Latest NSA leak outrages Google — Senators introduce bill to prevent future Snowdens Presented by Northrop Grumman

By Kate Brannen

With Jonathan Topaz, Alex Byers and Darren Samuelsohn


BREAKING: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says Syria has destroyed all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities, Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/16nVa3E

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. There have been a lot of spooks in the news this week. They’ve been trying to downplay their spookiness, but try as they might, things seem to be getting spookier.

BIGGEST LEAK YET? — NSA HAS A STEALTHY BACK DOOR INTO GOOGLE, YAHOO DATA CENTERS, via The Washington Post’s Barton Gellman and Ashkan Soltani: We already knew about PRISM, NSA’s top secret program that provides “front-door access to Google and Yahoo user accounts through a court-approved process.”

Yesterday, we were introduced to MUSCULAR, a program that allows NSA and its British counterpart to collect the massive amounts of data that cross fiber-optic cables between the companies’ overseas data centers — including the communications of Americans. Information about the program comes from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

Google and Yahoo told The Post they were unaware of such activity and had not granted NSA this type of access. http://wapo.st/1bCL7HL

— THE SMILEY FACE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND HEAD SHAKES: Accompanying the article is a top-secret, hand-printed drawing of how NSA taps into the data centers. An arrow points to where the encryption is removed, with the author of the slide adding a “cheeky” smiley face that is totally incongruous with the seriousness of the matter at hand. No doubt this visual will not help NSA as it tries to resuscitate its image.

— GOOGLE ISN’T SMILING: “We are outraged at the lengths to which the government seems to have gone to intercept data from our private fiber networks, and it underscores the need for urgent reform,” Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, said in a statement.

— NSA FLAT OUT DENIES THE REPORT: “NSA has multiple authorities that it uses to accomplish its mission, which is centered on defending the nation. The Washington Post’s assertion that we use Executive Order 12333 collection to get around the limitations imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and FAA 702 is not true," an NSA spokeswoman said yesterday.

POLITICO’s Tony Romm has more on NSA’s response: http://politi.co/17tn3KO

AND IF ALL THAT ISN’T ENOUGH, NSA SPYING ON POPES-TO-BE, via Religion News Service’s Eric J. Lyman: The Italian news magazine Panorama is reporting that NSA listened in on calls to and from the Vatican, perhaps even communications from Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis last spring. http://wapo.st/16mAnxs

STILL, GERMANY AND THE U.S. WILL BE FINE, via POLITICO’s Leigh Munsil: Sure, the two countries’ diplomatic relationship has taken a blow with the NSA spying revelations, but their security relationship will weather this storm, analysts say. http://politico.pro/16M9t4t

NEW SENATE BILL WOULD TRY TO PREVENT FUTURE SNOWDENS, via POLITICO’s Juana Summers: Legislation unveiled yesterday would require at least two random audits over a five-year period for federal employees and contractors with a security clearance. The bill’s sponsors — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) — hope that more frequent background checks will catch suspicious behavior and raise red flags about people like Snowden or Aaron Alexis, the Washington Navy Yard shooter. http://politico.pro/16mpg7F

IT’S THURSDAY. Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox who handily beat the St. Louis Cardinals last night to win the World Series at home in Fenway Park. Your Morning D correspondent woke up to this email from her dad: “That wipes away Bucky Dent and the ‘86 sad memories. Big Papi made it special!” Beantown natives and non-Bostonians alike, please send your latest defense news, tips and feedback to [email protected]. An don't forget to follow on Twitter at @ k8brannen, @ morningdefense and @ PoliticoPro for the latest.

GRAHAM STILL BLOCKING NOMINATIONS OVER BENGHAZI … WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, via POLITICO’s Juana Summers: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is not backing down from his threat to block the White House’s nominations for key administration posts until he gets more info on the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. But, before he gets started blocking presidential nominations, he’s letting a few go forward unobstructed. For example, he looks forward to confirming Jeh Johnson to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

But from now on, he’ll start blocking, he said yesterday, adding that it was the only leverage he had. http://politi.co/1ap7VOI

THE BIG DATES: Each budget battle has its own do-or-die deadlines that loom ominously in the future. If you haven’t yet, circle these dates in red on your calendar as the latest fiscal showdown has officially begun.

