NSA, Fort Meade Primed for Growth, But Just How Much?

By Mark R. Smith, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Though the official announcements are apparently forthcoming, there have been two badly-kept secrets swirling around Fort Meade in recent months - that have everything to do, oddly enough, with the super-secret National Security Agency (NSA).

In addition to the recent rumblings that NSA plans to add 11,000 jobs and 5.8 million square feet of workspace during the next two decades (in three phases), the agency also has been recommended to house the Department of Defense's new U.S. Cyber Command.

The official announcement about the NSA expansion is said to be coming in early September; confirmation of the news about the U.S. Cyber Command is expected afterward, also in early fall.
When combined with other long-discussed expansions on and surrounding Fort Meade, including the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort, the ongoing expansion of nearby National Business Park (NBP) in Annapolis Junction and the $400 million, 1.7 million-square-foot office park that could rise via Enhanced Use Lease financing from The Trammell Crow Co. across Route 175 from the post, the bottom line in and around the post is further expansion.

"This whole mix is like an elixir," said Bob Leib, who is the special assistant to the county executive for BRAC and Education for Anne Arundel County, as well as chairman of the Fort Meade Regional Growth Management Committee. "It's the recipe for growth. The only question concerns exactly how all of these ingredients will come together."

Expansion Mode
When asked for comment about its expansion, which is said to include 1.8 million square feet for up to 6,500 workers in the "near term" according to a notice in the July 2 Federal Register, a contact made to the NSA public affairs office resulted in a predictably cryptic and unsigned response:

"The National Security Agency, with the release of the Notice of Intent (NOI) and the subsequent Environmental Impact Study scoping meeting held [this summer], is in the initial planning stages for the Site M development. The totality of our current information was articulated in both the NOI and the scoping meeting, all of which are in sync with NSA and Fort Meade's Master Plans.

"The figures detailed in the various phases of development contained in the NOI are projected estimates of utilization; however, since the planning is in its earliest stages these are not finalized details."

The response from The Pentagon concerning the U.S. Cyber Command was somewhat more direct, but also short on details.

Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, spokesperson for the Department of Defense, said that "specifics of the details for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command have not been worked out yet. Right now, the implementation plan is being assembled."

Butterbaugh said that department, which would fall under the auspices of the U.S. Strategic Command and would be set up to defend military networks against computer attacks and develop offensive cyber weapons, is "anticipating, as things move forward, that we will have more information concerning the issues, such as how many new jobs will be coming to the post and when that will happen."

He added that the U.S. Strategic Command, which the U.S. Cyber Command will report to, is developing the implementation plan. "Right now we just don't have those details and don't know exactly when that will be, though we are anticipating hearing more, hopefully by early fall." Full operational capability is slated to be in place by fall 2010.

A Possible Caveat
Discussion concerning the 11,000 new jobs that are allegedly coming to NSA has been a bit tempered by the lack of information, Leib said.

"We don't know just how many are existing positions that are just being reshuffled inside the Fort Meade campus, or at Linthicum or Annapolis Junction," he said, "or they could be moved here from other cities.

"Our NSA partners are not talking about that yet," said Leib, "so you have to view that figure with caution as to how much real growth that announcement represents. However, there is no doubt that it represents growth. We just don't know how much yet.

"The big picture is clear," he said. "NSA is obviously committed to growing. We know that now."
As for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command at NSA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were tasked two months ago by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to submit a plan to implement that recommendation; upon its completion, the secretary was to submit the plan to President Barack Obama for his approval in early September to establish the new agency at Fort Meade.

To underscore the anticipation in the defense contracting community, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) broke ground for its latest building at NBP, a $36 million, five-story project, at the end of July. During his remarks at the event, COPT President and CEO Rand Griffin said that the real estate investment trust is also ready to embark on the construction of Phase III at the office park.

"The goal at NBP during the next 15 to 20 years is to grow to handle the capacity of 25,000 jobs," Leib said, noting that about 8,000 workers are employed at NBP today.

When the The Trammell Crow Co.'s EUL deal is also considered in the mix, the number of employees coming to Fort Meade gets even more impressive. "The U.S. Army is hoping to add 10,000 more jobs there as well," Lieb noted.

