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Obama Considering Range of Options in Response to China’s Severely Damaging OPM Hack

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By Bill Gertz. President Obama is considering a range of options in addition to economic sanctions in response to the massive theft of data from federal government computer networks, a senior White House security official said Tuesday.

“We’ve got a range of tools and we’ll consider all of them,” said Lisa Monaco, the White House’s homeland security adviser.

Monaco said in a brief interview with the Washington Free Beacon after a speech on cyber threats that the U.S. government is currently investigating the clandestine theft of sensitive information on at least 4 million government workers from computers at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) . . .

Monaco’s comments on possible responses to the cyber attack were the first to indicate that the administration is considering more than economic sanctions in retaliation. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, suggested Friday that sanctions were among the options.

Monaco did not respond when asked why neither the president nor his advisers have condemned the cyber attack against the Office of Personnel Management, which has been described by U.S. officials as one of the most damaging compromises of sensitive information in recent years. (Read more from “Obama Considering Range of Options in Response to OPM Hack” HERE)

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Chinese Cyber Attacks That Might Be Even Worse Than the OPM Hack

By Robert Knake. February 2013. DHS says that between December 2011 and June 2012, cyber criminals targeted twenty-three gas pipeline companies and stole information that could be used for sabotage purposes. Forensic data suggests the probes originated in China.
Why it’s worse: Espionage is one thing, sabotage is another. This incident crosses into what might be called “preparation of the battlefield”—laying the groundwork for military operations. In this incident, the hackers targeted an entire sector. They weren’t going after business data or stealing designs. The worst you can do with PII? Gain account access. The worst you can do with this info? Blow up pipelines.

March 2015. Canadian researchers say Chinese hackers attacked U.S. hosting site GitHub. GitHub said the attack involved “a wide combination of attack vectors” and used new techniques to involve unsuspecting web users in the flood of traffic to the site. According to the researchers, the attack targeted pages for two GitHub users—GreatFire and the New York Times’ Chinese mirror site—both of which circumvent China’s firewall.
Why it’s worse: This incident gets closer to the line North Korea crossed—interfering with our right to free speech. We haven’t quite articulated a norm in this area, but theInternational Strategy for Cyberspace comes close. In this case, China targeted GitHub because it was hosting pages for organizations that circumvent its Great Firewall. It may be time we put out a Monroe Doctrine for cyberspace, which would, make clear that trying to stifle freedom of speech in this country crosses a red line. We could go further and make it official policy to bring dissidents from other countries under this veil of protection. Taking a page from the Kennedy doctrine, the United States could declare that it will pay any price, bear any burden, host any website and defeat any denial of service attack in the cause of Internet freedom. . .

February 2012. Media reports say that Chinese hackers stole classified information about the technologies onboard F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
Why it’s worse: Under current norms, military technology is fair game but this one is devastating if true. The hack targeted classified information on one of our most advanced weapons platforms. The info could save the Chinese decades in research and development. Worse, it could be used to find vulnerabilities that could be exploited in combat—think the pilot episode of Battlestar Gallactica. (Read more from this story HERE)

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China: Staking Claim in the New World Order

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In 2009, billionaire establishment power broker George Soros, a close ally and financier of Obama, called for the communist regime ruling mainland China to “own” what he referred to as the “New World Order.” Speaking to the Financial Times about what Obama should discuss while in Beijing, the self-styled philanthropist declared that the United States and the U.S. dollar were on their way down, and that the Communist Party regime must step up to the plate.

“I think you really need to bring China into the creation of a new world order, financial world order,” Soros told the Financial Times. “I think you need a new world order, that China has to be part of the proc­ess of creating it and they have to buy in, they have to own it in the same way as the United States owns … the current order.”

It was hardly a slip up. The next year, while receiving the Globalist of the Year award from the Canadian International Council, Soros again called for China’s participation in the emerging global-governance regime. “They have now got to accept responsibility for world order and the interests of other people as well,” declared Soros. “Today, China has not only a more vigorous economy, but actually a better functioning government than the United States” . . .

