Defense
As jetlagged aerospace executives and defense reporters head home from a frankly discouraging Farnborough Air Show, Washington is gearing up for storm of stop-sequestration events this coming week. What it will actually accomplish is an open question. – AOL Defense
Republicans are ramping up their attacks on 44 over cuts to the military in a concerted effort to blame him for the looming $500 billion reduction in defense spending. – DEFCON Hill
Republican congressional leaders accused 44 of holding defense and domestic spending “hostage” in order to raise taxes, attacking the White House for not proposing a solution to the sequestration cuts set to hit in January. – DEFCON Hill
An LCS assigned to a particular operation will likely operate in a single “come-as-you-are” configuration, requiring additional ships equipped with other mission modules to provide the flexibility the concept once promised. – Defense News
AOL Defense interviews with Navy and industry sources strongly suggest that the service has little appetite for another expensive development program and that the most likely candidate for the F/A-XX is, in fact, an upgraded F-35. – AOL Defense
Two recent in-flight emergencies involving troubled oxygen systems in the F-22 “Raptor” are unrelated to other, more worrisome breathing problems pilots have experienced for more than a year when flying the plane, according to U.S. Air Force officials. – CNN’s Security Clearance
In its 2013 budget proposal, the Pentagon has underestimated how much its five-year spending plan will cost by $123 billion, or 4.7 percent, according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. – Defense News
While U.S. defense companies will likely continue to reduce staffing as part of the defense downturn already in progress, the process of sorting the critical from the expendable is a concern for many senior executives. – Defense News
The War
The 44th administration has failed to meet a legal deadline for scanning all shipping containers for radioactive material before they reach the United States, a requirement aimed at strengthening maritime security and preventing terrorists from smuggling a nuclear device into any of the nation’s 300 sea and river ports. – Washington Post
On Tuesday, the accused mastermind of the Cole attack — Abd al-Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri — is set to appear at a military court hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A Saudi of Yemeni descent, al-Nashiri, 47, is charged with 11 counts related to orchestrating the Cole bombing, as well as an attempted attack on the USS the Sullivans in January 2000. He faces the death penalty. – Washington Times
The CIA and U.S. military officials appealing their convictions before the Italian Supreme Court on charges of kidnapping a terrorist suspect in Milan must wait until September for a possible final verdict in the long-running case. – Washington Post
Backed by a new policy geared toward quelling African-based terror groups, the Pentagon is going on the offensive on the continent, setting up what could be the template for the next-generation of U.S.-led counterterrorism operations worldwide. – DEFCON Hill
Eli Lake reports: According to Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, head of the military’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, some of the same terrorists who amassed the know-how on building IEDs are setting their sites on the U.S. – The Daily Beast
Analysis: [I]t may be a surprise to find that some moral philosophers, political scientists and weapons specialists believe armed, unmanned aircraft offer marked moral advantages over almost any other tool of warfare. – New York Times
Melik Kaylan writes: We must encourage Muslim countries—with funds and ideas for museums, mass media, education and entertainment—to celebrate their national cultures at their historical peaks. If we help them inculcate their citizens with a pride in their specific regional identity, this pride will act as a shield if the jihadists come to erase it all. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
