Game Set Match: 'US loses as Snowden slips from their hands

The 5 minute You Tube video from Russian TV at the link below and the title of it in the subject line makes me think that  we really need to consider taking a different path than we are currently following.  This is not a game nor the US is not going to lose.  If I were able to make a recommendation for strategic communications and a strategy for dealing with Edward Snowden it would be along these lines.

First I think we should recognize that beyond Snowden being a narcissist (and I do not mean that as an ad hominem but an objective assessment of his actions that leads to a judgment of his character) he and the people with whom he is working (e.g., Wikileaks and perhaps Foreign Intelligence Services) are trying to do the maximum damage to the United States and our intelligence Community (IC).  He is trying not only to expose the methods of the IC but also to discredit and embarrass it by attempting to show that he can be one step ahead of the US government both in terms of his movements as well as in terms of strategic communications.  Based on that understanding I would consider the following both as a strategic communications message as well as a transparent explanation of the US government strategy for the way ahead in this ongoing situation. 

Statement/strategy:  The US has again suffered a compromise of classified information that damages national security.  There is a long history of incidents such as this and while damage does occur in every case the United States suffers no long term damage and counterintuitively is often strengthened by such incidents because they reinforce the strength of our democratic institutions.  

Edward Snowden has broken United States law and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.   

However, the US government has assessed the information that Snowden has leaked.  It has also assessed the information that he illegally obtained and is known to be in his possession with an intent to release it publicly at some time in the future.  Again, while the release of any classified information is illegal and will be damaging on a number of levels, the US government has mitigated the damage that has and will occur and there is no need to further discuss this information.  In fact from the US government perspective any future release of information will be a non-news event.  There will be no need for US government personnel to respond to the release.  It is understood that the release of this information is merely an attempt to call attention to Edward Snowden and the US government will have nothing to comment on regarding him or has actions until after he is apprehended and given a fair trial.  

On the other hand the US government welcomes public debate on the best way to support and defend the Constitution of the United States all enemies foreign and domestic.  United States government personnel to include those professionals in the Intelligence Community remain committed to its defense.  The information that Edward Snowden released concerned the legal actions of the Intelligence Community as authorized by the elected representatives of the American people.  The officials of the US government’s three branches look forward to the robust policy debates that this event may inspire and if the electorate demands changes, changes will be made.  But rest assured that the Patriots who serve in government are committed to the defense of our nation.  That is the nature of democracy in our great Republic.   

However, Edward Snowden, by his illegal actions and by fleeing his country has marginalized himself and forfeited his place in the debate and the US government will no longer respond to his accusations, actions, or the public release of information in his possession and will simply get on with the business of protecting our nation and its people from national security threats. 

The bottom line is that we have to not play the game that Snowden and Wikileaks are playing. We have to attack his strategy and his strategy rests upon him being a public figure who is made into a hero and a martyr.  He is not a patriot or a whistleblower and US actions and statements should not support the development of that narrative.  We need to undercut his legitimacy and the best way to do that is to discuss the facts and not discuss him or his actions.  We need to quietly pursue him and allow law enforcement, intelligence,  and diplomatic personnel to do their jobs while not making Snowden a news event.  The members of the press that continue to do so may in fact marginalize themselves and expose themselves to accusations of sensationalizing the news.  The journalists who focus on the issues and the healthy debate surrounding the pros and cons of US policy will have their credibility enhanced.

V/R

Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORAW7ZYaXwk

Game Set Match: 'US loses as Snowden slips from their hands'

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N. Korea denuclearization talks gain speed among six-party member countries: sources

While I am all for "jaw jaw rather than war war" (and we could exploit such talks is we are shrewd) but we should keep in mind if or when the 6 party talks resume the Kim Family Regime will believe that its blackmail diplomacy will have again succeeded and in its analysis the return to the 6 party talks will be the result of its nuclear and missile threat as well as its diplomatic overtures and it will again be billed as a victory by the world's most powerful socialist workers' paradise against 5 world powers.  And of course China will be complicit in this "victory" even as it is one of the 5 parties that the north stand up to.

