The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Room for Debate: A New Director or a New Direction? from NYT > Opinion Should changes be made in the way the agency is run and the way intelligence is gathered and used? Updated December 3, 2012 9:59 PM A New Director or a New Direction? Debaters Transform the Agency’s Whole Structure Tim Weiner, author, "Legacy of Ashes" Demilitarize the C.I.A. Gordon Adams and Jennifer E. Sims, Former intelligence officials A 10-Year Term, Without the Politics Bruce Riedel, Brookings Institution Restore Reliability and Accountability Melvin A. Goodman, Former C.I.A. analyst Stick to the Basic Tasks It Was Created For Vicki Divoll, Former C.I.A. legal adviser New Abilities for New Needs David F. Gordon, Former National Intelligence Council head Focus on Officers, Not the Media Amy Zegart, Hoover Institution Introduction Pool photo by Dennis Brack The lobby of th

News Review - 12.2.12 Mike Nova's starred items   Joe. My. God.: Another First: *CIA* Recruits Gay Spies via cia - Google Blog Search by Joe on 11/28/12 In what they say is a first-ever event, today the CIA is holding a recruitment event in association with the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Steve Rothaus has the story at the Miami Herald: “This is the first ... Petraeus Sex Scandal: Former CIA Chief Tells Friend He 'Screwed Up Royally' - ABC News via cia - Google News on 11/29/12 ABC News Petraeus Sex Scandal: Former CIA Chief Tells Friend He 'Screwed Up Royally' ABC News One of David Petraeus' closest friends says the former CIA director admitted that he "screwed up royally" by having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. Retired Brigadier Gen. James Shelton has been friends with Petraeus for more than three ... Former CIA Director Petraeus Blames His Mistress Ne

CIA headed in the wrong general direction Agency should not be paramilitary force Roy A. Harrell Jr. San Angelo Standard Times Posted November 28, 2012 at 4:31 p.m. Photo by JEAN-MARC BOUJU, AP2004 Former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned this month following an extramarital affair, may not even be missed in Langley, assuming that no classified information has been disseminated to America's enemies. Associated Press file More than 50 years ago, my resignation from the Central Intelligence Agency was effectuated. The Company, as it had always been known, had become a bit too militarized and was not what some of its founders such as Allan Dulles envisioned. Intelligence was collected but rarely analyzed coherently so as to contribute to enlightened policies. Much of what was collected by the Company lay unused, some of us feeling it is too expensive to collect this data, not to mention the risk involved. Moreover the trend was in the direc

Another First: CIA Recruits Gay Spies In what they say is a first-ever event, today the CIA is holding a recruitment event in association with the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Steve Rothaus has the story at the Miami Herald : “This is the first one ever,” said Michael Barber, the CIA’s LGBT Community Outreach and Liaison program manager. “This is the first of what I hope will be similarly networking events with LGBT chambers across the nation.” Barber — “a straight ally” — along with gay CIA employees Engineering Development Chief Bill French and Technical Information Officer Tracey Ballard, will speak to prospective employees about the benefits of joining the agency. “I look at my job as informing and educating about the CIA’s mission. And in the LGBT community, debunking those myths,” Barber said, referring to the widely held assumption that gay people are unwelcome. In 1989, a federal appeals court found evidence that the CIA routine

Will the Supreme Court weigh in on same-sex marriage? - CBS News from Nation - Google News Will the Supreme Court weigh in on same-sex marriage? CBS News Update: The Supreme Court ended its day Friday without announcing whether it would take up any of the same-sex marriage cases. In what has already been a pivotal year in the debate over same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court may decide it should ... and more »     Gay couples, and wedding industry, await Supreme Court ruling on Prop. 8 - San Jose Mercury News from Nation - Google News Gay couples, and wedding industry, await Supreme Court ruling on Prop. 8 San Jose Mercury News They met and fell in love two months after California voters approved Proposition 8, the referendum banning same-sex marriage, so Megan Sainsbury and Katie Kinder knew from the beginning that their shared dream of a big wedding -- brides in gorgeous ... and more »   Same-sex marriage equality on

 “We suffer from an overabundance of Puritanism mixed with hypocrisy,” - Marina Ein On Friday, Mr. Petraeus walked in Hamilton’s footsteps, saying he “showed extremely poor judgment” and calling his behavior unacceptable. By resigning, he took what seems to be the preferred course of action after such revelations; most politicians either quit or are ousted by voters. Senator Vitter, who continues in Congress, is the rare exception. Whether resignation is always necessary — or even wise — is another matter. “We suffer from an overabundance of Puritanism mixed with hypocrisy,” Marina Ein, a publicist and observer of Washington life, wrote Friday in an e-mail interview. “Petraeus is an unbelievably talented and dedicated professional.” Ms. Ein once was press secretary to Representative Gary Condit of California, whose own relationship with an office intern who was later murdered led to his losing in a primary. Hamilton went on to be lionized as one o

Georgia PM Visits Europe to Dump 'Russia Stooge' Tag   http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/1 ...   Georgia's new prime minister starts a visit to Brussels on Monday intended to show that ties with NATO and Europe, rather than Russia, remain the former Soviet republic's top priority.