Tag Archives: Department of Defense

Featured, Government Accountability, International, Politics, US

State Department Launches $40 Million Propaganda Offensive

Mar 5, 2018 Jay Syrmopoulos Leave a comment

Washington, D.C.— The U.S. State Department’s counter-propaganda office, the Global Engagement Center (GEC), has announced a partnership with the Pentagon that infused the organization with an additional $40 million in funding to go “on the offensive” in an ongoing information war.

The @StateDept is pleased to announce a new partnership with the @DeptofDefense for initiatives to counter propaganda & disinformation from foreign nations. @UnderSecPD said the transfer of funds announced today reiterates the U.S. commitment to the fight. https://t.co/oT1ffDZU7R

— Department of State (@StateDept) February 26, 2018

According to the State Department, included in this partnership is an initiative that creates “an Information Access Fund to support public and private partners working to expose and counter propaganda and disinformation from foreign nations.”

“Under the Information Access Fund, civil society groups, media content providers, nongovernmental organizations, federally funded research and development centers, private companies, and academic institutions will be eligible to compete for grants from the GEC to advance their important work to counter propaganda and disinformation,” read the agency’s statement.

The State Department highlighted that in addition to maintaining a defensive posture in the ongoing information war, the United States must go “on the offensive.”

“This funding is critical to ensuring that we continue an aggressive response to malign influence and disinformation and that we can leverage deeper partnerships with our allies, Silicon Valley, and other partners in this fight,” Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said. “It is not merely a defensive posture that we should take, we also need to be on the offensive.”

While the U.S. has a history of operationalizing propaganda campaigns overseas to influence global perception and advance American interests, the Smith–Mundt Act of 1948 outlawed the dissemination of propaganda, meant for a foreign audience, to American citizens.

However, in 2013, an amendment to the bill, known as the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, which was contained within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013, modified the law that essentially re-allows propaganda— produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) for foreign dissemination— to be made available for consumption by the U.S. public, although US officials have been vague as to whether propaganda is currently being aimed at American citizens.

In addition, the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act was quietly signed into law at the end of 2016 as part of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report, which aimed to “increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China as well as non-state actors.”

According to a press release from Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), co-sponsor of the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act:

The first priority is developing a whole-of-government strategy for countering THE foreign propaganda and disinformation being wages against us and our allies by our enemies. The bill would increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China as well as non-state actors. The Center will be led by the State Department, but with the active senior level participation of the Department of Defense, USAID, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the Intelligence Community, and other relevant agencies. The Center will develop, integrate, and synchronize whole-of-government initiatives to expose and counter foreign disinformation operations by our enemies and proactively advance fact-based narratives that support U.S. allies and interests.

Second, the legislation seeks to leverage expertise from outside government to create more adaptive and responsive U.S. strategy options. The legislation establishes a fund to help train local journalists and provide grants and contracts to NGOs, civil society organizations, think tanks, private sector companies, media organizations, and other experts outside the U.S. government with experience in identifying and analyzing the latest trends in foreign government disinformation techniques. This fund will complement and support the Center’s role by integrating capabilities and expertise available outside the U.S. government into the strategy-making process. It will also empower a decentralized network of private sector experts and integrate their expertise into the strategy-making process.

In a report about the infusion of funding to the Global Engagement Center, Daniel McAdams, writing for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity noted:

The State Department’s “counter-propanda” office, the “Global Engagement Center” has recently had its budget doubled by a $40 million cash transfer from the Pentagon. What does this mean? The US government will do much more meddling in the internal affairs of foreign countries with the excuse that it is “countering” unproven Russian meddling in the US elections and political life. Much of the money will go to NGOs that toe the US government line and act as force-multipliers for US neocon propaganda. The project is an assault on non-interventionists in the US.

Featured, Foreign Policy, International, Politics

Defense Contractors Discuss ‘Benefits’ of Middle Eastern Conflicts

Dec 9, 2015 Michael Lotfi Leave a comment

Major defense contractors Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh and Raytheon appeared pleased this week as escalating conflicts in the Middle East were touted as a reason for investor optimism at a Credit Suisse conference in West Palm Beach.

