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< The Japanese major television network JNN (and others) reported on its national news today as well as website a hefty diplomatic faux pas by the Obama White House and national security team in advance of White House's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon's trip here to Tokyo.The gaffe is referred to in this short video clip (at link) of JNN Network News today.Go to link, hit white arrow in center of photo to stream; stream may be up one more day and may not work on all systems. Hilarious.

Hoping to protect its top-secret operations by decentralizing its massive computer hubs, the National Security Agency will build a 1-million-square-foot data center at Utah's Camp Williams. The years-in-the-making project, which may cost billions over time, got a $181 million start last week when President Obama signed a war spending bill in which Congress agreed to pay for primary construction, power access and security infrastructure. The enormous building, which will have a footprint about three times the size of the Utah State Capitol building, will be constructed on a 200-acre site near the Utah National Guard facility's runway. Congressional records show...

The U.S. does not plan to open a new front in Yemen in the global fight against terrorism despite closing its embassy there in the face of Al Qaeda threats, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday. "We're not talking about that at this point at all," White House aide John Brennan told Fox News when asked whether U.S. troops would be sent to Yemen. "The Yemeni government has demonstrated their willingness to take the fight to Al Qaeda," he said. "They're willing to accept our support. We're providing them everything that they've asked for." The U.S. gave Yemen $67...

Report: Brennan knew of underwear bombing technique By Tony Romm - 01/02/10 01:24 PM ET The White House's top counter-terrorism adviser learned in October that al Qaeda operatives had researched -- and attempted -- attacks using the same underwear bombing technique employed aboard Flight 253 on Christmas Day, Newsweek reported on Saturday. According to reports, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan received the briefing from his counterpart in Saudi Arabia, who survived an assassination by al Qaeda attackers from Yemen. Reports Newsweek: "The briefing to Brennan was delivered at the White House by Muhammad bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s chief counter-terrorism...

Yesterday Newsweek revealed that on December 22nd, three days before the attempted underwear bombing, the President was warned that an attack might be imminent. In a background briefing for reporters on December 29, also attributed in an official White House transcript to a "senior administration official", that official asserted that in the wake of the attempted underpants attack, it had become clear to the President and top advisers that before Christmas, the US government was in possession of "bits and pieces" of information, which, if they had been properly knitted together, "could have...allowed us to disrupt the attack or certainly...

Not just underwear bombers generally, either, but underwear bombers trained in Yemen. I feel about this the way I felt about Napolitano’s “the system worked” comment: It’s almost a shame that it didn’t happen under Bush, just because the fireworks from the media’s outrageous outrage afterwards would have been so spectacular. As it is, don’t expect more than a few sparklers this time.

White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan was briefed in October on an assassination attempt by Al Qaeda that investigators now believe used the same underwear bombing technique as the Nigerian suspect who tried to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, U.S. intelligence and administration officials tell NEWSWEEK. The briefing to Brennan was delivered at the White House by Muhammad bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s chief counterterrorism official. In late August, Nayef had survived an assassination attempt by an operative dispatched by the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda who was pretending to turn himself in. The operative had tried...

THE US will launch a new effort to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding along the mountainous Afghan-Pakistani border, US national security adviser James Jones says. Asked in an interview if the administration planned a fresh attempt to go after al-Qaeda's leader, Mr Jones said: "I think so."

The National Security Agency, whose job it is to protect national security systems, will soon break ground on a data center in Utah that's budgeted to cost $1.5 billion. The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian agency networks, and technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a transcript of remarks by Glenn Gaffney, deputy director of national intelligence for collection, who is responsible for oversight of cyber intelligence activities in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "Our country must continue to...

J Street’s conference next week has become a Rorschach test of sorts. More and more members of Congress are dropping out, having discovered just who will be speaking — such as this “poet” who finds Gaza to be another fascistic ghetto, complete with numbers written “on the wrists of babies.” And then there is the 9-11 “truther.” So Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand, Lincoln, and Cochran have bugged out, as have a growing list of congressmen. But not the administration. The Obami are to be represented by National Security Adviser James Jones, who has no problem appearing on the same stage with...

Obama decision on Afghanistan strategy due in 'a matter of weeks,' says JonesBy Michael O'Brien 10/04/09 10:58 AM ET President Barack Obama will make a decision on how to proceed in Afghanistan in "a matter of weeks," his national security advisor said Sunday. Retired Gen. James L. Jones, who serves as national security advisor, said that the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan is in no imminent danger of failure, and that the president would consider a variety of broad, strategic directions to pursue before determining whether he would grant a top general's request for more troops. Jones said Obama would...