V/R
Dave

2013/06/23 12:12 KST

N. Korea denuclearization talks gain speed among six-party member countries: sources

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2013/06/23/30/0401000000AEN20130623001000315F.HTML

SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- International efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons are gaining speed as countries committed to the denuclearization process in the past get ready for fresh rounds of negotiations following Pyongyang's latest talks overtures, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

   Sources in Seoul said that members of the six-party talks, who halted all formal meetings following the North's failed attempt to launch a long-range rocket in April 2012, are moving forward to lay the foundation for possible negotiations down the line. The talks that began in 2003 after the North bolted from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia as its members. The last round of meetings was held in 2009.

   The predictions come after the North, having made near-daily war threats against South Korea and the United States, earlier in the year have changed course and offered to hold talks that can touch on its nuclear program.

   Last month, Pyongyang sent a special envoy to Beijing to discuss outstanding issues and held talks with a representative from Japan. The isolationist country, moreover, accepted calls by Seoul to hold working-level government talks to resolve such issues as the normalization of the Kaesong Industrial Complex that has been halted since April 9, when the North ordered all of its 53,000 laborers not to report to work because of South Korean provocations.

   The North also proposed high-level talks with the United States after a similar meeting with South Korea fell through at the last minute. It is expected to engage Russia in talks to explain its views on the nuclear standoff.

   The North's proposal for talks with the U.S. has made no headway since Washington doubts the sincerity that the North is willing to give up its nuclear program, although South Korea, the United States and Japan held separate talks that outlined their demands toward North Korea on the denuclearization issue.

   Representatives from the three countries said the North must adhere to the Feb. 29 agreement reached last year that called for a nuclear and long-range rocket moratorium and for the country to agree to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections.

(Continued at the link below)

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2013/06/23/30/0401000000AEN20130623001000315F.HTML

North Korea embarking on a two-pronged diplomatic attack

I would be willing to bet that as soon as the UN Command is disestablished and US forces are withdrawn from Korea the north would attacked with months if not weeks.  It would be a Dean Acheson moment.

V/R

Dave

North Korea embarking on a two-pronged diplomatic attack

Posted on : Jun.22,2013 12:41 KST

Modified on : Jun.22,2013 12:46 KST

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/592824.html

Senior North Korean diplomats at the UN and in China making claims about dialogue and denuclearization

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent and Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

North Korean first vice minister of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye-kwan, who is currently on a trip to China, reiterated North Korea’s recent appeals for dialogue on June 21, saying that Pyongyang “welcomes dialogue of any form, including the six-party talks.” But shortly after this, Sin Son-ho, North Korean ambassador to the UN, made comments of a rather different tenor in New York.

“North Korea has already proposed high-level talks to the US,” Sin said. “It is our sincere intention to hold talks. At these talks, we can talk about a wide variety of agenda items, including ways to make a world that is free of nuclear weapons as the US itself has often advocated. We are waiting for the American decision about our proposal for talks.”

“Denuclearization is our final objective,” the ambassador continued. “We are not opposed to denuclearization. However, it must not be unilateral. Not only North Korea, but also South Korea, must be included.” The North’s argument is that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula that was agreed upon in the September 19 Joint Statement of 2005 must represent denuclearization of the entire Korean peninsula, including Washington’s nuclear policy there.

Sin also called for the UN military command to be dissolved and for sanctions against the North to be suspended. “Dismantling the UN military command is a critical requirement for relieving tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region and for guaranteeing peace and safety,” he said.

Earlier on the same day, Kim Kye-gwan met with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, in Beijing. “Denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was the dying wish of former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il,” Kim said. “North Korea desires an improvement in the situation on the Korean peninsula and wants to take part in dialogue of any format, including the six-party talks.”

“China holds to its position that the issues of bringing about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and achieving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula must be brought about through dialogue and negotiation,” Yang said, according to a report by Chinese wire service Xinhua News. “Currently, the situation on the Korean peninsula is moving in the right direction, but it is still complicated and sensitive. Every party involved must continue to work actively to resume the six-party talks in a prompt manner through dialogue and contact.”

(Continued at the link below)

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/592824.html

Why The World Should Be Rallying For The 'Yuan-ization' Of North Korea

I am not smart enough to judge the economic arguments the author makes, but I do now that when a country loses control of its currency control of the country can be threatened.  I would think that the "Yuan-ization" of north Korea could hasten regime collapse. But I doubt the regime will allow any more use of the foreign currency than it already does and certainly would not officially adopt a foreign currency.  I would think that would unacceptably undercut the legitimacy of the the Juche ideology and the regime.  We should recall what Juche means to the regime and to north Korea:

Juche's basic concept is this: “Man rules all things; man decides all things.” “The Kim Il Song Juche ideology is based on these precepts: In ideology Juche (autonomy); in politics, self-reliance; in economics, independence; and in National Security: self-defense.”  