While defense spending has been a target of budget cuts for the past few years dating back to the budget sequester, this trend was recently reversed with an October budget deal which included $607 billion in additional defense spending.

“Our programs are well supported [in the budget],” said Lockheed’s Executive Vice President Bruce Tanner at the conference. “We think we did fare very well.”

Wilson Jones, president of Oshkosh, noted that countries have shown interest in buying M-ATV armored vehicles made by the company due to “the ISIS threat growing.”

The situation on the ground in Syria and recent downing of a Russian aircraft by the Turkish military has brought defense spending to the forefront of presidential rhetoric. Meanwhile, defense contractors viewed the aircraft downing through a positive lens for their bottom line.

Presidential candidate and United States Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an outspoken critic of defense spending, asked “how is it conservative to pass a trillion dollars in military expenditures?” during an exchange at the November 12th presidential debate. Paul’s criticism directly targeted a proposal by fellow 2016 candidate United States Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), calling for a $1 trillion dollar increase over the next 10 years. Rubio is one of several candidates calling for large scale increases in defense spending.

The perceived need for the U.S. military to operate stealth aircraft like the Lockheed Martin-made F-22, combined with increases in spending by other regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on munitions and other systems for use in operations in Yemen, give defense manufacturers even more reason for a positive outlook.

Given this volatility in the region, the environment also promises to provide a boost for candidates in both parties who can leverage hawkish rhetoric and calls for increased U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

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Featured, Foreign Policy, International

DoD: Man Held at Guantanamo for 13 Years was ‘Case of Mistaken Identity’

Dec 2, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

Department of Defense officials admitted on Monday that a man who has been held in the United States prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the last 13 years as a suspected al-Qaeda trainer, was held due to a case of mistaken identity.

Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri, 37, has been held as an indefinite detainee at Gitmo since 2002, despite the fact that he was never charged and prosecutors lacked adequate evidence for a trial.

During a panel meeting on Tuesday to evaluate whether al-Shamiri can be released, officials admitted he was actually a low-level Islamist foot soldier from Yemen who was taken into custody because he was confused with someone with a similar name.

In the DoD’s detainee profile on al-Shamiri, referred to as YM-434, it said he “fought in several jihadist theaters and associated with al-Qaida members in Afghanistan,” but also said he did not carry out the terrorist acts that were the basis of his detainment.

[pull_quote_center]It was previously assessed that YM-434 also was an al-Qaida facilitator or courier, as well as a trainer, but we now judge that these activities were carried out by other known extremists with names or aliases similar to YM-434’s.[/pull_quote_center]

In a statement from al-Shamiri’s personal representative, he was described as “cooperative, enthusiastic and supportive,” and his rep noted that he “does have remorse for choosing the wrong path early in life.”

The statement also said al-Shamiri “wants to make a life for himself,” and he is “aware that Yemen is not an option, and he is willing to go to any country that will accept him.”

[RELATD: Judge Orders Release of Guantanamo Force-Feeding Videos]

President Obama, who has promised to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay on numerous occasions, rejected a plan to relocate the prison to U.S. soil, labeling it as too expensive with a price tag of over $600 million, and sent it back for revision.

Featured, Foreign Policy, US

U.S. Senators Call For Obama To End Program Training Syrian Militants

Oct 5, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

A letter sent from a bipartisan group of four U.S. Senators on Friday called on the Obama administration to end its Syria Train and Equip Program, calling the program a “failed initiative” that needs to be stopped before causing “additional harm” to the Syrian people.

Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) criticized the program, which was originally presented as a way to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels in an effort to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS).

[pull_quote_center]We write to express our deep concern about the Syria Train and Equip Program and to call for an end to this failed initiative. When Congress was considering the program last year, many of us expressed our concerns about this program endangering Americans and further escalating the conflict.[/pull_quote_center]

The letter, which was addressed to Department of Defense secretary Ash Carter, Department of State secretary John Kerry and Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan, stated that the evidence from the program’s lack of success further supports their initial concerns.

