Defense
A small group of top U.S. defense executives, while privy to information on the nation’s most secretive programs, were told by White House representatives at a June 13 meeting that they wouldn’t be getting any special details on the plans for the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, sources familiar with the conversation said. – Defense News
Lockheed Martin has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with the union that represents employees working on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the company said in a statement. – Defense News
After eight years and billions of dollars, the Army has given up on an ambitious effort to clothe its soldiers in a “universal camouflage pattern.” – AOL Defense
The War
The regular review of some of the most closely held video in the CIA’s possession is part of a marked increase in congressional attention paid to the agency’s targeted killing program over the last three years. The oversight, which has not previously been detailed, began largely at the instigation of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, officials said. – Los Angeles Times
The man in charge of U.S. Africa Command calls growing cooperation between “the three most violent” Islamic extremists groups in Africa a concern for Africa and America. – CNN’s Security Clearance
The U.S. is carefully expanding efforts to provide intelligence, training and at times small numbers of forces to African nations, to help counter terrorist activities in the region, the top American military commander for Africa said Monday. – Associated Press
Al Qaeda militants are using the countries which toppled their leaders in the Arab Spring as bases to train radical Western youths for potential attacks on Britain, the chief of the MI5 Security Service said on Monday. – Reuters
Nuclear Weapons/Nonproliferation
The Air Force general who stepped forward to correct the service’s nuclear command following the storm of criticism it received when a unit lost track of six nuclear warheads will retire Friday following his command of the intercontinental ballistic missile fleet. – DoD Buzz
Walter Pincus reports: Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, notification from the Russian government comes into the U.S. Nuclear Risk Reduction Center located at the State Department. Word arrives of any change for each of Moscow’s nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, each land- and sub-based launcher, or each strategic bomber. – Washington Post
Robert Litwak writes: So the only real option open to Washington is to maintain stern sanctions and wait for internal forces in the outliers to do their work. In other words, an updated, retooled version of Kennan’s old strategy. It is not a great choice, but it is the best of a bad set of options. – International Herald Tribune
