John
Was the US involved in Stuxnet?
Published May 28, 2011 | 
Wired had an interesting article about an interview with Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn. He was asked point blank if the US was involved in the development of Stuxnet. Instead of a “no”, “yes”, or “no comment”, he tried his best to deflect the question and avoid answering it. Unfortunately for him, his response was interpreted as a “yes”.
So, we may have been involved. I don’t think that anyone will find this as a surprise since this was the speculation from the beginning. Now, his answer could have been made to hide who is really behind it by implicitly accepting responsibility, but I doubt that. More likely, we had some role.
This is a shame. I had some great conspiracy theories going around in my head that pointed the fingers at China or Russia. Now, I wasn’t the only one with different theories on who did it, but I liked the concept of either China or Russia being behind it. Why, because I hope that neither of them really want Iran to be a nuclear weapon state. I had hoped that since they see voting against sanctions and “apparently” supporting Iran is more of a ploy to counter US power than support Iran, doing something like Stuxnet would have enabled them to stand behind Iran’s right to nuclear power while at the same time covertly preventing such power. What a beautiful way to play both sides at the same time, while at the same time letting Israel or the US take the blame.
But maybe the US and Israel was involved as expected. Kinda of a bummer if you ask. If this is true, then the US has a powerful cyber weapon available, and is willing to use it even in peacetime. The last time I checked we were not at war with Iran, yet, we unleashed a weapon that has the potential of destroying their infrastructure. Does Stuxnet rise to the level of an act of war? There are many unanswered questions on the legality of cyber weapons with respect to war or espionage. Is it war, or is it spying? If we reserve the right to use our military in response to a cyber attack on the US, have we just given the Iranians legitimacy if they chose to attack US personnel in the Middle East?
I still don’t know if the US was really behind Stuxnet or not. While I can speculate due to one politicians lack of answers and significant squirming, that doesn’t make it fact. I just hope that if we did, we have put in place the doctrine on how we will respond when someone uses such a weapon against us. We are likely very vulnerable to the same type of attacks, and we have now possibly legitimized at least Iran’s use of such weapons against our own infrastructure.
Is all of Government Corrupt?
Published May 21, 2011 | I don’t know if you can give a anymore of a perception than to move from being an FCC Commissioner to a Comcast-NBC lobbyist. Well, this is what Attwell Baker just did. I don’t know how she could possibly state that there was no conflict of interest. Even if she followed the ethics rules within the FCC, the rules are insufficient. If the FCC’s ethics rules allows a commissioner to become a lobbyist that may work issues related to the FCC, then they need to be changed. Under no circumstances should an FCC Commissioner EVER become a lobbyist before the FCC.
The Government should be above reproach if it is ever to regain the respect of its citizens. This isn’t just an FCC issue, it should be the same across the Government. I understand and respect the right of free speech and the role lobbyists have in protecting that right. However, it is an honor to work for the Government, to be a servant for the people, and with that honor comes responsibility. One of those responsibilities is to reassure the American public that the government is above reproach. Going from Commissioner to Lobbyist is not a way to reassure the American public.
We look at other countries where us Americans laugh at for the corruption. We laugh at the bribes, the lavish lifestyles of the politicians, and forget that we have our own form of corruption. Instead of looking out towards others with contempt, we need to start looking inwards towards ourselves. Ms. Baker, you too should look into the mirror as well.
What is Prince up to now?
Published May 15, 2011 | According to the NYTimes, Mr. Prince of Blackwater fame is now setting up a mercenary army for the UAE. I’m getting flashbacks to the medieval times with mercenary army versus mercenary army. However, this does make sense. If the UAE needs an army they are going to have to buy one. They certainly don’t have the population or the time to build a quality army from scratch. I doubt you could get may UAE civilians interested in enlisting.
However, should Americans be involved in setting up puppet armies around the world? I’d hope not. I think Mr. Prince is a dangerous leader that is now acting like the leader of a nation state. Not a comforting thought given the brutal history of Blackwater. I could easily see this army be used against any democracy protesters in the UAE or the surrounding states. We’ve already seen Saudi send troops to help suppress democratic uprisings. If these troops are used to fight a war and the result is that US troops aren’t called on, then I would be thankful to Mr. Prince. I just don’t see that happening.