The senators noted that the program, which was “authorized at $500 million for Fiscal Year 2015,” has struggled to graduate “vetted” opposition fighters, and that General Lloyd Austin III, the commander of United States Central Command, recently said that only “four or five U.S.-trained opposition fighters were on the ground fighting in Syria.” The program’s initial goal was to train 5,000 fighters in its first year.

[pull_quote_center]The Syria Train and Equip Program goes beyond simply being an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars. As many of us initially warned, it is now aiding the very forces we aim to defeat.[/pull_quote_center]

The senators cited a report from the U.S. Central Command which “confirmed that some of the fighters that we trained and equipped had turned over ammunition and trucks to al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, Al Nusra Front,” and that in exchange for safe passage, the U.S.-trained fighters “gave up approximately 25% of their U.S.-issued equipment.”

[pull_quote_center]With over 200,000 persons killed, 4 million refugees, and 7.6 million internally displaced people, the situation in Syria is absolutely tragic, and we must ensure that any U.S. efforts do not cause additional harm. We ask that you cease the Syria Train and Equip Program and look for alternative ways forward.[/pull_quote_center]

Late last month, the Obama administration corrected reports that the Syria Train and Equip Program had been suspended. Emily Horne, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, acknowledged that “We have clearly faced challenges with the Train & Equip program, and we are currently reviewing our efforts to determine how we can do better.” Horne also said that “we will continue our support for those forces on the ground while also continuing to refine and improve the Train & Equip program.”

Investigative journalist Ben Swann reported on the origin of ISIS in March, noting that ISIS experienced dramatic growth in 2014 “because of all the U.S. military equipment they were able to seize – equipment that our military left in Iraq.”

Swann also noted that even when the U.S. government “became aware that ISIS fighters were capturing U.S. equipment, it did nothing.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=o6kdi1UXxhY

Featured, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, Politics, US

US Military Accidentally Ships Live Anthrax Spores Via FedEx to 9 US States, South Korea

Video May 28, 2015 Barry Donegan 15 Comments

A Department of Defense effort to create a field test kit to identify environmental threats went awry last week when workers at a United States military lab in Dugway, Utah mistakenly shipped live anthrax samples via FedEx to labs in Tennessee, New York, Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, California, Virginia, and to Osan Air Base in South Korea. The samples were intended to be rendered inactive prior to being shipped. The above-embedded video by ABC News describes anthrax as a “potential biological weapon.”

Though Pentagon officials claim that the mishap does not present a threat to the public, 4 lab workers in the US and 22 stationed at the South Korean training lab are being treated with post-exposure prophylaxis. None of the individuals being treated are symptomatic at this point in time. Reuters cited comments by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Jason McDonald who said that the 4 US-based civilian lab workers receiving treatment were “doing procedures that sent the agent into the air.” The 22 individuals being treated at the South Korean base include 10 active duty members of the US Army, 5 active duty members of the US Air Force, 4 military contractors, and 3 civilian officials.

According to Reuters, Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno said that workers at the Dugway lab followed all of the proper procedures for de-activating the anthrax spores and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating whether those procedures need to be changed. “But we definitely believe no one is in danger,” said Odierno.

CNN notes that FedEx spokesperson Jim McCluskey said, “FedEx is committed to the safe transport of all customer shipments, and our priority is the safety of our employees. We will be working closely with the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control to gather information about these shipments.”

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren confirmed that the sample that was sent to South Korea has been destroyed and that the facility has been decontaminated.

CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said, “CDC is working in conjunction with state and federal partners to conduct an investigation with all the labs that received samples from the DOD. The ongoing investigation includes determining if the labs also received other live samples, epidemiologic consultation, worker safety review, laboratory analysis and handling of laboratory waste.”

A similar incident happened in June of last year when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mistakenly exposed workers at a CDC lab to live anthrax, believing the spores had been de-activated.

Featured, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, International, Politics, US

Military Equipment, Lost by Pentagon, Turns up for Sale on Craigslist

Mar 30, 2015 Barry Donegan 6 Comments

According to a March 12 US Naval Criminal Investigative Service report published by The Intercept, Department of Defense officials misplaced equipment from a $750 million shipment of tools aimed at helping US soldiers track and disable improvised explosive devices. Some of the 32,000 sensitive, restricted pieces of equipment distributed through the program were only found after they were posted for sale on websites like eBay and Craigslist.