President Obama's National Security Adviser James L. Jones suggested Sunday that the public campaign being conducted by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan on behalf of his war strategy is complicating the internal White House review now underway, saying that "it is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command

The United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) is planning on spending around $1.8 billion to build itself a new, million square foot data center in Fort Williams, Utah, according to a document on military construction for 2009. This branching out is largely due to the fact that the NSA’s power bill is too much, so the move is in hopes of doing the same work in a place where electricity is cheaper. The initial infrastructure is for 65MW of power distribution, but it seems that the ultimate plan is to build a 5.8 million square foot “campus” at its current...

(WSWS) -- Several current and former agents within the National Security Agency (NSA), speaking on condition of anonymity, have told the New York Times that the spy agency likely monitors millions of e-mail communications and telephone calls made by Americans. The new revelations follow the disclosure in April that the NSA’s monitoring of domestic e-mail traffic broke the law in 2008 and 2009. Last year, Congress passed legislation providing the NSA greater latitude to spy on the communications of Americans, so long as it resulted inadvertently from the agency’s efforts to spy on foreigners or those it “reasonably believed” to...

Speculation is growing that Gen. Jim Jones will not last long as President Obama's national security adviser because of the retired Marine general's supposedly poor performance. Several White House and National Security Council sources told FOX News that the Obama administration is baffled by Jones, who is a longtime friend of Sen. John McCain, the man Obama defeated for the White House. One NSC staff member claimed that Jones is so forgetful that at times he appears to have Alzheimer's disease.

President Barack Obama's national security advisor, James Jones, Wednesday rejected ex-vice president Dick Cheney's claim that dismantling Bush-era anti-terror policies had made Americans less safe. "In my view, I firmly believe that the United States is not only safe but it will be more secure and the American people are increasingly safer because of the president's leadership that he has displayed consistently over the last four months, both at home and abroad," Jones said. *snip* Jones also cited Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, including next week's major address in Egypt, renewal of U.S. alliances abroad and his plan to...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser rebuts former Vice President Dick Cheney's charge that America is less safe under the new administration. Retired Marine Gen. James Jones says increases in defense spending, efforts to get out of Iraq and revamp the strategy for Afghanistan, and a broad campaign to repair the U.S. reputation abroad make the U.S. safer today than it has been. But, he says, no administration is perfect.

President Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen. James Jones, appeared on "This Week" with some short Greek dude today. They discuss Obama's promise to overturn President Clinton's "Don't Ask , Don't Tell" policy of gays in the military.

Jones doesn't know if 'Dont Ask, Don't Tell' will be repealed @ 11:25 am by Michael O'Brien National Security Adviser Jim Jones said Sunday he didn't know for sure whether the ban on gays and lesbians the policy would be overturned. Jones signaled a slower move to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy than many LGBT activists who supported Obama's presidential campaign have hoped. "This is, as you know, an issue that is not going to be a light switch but more of a rheostat in terms of discussing it and building," Jones said Sunday during on ABC'S "This...

efense Secretary Robert Gates plans to nominate the director of the National Security Agency to head a new Pentagon Cyber Command, which will coordinate computer-network defense and direct U.S. cyber-attack operations, according to a draft memo by Mr. Gates. The move comes amid rising concern in the government about attacks on U.S. networks. The command will run military cybersecurity operations and provide support to civil authorities, according to the memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. NSA Director Keith Alexander, a three-star general, is expected to earn a fourth star when he moves to his new job at the Cyber...

Stung by the widely circulated “SEAL pals” account of what really happened in Somalia (discussed here last Friday), the Obama administration had National Security Advisor James L. Jones and a number of anonymous Pentagon sources give their side two days ago in a Washington Times exclusive. Their mission, according to reporter Bill Gertz, was: ... to dispel Internet reports that the military was delayed from taking action by indecision inside the White House. Clintonesque parsing of words is evident throughout the Jones-Pentagon account, amounting on more than one occasion to outright dishonesty. Yet the actual information they provide (as opposed...

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/RemarksByNationalSecurityAdviserJonesAt45thMunichConferenceOnSecurityPolicy/ Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am Remarks By National Security Adviser Jones At 45th Munich Conference On Security Policy THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 9,2009 Hotel Bayerischer Hof Munich, Germany February 8, 2009 Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I take my daily orders from Dr. Kissinger, filtered down through Generaal Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, who is also here. We have a chain of command in the...

Note: The following text is a quote: White House Web Site Lays Out National Security Agenda By John J. Kruzel American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2009 – As President Barack Obama and the first family began moving into the presidential residence here yesterday, the administration unpacked a new presidential agenda on the White House’s official Web site. Shortly after Obama took the oath of office, the president’s agenda, including Obama’s strategy for defense and Middle East policy, was uploaded to www.whitehouse.gov. According to the agenda, the administration supports the effort begun in 2007 to increase the size of...