V/R

Dave

Why The World Should Be Rallying For The 'Yuan-ization' Of North Korea

http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-hyperinflation-dollarization-shift-2013-6

STEVE H. HANKE, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY JUN. 22, 2013, 10:15 AM 640 

Steve H. Hanke

Steve H. Hanke is a Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institue in Washington, D.C.

Recent Posts

• No, Hyperinflation Is Not Coming To The US
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For years, North Korea has been crushed by a communist command economy producing little besides mass starvation. More recently, the plight of North Korea’s economy has been exacerbated by harsh, foreign economic sanctions – which only seem to have driven the regime to double down on its nuclear ambitions. 

Following North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il’s death in December 2011, many around the world had high hopes that his successor (and son), Kim Jong-un, would launch economic and political reforms. Unfortunately, in the year and a half since he assumed power, the new supreme leader has not delivered on his advertised economic reforms, and misery continues to grip all but those in North Korea’s communist upper class. 

During the past few months, North Korea has been the subject of outsized news coverage. The recent peacocking by the Supreme Leader – from domestic martial law policies to tests of the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities – has successfully distracted the media from North Korea’s economic woes.

Indeed, behind the saber-rattling, the missile tests, and the basketball games with Dennis Rodman, is an economic story – one with important geopolitical implications, not only for North Korea, but also for China.

North Korea’s Hyperinflation 

For years, North Korea’s currency, the won, has been officially pegged to the U.S. dollar. That said, exchange controls and a plethora of associated regulations and harsh penalties have rendered the won inconvertible. This, of course, has given rise to a healthy black market for foreign currency. North Korea’s monetary dysfunction has been accompanied by severe inflation problems. 

In 2009, the North Korean government attempted to address these problems by implementing a phony currency “reform” program, which it promptly bungled. The so-called reform was actually just a currency redenomination program, which arbitrarily lopped two zeros off every won note. North Koreans were given less than two weeks to exchange all of their won for new notes. And, the government set limits on the quantity of old won a family could exchange for new won. For those North Koreans who had saved a few too many won, the redenomination program was effectively a wealth tax program, too. 

It should come as little surprise that Pyongyang’s bungled currency reform sparked a panic in North Korea’s primitive, underground markets for goods and services. These markets, which developed out of necessity during the famine of the 1990s, primarily exist to counteract shortages that result from state control of agriculture. Indeed, the United Nations has estimated that 50% of the calories consumed by North Koreans come from food purchased in these underground markets. The price of rice, for example, promptly skyrocketed during this period (see the accompanying chart). 

 (Continued at the link below)

http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-hyperinflation-dollarization-shift-2013-6

Anonymous: We Have Stolen North Korean Military Documents

Here is a link to the Anonymous You Tube press release.   It is worth the 2 minutes to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hmjlzbxljDk#at=20

I like the message they are transmitting to the Kim Family regime (the worthless tyrant of Kim Jong-un) and the north Korean people; e.g.,  Ideas are stronger than missiles, etc.  It is a call for rebellion by the people and for Kim Jong-un to step down.  

V/R

Dave

Anonymous: We Have Stolen North Korean Military Documents

By  Zachary Keck

http://thediplomat.com/the-editor/2013/06/22/anonymous-we-have-stolen-north-korean-military-documents/

June 22, 2013

Individuals claiming to be from the collective hacker group, Anonymous, claim to have hacked into North Korea’s intra-net and stolen secret military documents, which they say will be released on June 25.

In a press release posted on the website Pastebin, the hackers said: To the tyrants of the North Korean Government… a notice…. Previously we said we would penetrate the intranet and private networks of North Korea. And we were successful.”

The message continued: “Your major missile documentation and residents, military documents show down is already in progress. Your attempt to cover this has been uncovered. We are partially sharing this information with the world” in a “memorandum of June 25.”