“Since 2009, some of this advanced hardware has been reported as missing and is actively being sold or discussed on the global market on a variety of websites,” said the report. The items, which include capabilities like night vision and thermal optic imaging, appeared for sale on 13 websites, including texasguntalk.com and sportfishermen.com, listed as equipment for outdoor activities like hunting and camping.

Jana Winter and Sharon Weinberger at The Intercept wrote that they “found an eBay listing from Dec. 2014 for one of the pieces of equipment listed in the the NCIS document — the OASYS-BAE Systems Universal Thermal Monocular; it was listed for sale in Dec. 2014 for $6,000, with free standard shipping. Another item, currently listed for sale, is a CNVD-T Clip-On Night Vision Device Thermal System; it is advertised for $16,599.00 in ‘new condition!'”

The NCIS report concluded, “NCIS asks for your help in identifying and recovering these items to keep foreign entities from exploiting the technologies in these devices and using them against the U.S. military, NATO allies, or civilian law enforcement personnel during the course of their duties.”

The US Navy’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, which acquires and issues the equipment, has been criticized in a 2012 Government Accountability Office report for its failure to oversee $18 billion in expenses. Military.com is reporting that the DOD is working on a downsizing plan for JIEDDO, complete with budget and personnel cuts, a claim which JIEDDO spokesperson David Small denied in comments to The Intercept.

Featured, International, Politics, US

Defense Waste: 16 Multi-Million Dollar Airplanes Sold for $32,000 in Scrap

Oct 10, 2014 Barry Donegan 3 Comments

Back in 2008, the Department of Defense spent $486 million buying 20 G.222 transport planes, intending to donate them to the Afghan Air Force. However, the planes were decommissioned in 2013 after they were determined to be fraught with performance and maintenance issues, which were further exacerbated by the fact that replacement parts were difficult to find. According to ABC News, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, an investigator charged with monitoring the government’s spending on the war effort, recently pointed out the fact that 16 of the planes had been scrapped and that the resulting raw materials had been sold by the Defense Logistics Agency to an Afghan construction company for $32,000 at a rate of six cents per pound. The planes had only been used to fly 234 flight hours between January and September of 2012.

Sopko’s report came in the form of two letters, one to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the other to Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James, in which he expressed concerns that “the officials responsible for planning and executing the scrapping of the planes may not have considered other possible alternatives in order to salvage taxpayer dollars.” Sopko sent the letters to kick off a probe into the decision making process that led officials to liquidate the planes at such an extreme loss.

According to Reuters, Pentagon spokesperson Major Brad Avots claimed that the planes were scrapped in an effort “to minimize impact on drawdown of US Forces in Afghanistan.” He also blamed the fog of war and said, “Working in a wartime environment such as Afghanistan brings with it many challenges, and we continually seek to improve our processes.”

Sopko has asked the Department of Defense and the Air Force what the plans are for the four remaining G.222 planes, which are currently parked at a US Air Force base in Germany. Major Avots responded to the inquiry by saying that officials are trying to determine if outside parties might be interested in buying them.

In December of 2013, Sopko, who had just begun his investigation into why the planes had been decommissioned, told NBC News, “We are just starting to gather the facts, so I cannot tell you whether it was criminal fraud or just plain mismanagement… But what I can say for sure, it is that this wastefulness is not an isolated incident in Afghanistan.”

Politics, US

More illegal immigrants to be able to serve in military

Sep 26, 2014 Zach McAuliffe 10 Comments

A policy adopted by the Department of Defense in 2008 which allows a number of illegal immigrants to serve in the US armed forces for the first time in decades, has been extended by two years.

The program is known as the Military Ascensions Vital to National Interest, or MAVNI, and is open to immigrants who do not hold a proper visa. The caveat though is these individuals had to come to the US with their parents before they were 16. Those eligible must also meet the requirements for the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals policy, which was adopted by the Obama administration in 2012. Requirements range from having no criminal record to have graduated high school or working towards a GED.