— Nov. 13: When the 29 lawmakers that make up the bipartisan budget conference committee have agreed to meet again.

— Dec. 13: The deadline for the committee to reach a deal on funding for the rest of the fiscal year.

— Jan. 15: Government funding is set to run out. Not coincidentally, sequestration also kicks in.

— Feb. 7: The U.S. must raise its legal borrowing limit to avoid default on its debt.

** Did you know that United Technologies has been named Most Admired Aerospace and Defense Company by Fortune magazine for 10 of the last 12 years?

Find out more at http://www.utc.com **

DOD PANEL ON SEXUAL ASSAULT ANNOUNCES NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA: A federal advisory committee tasked with finding ways to improve the military’s system for dealing with sexual assault will hold its next public meeting Nov. 7 and 8 in Washington. At the direction of Congress, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel created the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel in May. The next meeting will focus on victims’ services, and the panel will hear from victim advocates. http://1.usa.gov/1anGaCR

HOW BIG WOULD YOU GUESS THE U.N.’S BUDGET IS? Hint: Nowhere near the size of the Pentagon’s — or even the State Department’s. Earlier this week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed a $5.4 billion budget for the next two years. http://bit.ly/HfcL4k

SPECIAL FORCES’ COSTUME IDEA? HOW ABOUT AN IRON MAN SUIT, via The LA Times’ David S. Cloud: U.S. Special Operations Command is soliciting ideas for “a radically new protective suit for elite soldiers to wear into battle — one with bionic limbs, head-to-toe armor, a built-in power supply and live data feeds projected on a see-through display inside the helmet.”

Check out the video from the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command that was posted with the article. It shows that an Iron Man suit would be great for breaking down wooden doors and taking a lot of gunfire to the head. http://bit.ly/1aDpln8

HEADLINING AN EVENT NEAR YOU — CHUCK HAGEL: The defense secretary is giving the keynote address at a handful of big events coming up. Tonight, he’ll speak at the Anti-Defamation League centennial meeting in New York.

Next Tuesday, he’ll deliver the keynote address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Global Security Forum in Washington. http://bit.ly/1bz0cKr

And on Nov. 14, he’ll headline the Defense One Summit, where Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning will also be speaking. http://bit.ly/Ho0nQ7

READER REMEMBERS SKELTON: Debra Marks wrote in with her memories of former Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton, who died Monday. She wrote about the love he had for his dog “Guinness,” the improvised nicknames he gave everyone and the lengths he would go to help a friend.

“He never took seriously people who took themselves too seriously — a terrific skill if one worked on Capitol Hill for as long as he did,” Marks told Morning Defense.

SPEED READ:

— Al-Qaeda recruits are entering Syria through safe houses in Turkey. The Daily Telegraph: http://bit.ly/1f4wcsI

— The military is wrestling with a shortage of Catholic priests to serve in its chaplain corps. U.S. News and World Report: http://bit.ly/1bDBbOf

— Almost two years after U.S. troops left Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is asking President Barack Obama for weapons to fight a resurgent Al-Qaeda. AP: http://bit.ly/19cg07p

— The Justice Department is accusing USIS, the contractor that conducted background checks on Edward Snowden and Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, of bad practices. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1bDOPks

— Syrian President Bashar Assad, meeting with a U.N. special envoy, said there could be no political solution to the war in Syria unless the international community stops funding opposition forces. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1dq0tS5

— D.C. students pull off an awesome version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” on the eve of Halloween. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1bD8gd2 (OK, maybe not defense related, but still worth a look!)

** United Technologies, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, UTC Aerospace Systems and many other familiar brands, has been named Most Admired Aerospace and Defense Company by Fortune magazine for 10 of the last 12 years. Our approach to recruiting and developing the best talent to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems has enabled us to redefine the marketplace — safely, ethically and responsibly. Find out more at http://www.utc.com **

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