Newsmax – by Todd BeamanThe U.S. is facing an “unprecedented” array of threats around the world — from growing Islamic jihadism to increased aggression by Russian President Vladimir Putin to sophisticated technological advances that once were the domain of this country, according to a top Pentagon intelligence official.
“We’re sitting on top of the most powerful military arsenal … ever assembled,” said Garry Reid, a top deputy to Michael Vickers, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, but most “conventional forces and strategic forces are barely applicable to any of these problems.
“That is quite a vexing scenario,” Reid told a meeting of current and former special operations personnel in Florida on Wednesday, Foreign Policy reports.
He said that these global challenges will keep U.S. intelligence and special operations forces extremely busy for years to come.
Reid, who joined the Defense Department in 2007 after serving in military special operations for 28 years, cited how satellite imagery has become more commercially available.
“Where once you could assume that only you had the bird’s-eye view of the target area, now just about anybody can have [it],” he said, according to Foreign Policy.
The development of “quite challenging” commercial encryption technologies threatens U.S. dominance in cracking into telecommunications networks worldwide, Reid added. “It’s not as easy as it once was to exploit adversary communications.”
In addition, Reid hinted that other technological advances were affecting U.S. undercover operations.
“Global biometrics, identity management, and the ability to track people [using] your electronic signature around the world becomes a challenge for us,” he said.
Reid acknowledged that leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have exposed many ways the agency intercepts foreign communications, adding that “despite leaks and despite exposures, [the U.S.’ ability to tap overseas phones and computers] continues to be an area of dominance,” according to Foreign Policy.
But the U.S. is having some success, Reid said, including the Stuxnet Internet virus that seriously damaged Iran’s nuclear program.
Others include a huge increase in the Pentagon’s aerial surveillance efforts and the NSA’s improved skills in code-breaking and hacking, Foreign Policy reports.
Reid stressed, however, that the United States faced its own threats.
“We’re looking at and developing a methodology for defeating insider threats and that includes leaks [and] espionage cases,” he said, according to the report.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Garry-Reid-Pentagon-intel-Edward-Snowden/2015/02/26/id/627134/#ixzz3SxuZN8ps
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“Fear is the only way to control the people”
The US is facing threats of its own creation either through provocation or invention. Chickens do come home to roost which, unfortunately, all of us will have to face.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. – H.L. Mencken
Could you imagine him saying anything else?
Gary Reid
Huh , any chance this scumbag is related to Harry the scumbag Reid ?
Anyone know?
When this country goes all over the world invading and killing citizens in their own homes ,destabilizing governments,training and arming terrorist,what other result could possibly happen but being hated? World wide threats because of the actions of this government seems totally logical. If another country did what we do to other countries to us would that be OK? This will never end peacefully and that is exactly why the police state is in place right now. It has not one thing to do with the safety of the citizens and every thing to do with the safety of the traitors running the show. Law enforcement needs to WFTU and stop kissing fed ass.
Gee….and it has nothing to do with us invading hundreds of countries over the years……. 🙄