When it was adopted, MAVNI was meant to target immigrants who can comprehend and understand foreign languages such as Chinese, Persian, Pashto, and Arabic. However one insider revealed to the Daily Mail, out of the 3 million people who might apply for the military, the administration is unsure how many of those have the language skills to meet the basic requirements.

“We’re just not sure how many within that existing population of DACA would have the linguistic skills to qualify,” said a defense official according to USA Today. “These are kids who entered the country at a fairly young age and have basically grown up in the United States, so the limit of their language talents would probably be the language that they received at home.”

The MAVNI program has only been open to a small number of illegal immigrants, but the cap has been raised to 1,500 recruits, according to the Military Times. The program has one large incentive for illegal immigrants and that is a path to citizenship upon the completion of their service.

One important note though is the military branches are not required to accept MAVNI recruits, and since the program’s inception, many of those who have qualified for the program have been accepted into the Army. The Air Force has accepted a small number of these recruits while the Navy and Marine Corps have not accepted any MAVNI recruits.

Featured, Politics, US

Obama’s Plan To Use Military Against U.S. Citizens Domestically Outlined In DoD Directive

Jun 2, 2014 Jay Syrmopoulos 101 Comments

Washington, D.C.– A Pentagon directive that details military support to civilian authorities has potentially troubling aspects that involve the use of federal military force against American citizens on U.S. soil.

The directive, which outlines the Obama administrations policy regarding military support, was issued on Dec. 29, 2010.

While there are noncontroversial provisions, such as support to civilian fire and emergency services and domestic use of the Army Corps of Engineers, the more troubling aspects of the directive are in regards to the domestic use of military arms and forces.

“This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens,” said a defense official opposed to the directive, according to the Washington Times.

The directive, No. 3025.18, “Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” states that U.S. commanders “are provided emergency authority under this directive.”

“Federal military forces shall not be used to quell civil disturbances unless specifically authorized by the president in accordance with applicable law or permitted under emergency authority,” the directive states.

“In these circumstances, those federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances,” under two conditions.

The two conditions set forth to utilize the military in a domestic situation are: “to prevent significant loss of life or wanton destruction of property and are necessary to restore governmental function and public order,” and when federal, state and local authorities “are unable or decline to provide adequate protection for federal property or federal governmental functions.”

“Federal action, including the use of federal military forces, is authorized when necessary to protect the federal property or functions,” the directive states.

This can include loans of arms, ammunition, vessels and aircraft. The directive goes on to state clearly that it is for engaging civilians during times of unrest.

If there was any question about how this directive is potentially going to be utilized, it was answered when a U.S official said the Obama administration considered but rejected deploying military force under the directive during the recent standoff with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his supporters, according to a report in the Washington Times.

Bundy has been engaged in a legal battle with the federal Bureau of Land Management over unpaid grazing fees. In April, Bundy and his supporters stood their ground against federal authorities in a standoff that ended when the BLM backed down, this coming after the BLM had brought in over 200 armed agents and sniper teams to confiscate Bundy’s cattle.

The Pentagon directive authorizes the secretary of defense to approve the use of unarmed drones in domestic unrest, but bans the use of missile-firing unmanned aircraft. “Use of armed [unmanned aircraft systems] is not authorized,” the directive says. The directive was signed by then-Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn.

As reported on previously by BenSwann.com, there has been a buildup of military arms and units within non-security-related federal agencies.

The buildup of executive military has raised questions about whether the Obama administration is undermining civil liberties utilizing the façade of counternarcotic and counterterrorism efforts.

The White House has consistently attacked private citizens’ ownership of firearms and their exercising of Second Amendment rights, despite the fact that most gun owners are law abiding citizens, while consistently militarizing and arming federal agencies using obscure statues that allow for deputization of security officials.

During a speech at the National Defense University a year ago, President Obama stated: “I do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any U.S. citizen — with a drone or with a shotgun — without due process, nor should any president deploy armed drones over U.S. soil.”

The president’s own words certainly don’t to seem to reconcile with this directive.

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