Too Much, Too Soon?
While the interest in and plans for Fort Meade sound impressive, there are also serious issues concerning road development and infrastructure around the post, and the recession has done nothing but cripple the process during a state budget crisis.

Prospects for improvement in the near term don't look very encouraging, but Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO with Sage Policy Group in Baltimore, said, "We can handle it all - eventually."
But when? "We're in an environment with excruciatingly scarce resources," said Basu. "As a result, it will be difficult to do everything the community wants to do to accommodate the expansion of federal activities at Fort Meade and a host of other installation.

"But we will get there," he said. "The solution will be multi-faceted and implicates the need to additional infrastructure investment, better housing policies and excellent human capital formation. If any region in the country can handle the challenge, it's the resource-intensive Baltimore-Washington Corridor."

More in the Mix
To many observers, the growth at NSA and in and around Fort Meade "is just further evidence of the federal government's commitment to the post and the west county community," said Claire Louder, president and CEO with the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce.

"It's also further impetus for the area to recover quickly from the recession," Louder said, "and offers an opportunity for local developers to provide space for the many support contractors who will be coming to this area in support of NSA and the other agencies that are relocating to Fort Meade due to BRAC."

Leib agreed. "We thought we had the job aspect of BRAC 2005 all figured out," he said, "but now there are more ingredients in the mix. It'll be awhile before the picture becomes clear.
"But what you can say as of now," he said, "is that Fort Meade will become the center of cyber security and information technology excellence in the world today."

89 US banks go belly up in 2009

.... The count of collapses is more than three-fold that of 2008, when 25 banks went out of business in wake of the raging financial meltdown.

Bank failures are mounting even as the economy is showing tentative signs of recovery slowly. ....

Video -- All the President Radicals

from Shawn Hannity

How to Defeat the Left

By: David Horowitz

I’ve been following the Newsreal debate between Phyllis Chesler and Jamie Glazov on the one hand and Naomi Wolf, who thinks America, the most “liberated” country on the face of the earth by any — any — progressive standard (treatment of minorities, of women, of the poor, freedom of the individual), is a proto-fascist state and needs a revolution, while the Islamo-fascist enemy, the greatest oppressor of women and minorities ever, needs a wrist slap. Wolf’s moral blindness is just a one minor instance of the general moral vacuity of progressives which for a hundred years has put them on the side of the totalitarian enemies of freedom and inspired their assault against the West.

.... This why the only argument that leftists have in their public encounters with others is not an argument at all but an indictment: racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe. In the religion of leftists — in the fevered universe of the virus — the world is an endless plain of battle in which forces of Good (leftists) are ranged against the forces of Evil (the rest of us). At stake is the redemption of the world — or as the environmental totalitarians like to put it, the survival of the planet. No wonder they are deaf to any fact or argument that would bring them back to earth.

The only way to defeat the left — and I have failed in twenty years of arguing this to persuade conservatives — is to turn the table around and attack their moral self-image. Leftists are in fact the enemies and oppressors of women, children, gays, minorities and the poor, and conservatives should never confront them without reminding them of this fact. If Naomi Wolf and her radical friends had their way, America would be disarmed and radical Islam would be triumphant and women would be back in the Middle Ages, and the rest of us along with them.

Top Terror Suspect Freed Over Secrets Fear – UK

from National Terror Alert

The Home Secretary has released a man regarded as one of Britain’s most dangerous terror suspects from virtual house arrest to avoid disclosing secret evidence against him, The Times has learned. The man, known only as AF, has been subject to a controversial “control order” since 2006 because of his alleged links with Islamic terrorists. He has never been charged, however, and the evidence for the allegations has never been heard in a public court.

.... The ruling paved the way for up to 20 men held under the regime to challenge their detention and to seek to know the basis of the case against them.

Cyanide Suspected In Sickening 7 L.A. Firefighters

from National Terror Alert

As the fire and homicide investigation continues, officials say several firefighters were exposed to cyanide gas in two separate incidents as they were mopping up hot spots near the small city of Acton on the northern edge of the massive blaze.

