Category: National Security

National Security – DIME

Military Recruiting – Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart, Army Reserve Link For Recruiting, Hiring, (Boston Globe)…Associated Press, Nov 12, 2008.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has signed on to an Army Reserve program in which the company and the Army will work together to recruit and train people interested in serving in the military and working for the giant retailer.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest private employer, has more than 1.4 million US employees.

An agreement signed yesterday obligates Wal-Mart to interview and consider all qualified, participating soldiers for employment after they complete military occupational specialty training.

When a reserve soldier who works at Wal-Mart is called to service, the company can draw on 1 million or so citizen soldiers to help identify a qualified replacement to work in the soldier’s place.

The arrangement is expected to lower costs of recruiting and training for Wal-Mart.

Unmanned Vehicles (Robots)

Aberdeen Starts Work On Robot Test Track, (Baltimore Sun)…David Wood, Nov 14, 2008

With U.S. and allied military convoys under increasing attack in Afghanistan, the Army began work yesterday on a new test track at Harford County’s Aberdeen Proving Ground that will be critical in developing high-speed unmanned, or robot, vehicles for convoy duty.

Robotic vehicles also will be tested for basic performance but also with different sets of sensors that are currently under development, Rooney said.

For example, the Army has been working on ground-penetrating radar to detect one form of bomb common in Afghanistan: a plastic bucket of explosives buried beneath the road surface, detonated by a simple pressure-activated switch.

The problem is that the current radars can see only a short distance ahead, and as a convoy gathers speed, it quickly outruns the distance the radar can see, according to Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, commander of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, the Pentagon command with responsibility for protecting troops from roadside bombs.
“Logistics convoys would like to have a radar that looks 100 meters out in front of them,” Metz said in an interview.

First Female Four Star General

Dunwoody To Be First Female Four-Star General, (Washingtonpost.com)…Robert Burns, Associated Press, Nov 14, 2008.

The recognition makes her a little bit uncomfortable from the standpoint of the gender aspect–that we’re making a big deal (that) she is the first female general officer,” Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday in announcing that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would attend her promotion ceremony.

Iraq: New IEDs

Militants Turn To Small Bombs In Iraq Attacks, (New York Times)…Katherine Zoepf and Mudhafer al-Husaini, Nov 14, 2008 pg1.

…And as security in Baghdad has improved, the small and furtive bomb — though less lethal than entire cars or even thick suicide belts packed with explosive — is fast becoming the device of choice for a range of insurgent groups. They are also contributing, in the midst of an uptick in violence, to a growing feeling of unease in the capital.

Light, portable and easy to lay, sticky bombs are tucked quickly under the bumper of a car or into a chink in a blast wall. Since they are detonated remotely, they rarely harm the person who lays them. And as security in Baghdad has improved, the small and furtive bomb — though less lethal than entire cars or even thick suicide belts packed with explosive — is fast becoming the device of choice for a range of insurgent groups.

 “You take a bit of C4 or some other type of compound,” said Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a spokesman for the United States military in Baghdad. “You can go into a hardware store, take the explosive and combine it with an accelerant, put some glass or marble or bits of metal in front of it and you’ve basically got a homemade Claymore,” a common antipersonnel mine.

Administration Orders for Military Raids Against Al Qaeda

Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda In Many Countries, (New York Times)…Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti, Nov 10, 2008.

The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.

These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.

War of Terrorism

Mr. Obama’s War, (Washington Post)…Editorial, Nov 9, 2008

The president-elect must both sustain and reform the fight against terrorism. …  Barack Obama made clear during the election campaign that he takes the threat of al-Qaeda and other extremist groups seriously. He’s been hawkish in proposing more troops for Afghanistan as well as unilateral strikes targeting al-Qaeda in Pakistan. He’s promised to dedicate more resources to preventing the worst-case scenario of terrorists obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

Third War: Stateless Extremist Networks

Obama To Face A Third War — Against Stateless Extremist Networks
(Los Angeles Times)…Sebastian Rotella, November 9, 2008

Amid the focus on the wars that President-elect Barack Obama will inherit in Iraq and Afghanistan, a third conflict gets less attention: the shadow war against stateless networks of Islamic extremists.

A weaker Al Qaeda, tighter U.S. borders and the apparent lack of U.S. support networks make a new strike on American soil unlikely, though not impossible, according to Western anti-terrorism officials. Instead, the foremost possible scenario is an attack on U.S. targets in Europe similar to the alleged plots against American troops in Germany last year and transatlantic flights from London in 2006.

Macroeconomics – 001: Trends and projections 1920-2010

New President has set high expectations. What will be the answer to the proverbial question that will be asked in the 2012 election: “Are you any better of now than you were four (4) years ago?”   Would there be any concensus on the qualitative and quantitiatve indicators?  If so, which ones? 

The following graphic provides macro level trends and projections from 1920 thru 2010. May help answer the question: Are we any better off than Americans were in 1920?  1930? 1940? ….  1990? 2000? … 2010?
It’s the Economy Stupid!, Oct 16-22, 2008. Good.

Following economic indicators provided by the U.S. Treasury – includes percent change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rate, personal savings, productivity,  prices, and inflation to name a few.

Monitoring the Economy — Monthly Indicators thru Sep 08.

Monitoring the Economy — Quarterly Data as of 10/30/2008.