In a joint statement put out by Obama and then-Chinese dictator Hu Jintao, Obama made clear that he was fully on board with the agenda. “The United States reiterated that it welcomes a strong, prosperous, and successful China that plays a greater role in world affairs,” the declaration reads.

The internationalists’ intent to make China an integral part of the New World Order — to even “own” it, according to Soros — should tell us a great deal about the type of New World Order Soros and his ilk envision. After all, not only does the People’s Republic of China hold the distinction of murdering more people than any other regime in history, but China today still brutalizes and oppresses its citizens, from forcing women to undergo abortions in compliance with its one-child policy to persecuting believers for practicing their faith (see the related article “Chinese Tyranny 2.0”). If such a regime is “actually a better functioning government than the United States,” as Soros claims, how would Soros have the new world function? How about his fellow globalists? (Read more from “China: Staking Claim in the New World Order” HERE)

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Senior NATO Officer: West Will Likely Be at War this Summer, Lucky if it’s not Nuclear

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Photo Credit: AP Is the world going mad? Military posturing is quietly reaching new extremes in Europe, the Mediterranean and the South China Sea. And the provocative bluster has just reached new heights.

The source was anonymous. But the mouthpiece has a measure of credibility. High profile military analyst and former US Naval War College lecturer John Schindler tweeted last week: “Said a senior NATO (non-US) GOFO to me today: ‘We’ll probably be at war this summer. If we’re lucky it won’t be nuclear.’ Let that sink in” . . .

The warning comes as Europe engages in some of its biggest ever war games — right on Russia’s front door. It’s a deliberate ploy, intended to remind Moscow of the consequences of its duplicitous invasion of Ukraine.

Half a world away, the “w” word was mentioned again yesterday. This time in an editorial by a Chinese state controlled paper. Said the Global Times: “If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea.”

It came as China’s government effectively declared a “no fly zone” over the disputed waterway after warning the US over its “provocative” aerial reconnaissance of several islands. (Read more from “The ‘War’ Word Is Being Increasingly Heard as Europe, Russia, China and the United States Adopt Provocative Postures” HERE)

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US-China War ‘Inevitable’ Unless Washington Drops Demands Over South China Sea

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Photo Credit: The Telegraph By Julian Ryall. China’s armed forces are to extend their operations and its air force will become an offensive as well as defensive force for the first time, in a major shift in policy that will strengthen fears of accidental conflict . . .

The People’s Liberation Army, including its navy and air force, will be allowed to “project power” further beyond its borders at sea and more assertively in the air in order to safeguard its maritime possessions, the [defense] white paper [released by the chief administrative body of the Chinese government] stated . . .

The posture risks escalating the tension over disputed islands in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific, where the United States is determined to protect the interests of allies like Taiwan and the Philippines . . .

Global Times, a tabloid newspaper run by the Communist Party, said that China might have to “accept” there would be conflict with the United States.

“If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea”, said the paper, which is often seen as a mouth-piece of hardline nationalists in the government in Beijing. (Read more from “US-China War ‘Inevitable’ Unless Washington Drops Demands Over South China Sea” HERE)
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What Else did China’s Defense White Paper Predict for the Future?

By Kieth Johnson. [I]n the United States . . . the consensus over accommodating China’s rise seems to have given way to a more hawkish stance on the need to contain the rising Asian giant.

China’s new white paper provides plenty of points of continuity with past strategies, especially with Mao Zedong’s doctrine of “active defense,” known in the United States as the Billy Martin school of conflict management (“I never threw the first punch; I threw the second four.”)

At the same time, though, the defense blueprint breaks new ground. It codifies the ongoing transformation of China into a true maritime power, and puts more emphasis on high-seas, offensive naval operations. More broadly, it envisions a much bigger, global role for Chinese armed forces than had previously been the case, and in some places echoes the famously hawkish Chinese views of thinkers such as Liu Mingfu, whose bestselling book “The China Dream” paints a vision of nearly inevitable conflict between the two global titans. . .

