Earlier today, I decided against posting this article about the new “Cyber-security Czar”. You know, the one without any cyber-security experience whatsoever? Gosh, I know I sleep better at night with America’s cyber-security under the watch of a guy who’s primary claim to fame seems to be a book about how great it is to have organizations without any leadership:
By all accounts, Beckstrom is neither a cyber-security expert nor a Washington insider. But his private-sector background and published writings emphasize a decentralized approach to managing large organizations.
In “The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations,” a book Beckstrom co-authored with Ori Brafman in 2006, the authors use the two creatures to illustrate their argument that decentralized organizations — whether in the marketplace or the battlefield — are more nimble, creative and resilient than those that operate in a rigid, top-down fashion.
Why am I posting about it now, then? Just as a little warm up to this NYT story, which illustrates the level of care this Administration puts into defense of this country and its allies:
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur.
With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the company, AEY Inc., which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, became the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan’s army and police forces.
This story has to be read to be believed. Illegal munitions suppliers, penny-ante fake IDs, and shoddy quality control in the hands of idiot kids. This is what the “strong on defense” GOP brings us.