buglerbilly
14-05-10, 12:56 AM
By WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Published: 13 May 2010 15:38
Stressing that the U.S. military "can't kill our way out of this struggle with violent extremists," House lawmakers added $20 million to the 2011 defense budget so the Defense Department can develop new strategies for use in irregular warfare.
The money would pay for "emerging areas of research" into better ways to deal with radicalization and new ways to fight irregular warfare, said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, chairwoman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities.
One particular aim of the research is "to help us understand how better to counter adversarial and extremists' use of the Internet," Sanchez said during a May 13 markup of sections of the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.
Subcommittee members are concerned that extremists have developed effective ways to spread radical philosophy over the Internet, and that the United States has not developed a successful "counter narrative," subcommittee staffers said.
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., explained the problem this way: "How is media being used against us, and what can we do to gain the advantage?" He said additional money would be spent on "social science research."
To begin fighting back on the Internet, the U.S. military needs to better understand the digital environment, the staffers said.
The military also needs to be better able to defend its own computers and networks, subcommittee members said. They added $20 million to the 2011 defense budget to develop "leap ahead" cybersecurity technologies, staffers said.
Half of the $20 million is to be used for developing cybersecurity technologies now in very early stages. The other half is aimed at more mature technologies, they said.
Overall, the subcommittee approved spending $27 billion on equipment, research and training for troops and some civilian employees who focus on fighting terrorism.
About $10 billion of that goes to the Special Operations Command - $205 more than was requested in the defense budget proposed by the Obama administration. At least some of the extra money was requested as "unfunded requirements" by the Special Operations Command.
For example, about $5 million is to be spent on modifications to equipment to improve ground mobility of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, a staffer said.
Published: 13 May 2010 15:38
Stressing that the U.S. military "can't kill our way out of this struggle with violent extremists," House lawmakers added $20 million to the 2011 defense budget so the Defense Department can develop new strategies for use in irregular warfare.
The money would pay for "emerging areas of research" into better ways to deal with radicalization and new ways to fight irregular warfare, said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, chairwoman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities.
One particular aim of the research is "to help us understand how better to counter adversarial and extremists' use of the Internet," Sanchez said during a May 13 markup of sections of the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.
Subcommittee members are concerned that extremists have developed effective ways to spread radical philosophy over the Internet, and that the United States has not developed a successful "counter narrative," subcommittee staffers said.
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., explained the problem this way: "How is media being used against us, and what can we do to gain the advantage?" He said additional money would be spent on "social science research."
To begin fighting back on the Internet, the U.S. military needs to better understand the digital environment, the staffers said.
The military also needs to be better able to defend its own computers and networks, subcommittee members said. They added $20 million to the 2011 defense budget to develop "leap ahead" cybersecurity technologies, staffers said.
Half of the $20 million is to be used for developing cybersecurity technologies now in very early stages. The other half is aimed at more mature technologies, they said.
Overall, the subcommittee approved spending $27 billion on equipment, research and training for troops and some civilian employees who focus on fighting terrorism.
About $10 billion of that goes to the Special Operations Command - $205 more than was requested in the defense budget proposed by the Obama administration. At least some of the extra money was requested as "unfunded requirements" by the Special Operations Command.
For example, about $5 million is to be spent on modifications to equipment to improve ground mobility of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, a staffer said.