I hope Mr. Prince and others take the longer view and try to do what is right. If a monarchy or dictatorship that has a history of abusing their own people ask you to build them an army, it is okay to say “no”. Let’s put our legacy and grandchildren first instead of profit. If we destroy the world, it won’t really matter how much money you have in the bank.
Do I really need to know it was SEAL Team 6?
Published May 14, 2011 | By now, everyone knows that UBL is dead. I think the US did a great job tracking him down and we should be proud of the men and women that played a role in this. I am not surprised that this was the result of hard investigative work and not torture. But, do I need to know that it was SEAL Team 6?
No, I don’t. I read today that the SECDEF is pissed because the operational details of the raid was leaked. I don’t blame him one bit. For one, if you make a promise to keep your mouth shut, you do so. Just because you are a senior administration official does not mean that you must prove your insider knowledge by spilling the beans.
Why am I pissed? Simply put, we have now put the families of SEAL Team 6 at risk. If AQ doesn’t know who to attack, it is much easier to protect them… now, some idiots in Washington DC have put good military families directly into the line of fire of fanatical terrorists. What the Special Forces community does is hard enough, secret enough, and requires an amount of dedication unique even in the military… that we owe them as a nation to protect their families.
I’m proud of all of our special forces personnel and I offer my apologies for the idiots in Washington that has now put them and their families at risk. I hope that this doesn’t discourage new recruits, or cause this already overtaxed community to loose members. Simply put, the war on terrorism (as much as it is a “war”) is their specialty, and we will need a robust special forces community for the foreseen future.
Here’s my challenge to our politicians. Shut up about stuff you shouldn’t be talking about, focus on fixing the economy, and maybe even get a balanced budget done on time. That should keep you busy doing something for the public good instead of putting American families at risk.
Is China Ready for Cyberwar?
Published April 27, 2011 | An interesting article on potential Chinese preparedness for cyber warfare. Reminds me of the saying, “The best defense is a strong offense”. Let’s hope that there is never a full up cyber war between the US and China… I don’t want to know if either defense can hold up to any significant offense.
Tit for Tat and War for Oil
Published April 23, 2011 | The Independent ran a story about British gas companies lobbying the UK government prior to the Iraq War. They apparently very excited about the prospect of contracts for the Iraqi oil fields. At the same time, they were publicly denying any such conversations with the British government. Some of the conversations also included the idea of lobbying the US government to let the British companies to get their cut of the Iraqi pie.
While I doubt anyone today really buys the official story about the invasion of Iraq, I do wish those companies that helped push our governments into war would be held accountable. Maybe that is too much to ask, but maybe we can at least get a footnote in the history books about the lies, denials, and the underlying truths about the true motives behind the war. I believe that there were those in government that honestly believed that it was about spreading democracy and freeing the Iraqi people, but I have a hard time believing that that was the overwhelming reason the invasion happened.
Now, with four dollar per gallon gasoline, thousands of lives lost, tens of thousands of lives impacted, and an unprecedented deficient… I have to ask, “so, how’d the plan work out?”.
It shouldn’t be this easy to build nukes
Published April 23, 2011 | Recently, CNN ran a story about a truck driver that taught himself how to build a nuclear weapon. In fact, he’s now published a book about how he reverse engineered the atomic bombs used to end WWII. I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise, and even an old nuke going off will ruin your day. It has been over sixty years since the that design was let loose on the world, and you can go into the nuclear museum on Kirtland AFB and see replicas of the bomb. The principals behind the early atomic bombs have been understood by the masses for some time. However, I have to say that it better be a lot harder to assemble one of these than just understanding their design. I don’t want junior to get any ideas for a new shop class idea.
Psychological Warfare Using Social Media
Published February 21, 2011 | BNet had an interesting article on an Air Force FedBizOps request for source sought for online persona management. Of interest is that this was released in June 2010 by Air Mobility Command. Also, HBGary has been in the news this week as well, and they are listed as one of the interested parties… they want the work. I’m not sure why Air Mobility Command would want this capability. It has nothing to do with managing the transportation of material from one point to another, so they are likely acting on behalf of the actual customer.