Neoconservatives are elated with Obama's appointments, recognizing that the new guard is very much like the old.  Some traditional conservatives were hoping that with Bush leaving office and Obama coming in, the neocons would be put out of power, but sadly, they're not going away that easily. Contrary to the public's perception of President-elect Obama as the peace candidate, he has been extremely hawkish in his appointments. The selection of Joe Biden as a running mate was a sign that the globalist and hawkish wing of the Democratic Party (where the neocons originally hailed from) was going to be strongly...

The plan being discussed would eliminate the independent homeland security adviser’s office and assign those duties to the National Security Council to streamline sometimes overlapping functions. A deputy national security adviser would be charged with overseeing the effort to guard against terrorism and to respond to natural disasters. Mr. Bush's aides, including the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, have privately urged Mr. Obama's advisers not to get rid of the separate homeland security office, warning that it would load too many responsibilities on the National Security Council and risk important matters' falling through the cracks.

President-elect Barack Obama will hold a national security meeting today in Chicago. Attendees are expected to include: Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Atty. Gen.-designee Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security-designee Janet Napolitano, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, UN ambassador-designee Susan Rice, National Security Adviser-designee Jim Jones, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, White House Chief of Staff-designee Rahm Emanuel and White House Counsel-designee Greg Craig. Later in the day, Obama will hold a news conference at the Drake Hotel to discuss the nation's energy and environmental...

General James Jones, Obama’s choice for National Security Adviser, again revealed his staggering ignorance. The general might be an authority in conventional warfare - though it is unlikely, given his mere few months battlefield experience in Vietnam. General Jones pushes his hallmark solution for the West Bank: IDF moves out and NATO troops move in. The proposal reveals Gen. Jones complete ignorance of anti-terrorist warfare. IDF is the only army in the world which curbed terrorism: from near-war levels in 2000-2003 to near-absence today. The success is due to two factors: extremely exhaustive intelligence and freedom of operations. IDF runs...

WASHINGTON — A Democratic official says retired Marine Gen. James Jones is President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be national security adviser. Obama plans to name his foreign policy team after the Thanksgiving holiday.

When Barack Obama ran for president, especially in the primaries, he relied on a group of foreign-policy advisers that included radical leftist thinkers like Robert Malley, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power. The rise of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State gave political watchers the first indication that Obama would not follow that direction after winning office by gaining the trust of the Left. The Wall Street Journal looks at the rest of the team forming on foreign policy and sees even stronger indications that Obama will instead fall back to the foreign policy direction of President Bush — George H....

Obama Favors Republicans With Scowcroft Ties By YOCHI J. DREAZEN and SIOBHAN GORMAN WASHINGTON -- Many of the Republicans emerging as potential members of the Obama administration have professional and ideological ties to Brent Scowcroft, a former national-security adviser turned public critic of the Bush White House. Mr. Scowcroft spoke by phone with President-elect Barack Obama last week, the latest in a months-long series of conversations between the two men about defense and foreign-policy issues, according to people familiar with the discussions. [Brent Scowcroft] Brent Scowcroft The relationship between the president-elect and the Republican heavyweight suggests that Mr. Scowcroft's views,...

Two sources close to the Obama transition team tell CNN retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones has emerged as President-elect's leading choice to become national security adviser in the White House. The sources said Jones has been given the impression by the President-elect that the job is his if he wants it. But the officials said there are still private discussions underway and no final decision has been made. The discussions are focused on precisely how much power Jones will have in the staff job since he is used to being in a command role. Among his many posts, Jones served...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is leaning toward selecting retired Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, ABC News reported on Thursday. Jones is among several candidates under consideration for the job, which coordinates foreign policy throughout the administration. James Steinberg, who was deputy national security adviser in Bill Clinton's administration, is also a candidate for the job. The ABC report said Jones had emerged as the leading candidate for Obama, who is said to value his advice and likes the idea of hiring someone for the job with more than four decades of active military...

Omri Ceren’s headline says it all: Obama’s Top NSA And CIA Picks: Harsh On Israel, Sympathetic To Iran And Hezbollah. Well that was totally unpredictable wasn’t it?General James L. Jones is widely rumored to be Obama’s preferred candidate to be White House National Security Adviser... Jones prepared a report on Israel’s policies in the territories... The World Tribune said it “blasted Israel’s role� for “hampering the movement of PA forces, blocking plans for weapons shipments and technology to the Palestinians and resisting coordination.� ... Obama said this about Jones: “Let me tell you who I associate with... If I’m interested...