years ago, ISIS was attracting an estimated one thousand new foreign fighters each month. While U.S. officials always believed that the U.S.-led coalition would take […]

Shutdown Looms, North Korean War Closer, UK PM Mocked

CORRECTED: Changed Stealth To Fifth Generation Fighters In Fifth Paragraph.  WASHINGTON: Can the Christmas holidays come quickly enough? Republicans, hungry for their first major legislative accomplishment since the 2016 elections, are focused above and beyond all else on changes to tax law, leaving a dangerous vacuum into which a shutdown could fall. Last week, the […]

Our Artificial Intelligence ‘Sputnik Moment’ Is Now: Eric Schmidt & Bob Work

WASHINGTON: When former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work heard the head of Google’s parent company, Eric Schmidt, say this morning that America needs a national strategy for developing Artificial Intelligence, one image sprang to his mind’s eye. “The image that popped into my mind was of Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe in the UN and […]

My 911 And The Future Of the Afghan War

Robbin Laird is an old defense hand. Today, he’s a consultant and a member of the Breaking Defense Board of Contributors, but he served as special assistant for the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1979-1983 and also worked on the National Security Council for two presidents. Here’s the piece he posted on his website, Second Line […]