foreign policy – Crasstalk

A View of the NSA’s Online Monitoring from an Information Security Professional

Since the NSA’s extensive domestic and international monitoring was revealed by Edward Snowden via The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald in June 2013, much ink (or many pixels, as the case may be) has been spilled discussing whether or not the NSA has gone too far, whether the programs are unconstitutional, and a variety of other issues.

One view that I have not yet seen is that of someone on the front lines of information security, who deals with many of the threats that the NSA has been monitoring on a fairly regular basis.

Someone like me. Continue reading →

Presidential Debate Liveblog: Around the World in 90 Minutes

We live in a world where new threats constantly emerge, power structures are frequently in flux and diplomacy is increasingly important to those who hold power. As leader of the free world (in theory) the President of the United States must posses a nuanced and thoughtful world view.

The best way for candidates to display that worldview is in a series of soundbites spread out over 90 minutes to an audience of folks who would have a hard time finding the Middle East on a map. Fortunately, we’ll hear nothing of the President’s secret war, nor of Mitt Romney’s dis-interest in putting a stop to it. Nor will we hear about the vast powers to make war that the Executive branch has accumulated in the last 30 years, because acknowledging it might mean giving some of them back.

Continue reading →

Should Obama Tip His Hat to W?

Jeb Bush, of the Florida Bushes, believes that President Obama should thank George W. Bush for his foreign policy leadership.

I would argue in some ways, by reality seeping kind of into his life as the Commander-in-Chief, that a lot of it is modeled after [Bush] 43. And it would be nice, a little tip of the hat might be a nice thing. I think it would be helpful for him politically.

The only analogy I can come up with is thanking my dog for the baggie of poop I have to pick up. Can you do any better?