.... Authorities do not have an idea where the cyanide came from.

Man Pulled Over with Pipe Bombs, Weapon

from National Terror Alert

A New Haven man is under arrest after police found pipe bombs and a weapon in his vehicle late Saturday. Marlon Reddick, 44 was stopped by West Haven Police last night around 11:00 p.m. in the area of Elm Street and Kimberly Avenue for equipment violations.

.... The immediate area was shut down to local and highway traffic while New Haven Police Department’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene. The bomb squad located two improvised explosive devices in the duffle bag and confirmed they were homemade bombs. The bomb squad rendered the devices safe.

Roads in the area were closed for approximately five hours.

Also located in the vehicle were a sawed off shotgun, bullet proof vest, dark colored clothing and a ski mask. The vehicle, an older model Ford F150 truck has been impounded and the investigation is continuing.

Right wing Brits stand up to Islamic/leftist hordes

(The Sun) There were angry clashes in a city center today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street ...

Government health-care track record: 8-year program, 2 veterans helped

(Associated Press) The drone of helicopters still haunts William Callahan decades after Vietnam combat left him paralyzed, but he said government bureaucracy stood in the way ...

Mexico catches cartel leader indicted for armed invasion of U.S.

(Associated Press) Mexican soldiers arrested a suspected drug gang leader linked to a 2006 border incursion by armed traffickers into Texas and the killing of an anti-crime activist in July ...

Tactical nuclear battle

By Bill Gertz

Obama administration national-security officials are gearing up to battle Congress over $65 million that a House subcommittee cut from the fiscal 2010 budget and that had been slated toward upgrading the oldest tactical nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.

.... "Without refurbishment of these components, the sustainment of the B61 bomb family, a key component of our deterrence strategy, will be in jeopardy," the statement said.

The administration is set to lobby House subcommittee members to restore the funds. A letter is planned from Thomas P. D'Agostino, head of the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, and U.S. Strategic Command commander Gen. Kevin P. Chilton.

Court document swears Kenyan birth cert legit Owner risks perjury in high-profile case to insist Barack Obama born in Africa

By Drew Zahn with WorldNetDaily (as always, you may click on title above to see original posting.)

Screen shot of document Lucas Smith insists is Obama's Kenyan birth certificate

With a scheduled hearing date looming Tuesday, Lucas Smith, the man who tried to sell an alleged Barack Obama Kenyan birth certificate on eBay, has filed court papers in a high-profile eligibility case insisting – under threat of perjury – that the Obama birth certificate in his possession is the genuine article.

Smith filed his affidavit through California attorney Orly Taitz, who has spearheaded several lawsuits challenging Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as president, as part of a case that includes as plaintiff former presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

Taitz posted on her blog Smith's declaration, which claims he obtained the alleged birth certificate from Coast General Hospital

in Mombasa, Kenya, and insists it's real.

"The true and correct photocopy

of the birth certificate obtained is attached to this affidavit as Exhibit A," the declaration reads. "I declare, certify, verify, state and affirm under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing statements of fact and descriptions of circumstances and events are true and correct."

Smith's affidavit, which includes a copy of the certificate, has been filed with Judge David Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Carter is scheduled to preside over a hearing on the case on Sept. 8.

Taitz told WND she believes the swiftly approaching court date prompted Smith into action:

"He has been in touch with me for quite a while, and he emailed me the document with his signature," Taitz said. "I think he was trying to figure out the most expedient way to bring his message public, and maybe he felt that because I have a hearing coming, that would be the most expedient way."

Taitz hopes the court will order expedited discovery, a ruling that would open many of Obama's currently sealed documents, including his college records and Hawaiian long-form birth certificate, to court scrutiny.

"We'll see what happens on Tuesday. If Judge Carter has the guts, we may move very fast," Taitz told WND. "If expedited discovery is ordered, I'll be dashing to Occidental College and then be on a flight to Hawaii."

In his filing, Smith declares that he traveled to Kenya in February and paid off a military officer in order to obtain a copy of the birth certificate from Coast General Hospital in Mombasa. The declaration also states that the hospital administrator

signed and sealed the copy, which indicates Obama's birth in Africa on Aug. 4, 1961, at 7:24 p.m.