The group is labeling the operation #OpNorthKorea and the press release said the documents uncovered will be released at midnight Korea time on June 25. The date is significant in that it marks the anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

#OpNorthKorea began in March during the Korean Peninsula crisis when individuals claiming to represent Anonymous orchestrated distributed denial of service (DDoS)  attacks on many North Korean websites, which brought the sites down for days. Then, in April, the group announced that it had hacked into a North Korean propaganda website and stole 15,000 secret documents which it threatened to release unless the regime in Pyongyang stopped making nuclear weapons and threatening to use them, Kim Jong-Un resigned, a direct democracy was established inside North Korea and North Koreans were given free, uncensored access to the internet.

In announcing that attack, the group had promised another attack would occur on June 25.

Still another, smaller attack occurred last month but this one merely slowed access to sites on North Korea. Once again, however, the group announced on Twitter that a large attack would be occurring on June 25.

(Continued at the link below)

http://thediplomat.com/the-editor/2013/06/22/anonymous-we-have-stolen-north-korean-military-documents/

The New Triad (SOF, UAS, Cyber)

For all SSP Students:  There are probably more thesis research topics in this short article than you will find on any topic list.

V/R

Dave

The New Triad

It's time to found a U.S. Cyber Force.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/20/the_new_triad?page=full

BY JAMES STAVRIDIS | JUNE 20, 2013

Throughout the long decades of my military career, the backbone of U.S. national security was the "strategic triad" of delivery systems for nuclear weapons: ballistic-missile submarines and their associated nuclear-tipped missiles, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles operated from silos deep in the earth, and long-range manned bombers, which could deliver nuclear bombs and eventually nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

America's reliance on this Cold War triad continues through the present day, though the systems have changed somewhat as a result of both advances in technology and changes in treaty limits, most recently reflected in the New START treaty.

As we sail more deeply into the turbulent 21st century, however, there is another triad that bears considering that will be a critical part of U.S. security in the decades to come. This new triad will be far less abstract and hidden-away than the Cold War strategic triad and much more frequently employed -- often in kinetic ways.

This "New Triad" consists of special operations forces, unmanned vehicles, and cybercapabilities. Each has an important individual role to play, but taken together, the sum of their impacts will be far greater than that of each of the parts when used alone.

First, consider special operations forces, or SOF. They have become a tool of choice in a wide variety of actions in today's world, from the spectacular mission that finally killed Osama bin Laden to training African partners to thwart the brutal Lord's Resistance Army in Africa, and from helping Colombian forces fight the FARC insurgency in Latin America to providing security for disaster relief operations in Pakistan.

Today's SOF are capable of operating across the entire spectrum of operations, from soft power and training to the ultimate "red dots on foreheads" missions epitomized by the killing of bin Laden and popularized by film and television.

Because they are trained in languages, cultural mores, high-tech communications, medicine, concealment, and many other discrete skills, they can operate in the widest imaginable variety of geographical settings. They are also small in number, highly motivated, and relatively cost-effective. They are generally precision-guided in their approach, can limit collateral damage, and blend in when needed.

The second capability in the New Triad is unmanned vehicles and sensors.

(Continued at the link below)

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/20/the_new_triad?page=full

Anonymous says ready to release N.K. missile data

I could make a crude remark about while the NSA is collecting metadata on US cell phones and computers Anonymous is attacking our enemies.  But I won't go there.

It will be interesting to see how effective Anonymous is in getting into the north Korean system and then to see what will be the regime's response.

V/R
Dave

Anonymous says ready to release N.K. missile data

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130620000746&utm_source=feedly

Published : 2013-06-20 20:34
Updated : 2013-06-20 20:34

An international hacking group has said it has gained access to North Korea’s IT networks and will soon reveal information on its military and weapons programs.

The hackers said they would “indicate our strength” Tuesday, which marks the 63rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. 

Anonymous claimed that it had successfully penetrated the intranet and private networks of the communist state.

“We were successful,” the activist group said in a statement released on YouTube, adding that it obtained “major missile documentation and residents, military documents.”

“We are partially sharing this information with the world,” it warned confirming its previous promise to launch a major online attack on the “tyrants” of the North on June 25. 

The statement was posted on Monday by a group claiming to be Anonymous Operation North Korea. 

In early April, the hacktivists carried out hacking attacks against several North Korean websites including main propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri. 

(Continued at the link below)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130620000746&utm_source=feedly