For a 5,000-year old civilization that has survived invasions from Mongols, Japanese, and Western Europeans, this is a sobering conclusion: “In the new circumstances, the national security issues facing China encompass far more subjects, extend over a greater range, and cover a longer time span than at any time in the country’s history.” Later, the paper notes: “Due to its complex geostrategic environment, China faces various threats and challenges in all its strategic directions and security domains.”

That’s especially true when it comes to the South China Sea. (Read more from “China’s Military Blueprint: Bigger Navy, Bigger Global Role” HERE)

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Chinese Military Using Jamming Against U.S. Drones Over Artificial Island

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China tried to electronically jam U.S. drone flights over the South China Sea in a bid to thwart spying on disputed island military construction, U.S. officials said.

Global Hawk long-range surveillance drones were targeted by the jamming in at least one incident near the disputed Spratly Islands, where China is building military facilities on Fiery Cross Reef.

Disclosure of the jamming came as a U.S. Navy P-8 surveillance flight on Wednesday was challenged eight times by the Chinese military to leave the same area.

“This is the Chinese navy … This is the Chinese navy … Please go away … to avoid misunderstanding,” a radio call in English from an installation on Firey Cross said. The warnings were reported by CNN, which had a reporter on the aircraft.

Later Thursday, the Navy released video revealing that the China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy sent several radio warning messages to the crew of the P-8 ordering the jet to leave the area, and to deviate from its flight path near Fiery Cross Reef. (Read more from “Chinese Military Using Jamming Against U.S. Drones” HERE)

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“Risk of War”: China Repeatedly Warns U.S. Surveillance Plane Over Artificial Island

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The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone of influence.

The series of man-made islands and the massive Chinese military build-up on them have alarmed the Pentagon, which is carrying out the surveillance flights in order to make clear the U.S. does not recognize China’s territorial claims. The militarized islands have also alarmed America’s regional allies.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday night that the confrontation indicates there is “absolutely” a risk of the U.S. and China going to war sometime in the future.

A CNN team was given exclusive access to join in the surveillance flights over the contested waters, which the Pentagon allowed for the first time in order to raise awareness about the challenge posed by the islands and the growing U.S. response.

CNN was aboard the P8-A Poseidon, America’s most advanced surveillance and submarine-hunting aircraft, and quickly learned that the Chinese are themselves displeased by the U.S. pushback. (Read more from “China Warns U.S. Surveillance Plane” HERE)

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Pentagon Report: Chinese Ballistic Missiles Can Target Nearly the Entirety of the US

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download (19)China now has dozens of nuclear-capable missiles that could target almost the entirety of the US, according to the Department of Defense’s 2015 report on the Chinese military.

The annual report to Congress focuses on China’s military modernization, possible invasion plans for the self-governing and US-allied island of Taiwan, advances in space technology, and Beijing’s rapidly advancing missile capabilities.

China’s conventional capabilities are improving. But Beijing also now has what could be considered the ultimate military asset for a rising superpower: the ability to deliver nuclear warheads nearly anywhere on earth (outside of South America, at least).

The following map from the report highlights the maximum missile ranges of China’s medium and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The longest-ranging of the missiles, the CSS-4, can target almost the entirety of the US (except for Florida).

Photo Credit: Department of Defense.

Photo Credit: Department of Defense.

The CSS-4 has the largest range of any Chinese ICBM. The missile is nuclear-capable, according to the DoD report, and is housed in silos across the Chinese countryside. Beijing is estimated to have between 50 and 60 silo-based ICBMs. (Read more from “Pentagon Report: Chinese Ballistic Missiles Can Target Nearly the Entirety of the US” HERE)

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Obama’s Quiet Nuclear Deal With China Raises Proliferation Concerns

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download (15)It seemed like a typical day for President Obama. He taped a TV interview on trade, hosted the champion NASCAR team on the South Lawn and met with the defense secretary in the Oval Office.