As WND reported, Smith released a video of the document he claims is a copy of Obama's hospital birth record, though an investigation by Jerome Corsi maintains the document is a forgery.

WND first reported earlier this year when Lucas Smith, a former resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and known by the eBay handle "colmado_naranja," claimed to have a document proving Obama's birth in Mombasa, Kenya.

After promising to reveal the document to WND, Smith then dropped communications with a team of people offering to help him verify the document, only fueling the belief the sale – and therefore the alleged document – was a scam.

WND followed Smith's ongoing saga as "colmado_naranja" as he attempted several times to sell the document, or photos and stories surrounding it, on eBay, only to have the auctions repeatedly removed by site administrators.

WND also launched an investigation into "colmado_naranja," which led through several online aliases and reported collaborators, including Dawnella Wilson, "InspectorSmith" and, eventually, Lucas Smith.

Smith, whose background includes a lengthy criminal record and a reported attempt to sell his kidney to a man in need of organ transplant, nonetheless insists that his motives are above board, even if his past looks dubious.

"I do have a background. I've made mistakes in my life," Smith told WND in an e-mail. "It took a guy like me to go and get tangible proof about Obama. I don't mind breaking a few laws or policies here and there. I don't mind paying the military in foreign countries to look the other way ... The military [in Africa] will grant you access to anything for just a few dollars. People are starving. So yes, it takes a guy like me to get things done once in a while."

An enhanced version of the Smith YouTube video has been published by Repubx.com, permitting a more legible examination of the document.

WND has also determined that a supposed Kenyan birth certificate previously released by attorney Orly Taitz is also a forgery.

WND has reported on an authentic 1961-era Kenyan birth certificate, which looks distinctly different from the document Smith released in the video.

Authentic 1961-era Kenyan birth certificate obtained by WND

WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen." The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

Complicating the situation is Obama's decision to spend sums estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid releasing a state birth certificate that would put to rest the questions.

WND has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, passport, medical records, files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records, and his adoption records.

Because of the dearth of information about Obama's eligibility, WND founder Joseph Farah has launched a campaign to raise contributions to post billboards asking a simple question: "Where's the birth certificate?"

"Where's The Birth Certificate?" billboard at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas Strip

The campaign followed a petition that has collected more than 450,000 signatures demanding proof of his eligibility, the availability of yard signs raising the question and the production of permanent, detachable magnetic bumper stickers asking the question.

The "certification of live birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.

Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a "natural born citizen," no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth.

If you are a member of the media and would like to interview Joseph Farah about this campaign, e-mail WND.

Lawmakers seek survival in unpopular Congress

By Thomas Ferraro Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Political survival will be high on lawmakers' minds when the Democratic-led U.S. Congress returns to work on Tuesday amid widespread voter dissatisfaction with its performance.

While the debates over healthcare reform, global warming and banking legislation and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will dominate the airwaves, many incumbents, both Democrats and Republicans, are beginning to worry about holding on to their seats in November 2010 elections.

Polls show only about one-third of Americans approve of how lawmakers are doing, less than a year after President Barack Obama led Democrats to big gains in Congress. ....

How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next

(Analyst's note: I am NOT a believer in the causes pushed by Van Jones. We have far too many of our politicians who are supporters of Van Jones.)

.... the "green jobs" concept was merely a new face on the old ideology of central economic planning and control, an alternative and a threat to free market capitalism. ....

Click here for additional information on Van Jones from those who believe in what he stands for.

WND Exclusive FAITH UNDER FIRE Church bell 'noise' under attack – in America Pastor convicted, lawsuit alleges others threatened

By Bob Unruh

Three churches in Phoenix have brought a legal action against the city because one pastor already has been convicted and other churches are being threatened over the "noise" from their bells, some of which have rung out to the community

for decades.

.... No one should be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history

, especially when the sound of the church's bells does not exceed the noise level that the law allows for ice cream trucks ....

Obama 'green jobs' adviser quits amid controversy