military industrial complex

Pentagon planning massive cybersecurity increase

"The US Department of Defense has approved a fivefold expansion of its cybersecurity force over the coming years in a bid to increase its ability to defend critical computer networks, The Washington Post reported. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the Defense Department’s Cyber Command, which currently has a staff of about 900, will expand to about 4,900 troops and civilians. The decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, the report said." Continue reading →

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North Africa Explodes?

"The Financial Times is reporting that the West 'faces decades of conflict in N. Africa.' The world's biggest news aggregator, Matt Drudge, is featuring the news on his front page. No doubt it's being promoted throughout the mainstream media as if what's going on is a surprise. The current war blowing up in Mali is, however, a perfect example of directed history. It has been 'in the works' for at least two years but probably far longer than that. Not only has it been planned, it has been gradually developed through a series of supporting wars in the Middle East and Africa. All of this manipulation was intended to make this outcome look inevitable and natural. It is not." Continue reading →

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US general warns over Iranian cyber-soldiers

"Cyber-attacks on Iran are turning it into a 'force to be reckoned with' America's top cyber-soldier has warned. Since 2010, Iran has come under attack many times by malicious viruses written specifically to target key industrial installations in the country. The repeated attacks have provoked Iran to improve its cyber-capabilities, said Gen William Shelton who oversees US cyber-operations. That improved capability had helped it protect itself against subsequent attacks on oil terminals and other manufacturing plants. Its capability might well be turned against Iran's enemies in the coming years, he said." Continue reading →

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Pakistan Unhappy Over Reports US Drone Strikes Will Continue

"Leaders in Pakistan are outraged at reported U.S. plans to continue controversial drone strikes against suspected al-Qaida-linked sanctuaries on Pakistani soil. They are calling it 'close to a perpetual war,' and say it is exactly opposite to what President Barack Obama stated in his inaugural speech on Monday. U.S. drone strikes on targets in Pakistani regions along the border with Afghanistan remain highly controversial and are deeply unpopular in Pakistan. Pakistan publicly condemns the drone campaign and wants the U.S. to end it, saying that it not only violates the country's sovereignty, but that collateral damage caused by the strikes is fueling militancy in the region." Continue reading →

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Africa’s Resources Beckon

"For the USA, its ambitions have a new locus in Africa. These wars, as in Libya and Mali, have not been joined by this trio of imperialists because of terrorism threatening Europe or the U.S. This is, for one thing, about controlling African governments and enabling the extraction of wealth from resources in this region of Africa. It was Gaddafi's (Libya's) sympathy and outreach toward these regions and peoples that helped bring about his downfall. He stood in the way of western business interests, and his ideas for controlling the resources for Africans could not be abided by the western business interests and their allies in government." Continue reading →

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Who Says You Can Kill Americans, Mr. President?

"Presidents had never before, to our knowledge, targeted specific Americans for military strikes. There are no court decisions that tell us if he is acting lawfully. Mr. Obama tells us not to worry, though, because his lawyers say it is fine, because experts guide the decisions and because his advisers have set up a careful process to help him decide whom he should kill. He must think we should be relieved. Oddly, under current law, Congress and the courts are involved when presidents eavesdrop on Americans, detain them or harshly interrogate them — but not when they kill them." Continue reading →

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Julian Assange calls WikiLeaks movie a ‘massive propaganda attack’

"Speaking to students at Britain’s prestigious Oxford University by videolink from the Ecuadoran embassy in London, Assange revealed that he had acquired a copy of the script for 'The Fifth Estate', due to be released in November. 'It is a lie upon lie. The movie is a massive propaganda attack on WikiLeaks and the character of my staff,' the Australian Internet activist told the audience at the university’s Oxford Union debating club. Assange, 41, also blasted the movie for 'fanning the flames' of war against Iran by implying that the Islamic republic was working on a nuclear bomb." Continue reading →

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Women in combat: Will they have to register for the draft?

"Now that the Pentagon is lifting its ban on women in combat, does this mean that women could potentially be drafted, too? 'The answer to that question is clearly yes,' says Anne Coughlin, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville. Once the combat exclusion policy is lifted, 'My belief is that if we open up combat arms to women, even on a voluntary basis, if there is a draft, we should be able to force women into those positions,' says retired Col. Peter Mansoor, a professor of military history at the Ohio State University in Columbus and a former US Army brigade commander who served two tours in Iraq." Continue reading →

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