Not so typical was something that didn’t appear that day on the president’s public schedule: notification to Congress that he intends to renew a nuclear cooperation agreement with China. The deal would allow Beijing to buy more U.S.-designed reactors and pursue a facility or the technology to reprocess plutonium from spent fuel. China would also be able to buy reactor coolant technology that experts say could be adapted to make its submarines quieter and harder to detect.

The formal notice initially didn’t draw any headlines. Its unheralded release on April 21 reflected the administration’s anxiety that it might alarm members of Congress and nonproliferation experts who fear China’s growing naval power — and the possibility of nuclear technology falling into the hands of third parties with nefarious intentions.

Now, however, Congress is turning its attention to the agreement. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hear from five Obama officials in a closed-door meeting Monday to weigh the commercial, political and security implications of extending the accord. The private session will permit discussion of a classified addendum from the director of national intelligence analyzing China’s nuclear export control system and what Obama’s notification called its “interactions with other countries of proliferation concern.”

The White House’s willingness to push ahead with the nuclear accord with Beijing illustrates the evolving relationship between the world’s two largest powers, which, while eyeing each other with mutual suspicion and competitiveness, also view each other as vital economic and strategic global partners. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group, argues that the new agreement will clear the way for U.S. companies to sell dozens of nuclear reactors to China, the biggest nuclear power market in the world. (Read more from “Obama’s Quiet Nuclear Deal With China Raises Proliferation Concerns” HERE)

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In a First, Russia and China Conduct “Provocative” Live-Fire Naval Excercises in Mediterranean

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lead_960Neither Russia nor China has one inch of coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, making it an unlikely and provocative venue for their first joint naval war games.

The 10 days of maneuvers that got underway Monday will include live-fire exercises in the strategic sea connecting Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The point is lost on no one: A powerful new alliance of eastern giants is flexing its muscles in the very backyard of Western Europe — much as China has done on its own in the Pacific.

The war games follow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, where he headlined Victory Day celebrations and spent three days making billion-dollar deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s World War II allies mostly stayed away.

Russia has been driven into the arms of its communist neighbor by Western sanctions imposed for its role in the bloody Ukraine crisis. The United States and European Union have cut off Russian businesses and its government from international lending and provoked tit-for-tat trade embargoes that have hurt both sides.

In response, Putin has steered his country away from a U.S.-dominated post-Soviet world order, pivoting instead toward China, its not-always-friendly eastern neighbor. (Read more from “In a First, Russia and China Conduct Live-Fire Naval Excercises in Mediterranean” HERE)

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U.S. Official: Chinese Artificial Island in Disputed Waters Now Several Square Miles in Size

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Photo Credit: MIlitary Times

Photo Credit: MIlitary Times

China’s rapidly expanding campaign to construct artificial islands, potentially for military use or airstrips, now totals about 2,000 acres and could far outstrip that amount as the year goes on, a senior defense official said Friday.

The new estimate, disclosed for the first time, comes as the Pentagon released its annual report on China’s military power. The report warns that while Beijing’s island construction intent is unclear, five emerging outposts could be used for surveillance systems, harbors, an airfield and logistical support.

The wide-ranging report also details Chinese government-backed cyberattacks against the U.S. government to collect intelligence and steal high-tech data from defense programs to support China’s industry. And it warns that China now “boasts the most dynamic space program in the world today.”

The document also repeats persistent U.S. concerns about China’s growing capacity to project military power beyond its borders, with continued investments in new missiles, ships, and aircraft as well as cyber, space and electronic warfare.

For the first time, however, the report describes the “extensive” land reclamation at five outposts in the Spratly Islands, adding that at four of the sites the work has shifted to mainly development and construction. (Read more from “U.S. Official: Chinese Artificial Island Now Totals 2,000 Acres” HERE)

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