So, why does the Air Force, and Air Mobility Command want the ability to manage false online personas? If this request was coming from the CIA or NSA, I could understand it. Social Media is a dual edge sword. It has a great capability of helping people connect to do good things, as Egypt and the Middle East has proven. It is also a place for criminals and terrorists to hide and plot. There are many terrorist and criminal hacker forums that use social media.
The military is responsible for the conduct of Psychological Warfare, Military Deception, Counter-Intelligence, and Intelligence Collection. All of these valid military missions could possibly benefit from this capability. The military is NOT allowed to conduct propaganda operations. The key differentiator between Psychological Operations and propaganda operations is the intended audience. For both, the goal is to influence the actions of the audience.
So, there are some missions that I can see a valid use of this capability, namely Military Deception, Counter-Intelligence, and Intelligence Collection. So, what if this is intended to support Psychological Operations?
Here’s where it gets difficult. Dropping pamphlets over a village pretty much contains the message to that village. It is clear who the target of the message it. Facebook is a different story completely. How do you contain a message to the intended audience on Facebook or Twitter? The simple answer is that you can’t. It is a global media and there is no way to control the message, and therefore you are likely going to violate the separation between Psychological Warfare and propaganda. Now, other countries often do not have qualms about separating the two. Just look at any of the press statements coming from Iran or North Korea. But, we hold ourselves to a higher standard.
I have no idea if this idea has come to fruition or not. I can’t help but think that this is a bad idea. It could be benign effort to monitor social media for trends, and to watch for any explicit threats to Air Force personnel or installations, but it has the potential of misuse and there’s where I’m concerned. Once we do this, it is a line we can’t come back from. What would happen if is learned that the Egyptian outcry on Facebook and Twitter was actually the result of a handful of Airman controlling hundreds of online personas? How would we look? How would the American People react to such a blatant manipulation of the news? How would the Egyptians react? If we don’t have the capability we will never be suspected of doing such a thing.
Sometimes the military doesn’t really think things through. It is hard to imagine the second and third order effects of what otherwise looks like a good idea. Sometimes the capability has such potential that it is worth the risk. If we develop this capability we must use it wisely and within the boundaries of the law. It must not be used to manipulate or influence people on social media sites which have a global reach, that is too close becoming propaganda against our own citizens.
I will have to say that I’m not a fan of Facebook, but it would be nice to have a computer program that posted stuff to my Facebook account on my behalf. At least let the family know what’s going on, so I don’t have to actually type anything. If they can get that done, I’ll take a copy. For some reason, I don’t think that is their objective here, but I can hope.
Curveball Admits to Lying
Published February 17, 2011 | According to the Gardian, Curveball has admitted to lying regarding the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It was his “evidence” that provided the sole piece of potentially legitimate intelligence that was used for the justification by the Bush administration to go to war. It has been long suspected that he was lying, and now he’s finally, and unapologetically done so. He says that he lied and would do so again, in order to topple Saddam’s government.
If I was him, I would have taken this secret to my grave. I don’t think I could sleep at night knowing that my lies have costed thousands of lives, billions of dollars, and have come close to bankrupting the US. His lies are not something to be proud of, they are something to be shamed by. This man has no integrity, and while I don’t think I’d go so far as to call for his killing, I’d like to see him sit in a very small prison cell for the rest of his natural life.
The fiasco call OIF wasn’t just this man’s fault, it was also the fault of an administration just drooling over any tidbit of information that fit the story they wanted to tell. He’s an embarrassment to mankind and stands besides several in the Bush administration who will be judged by history.
Did Israel create Stuxnet?
Published February 17, 2011 | Several stories have come out over the past couple of days highlighting that General Gabi Ashkenazi, implied that Israel was behind the Stuxnet attack on Iran. If true, then the General should be in an Israeli prison for giving away state secrets. If false, what a way to get a frenzy up about it being Israel. Since it wasn’t an outright confession, this would be an excellent way of implying that it “may or may not” be Israel.
I don’t know if it was Israel or the US, or someone else. I do think that the world will be speculating for years to come. At this point it may not matter, and what may matter is whom will be the next target, and what else do these folks have up in their sleeve.