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The White House threatened to veto the Intelligence Authorization bill because its demands for transparency and oversight would, in some cases, put American lives at risk, in the view of the Obama administration. President Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag (pictured), sent letters to the heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on Monday stating the that the House and Senate Intelligence Authorization bills “and their classified annexes still contain several provisions of serious concern to the Intelligence Community (IC). Three categories of provisions are so serious that the President’s senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill if they are included in the version presented for his signature: the Congressional notification provisions, GAO provisions, and provisions regarding the amounts authorized for the National Intelligence Program.” What do you all think? There is a fine line between transparency and risking the lives of those who work in the IC. Check out the Washington Posts’s coverage here.

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Here we are. It’s Monday morning and time to dust off the cob webs and kick it into high gear – professionally speaking of course. Today, we have a wide range of GEOINT-related news from the business side (latest on sale of TASC) to the disturbing (space warfare with China) to the entertaining (NKorea’s Kim travels like a rock star). Our intention, as always with this post, is to provide you with a wide range of news stories to help you kick off your work week with professional gusto. So, as we say, go fire up that second cup of coffee and read on and Happy Monday!

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Once again, it is Monday and it’s time for the Monday Morning News Kick Off. As always, we have compiled all the actionable news you need to get the week started on the right foot. We have another compelling Op-Ed from USGIF board member, Mr. Christopher Tucker, along with stories about Intelligence Fusion Centers, NGA’s efforts in supporting FEMA in the Somoan Island recover efforts and much, much more. So, fire up that second cup of coffee and scroll down. Happy Monday!

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It is certainly heartening for us GEOINT/GIS/Mapping enthusiasts to see that President Obama is using mapping technologies to showcase his successes in his first 100 days in office. Click on this link to see the map and definitely roll over each state where you will see the various actions taken by the new administration. The site also offers real-life stories of citizens who have benefited from the Obama’s efforts.

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General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and other members of Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) are urging the Obama Administration to move forward with naming a czar to lead a cyber security overhaul, according to a report to be released on today. According to the report — which as of press time, had not yet been released — said that “by selecting the leader and his/her leadership team now, this administration will send the message that the U.S. government is serious in taking an active role in cyber security.”

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While we have continually been covering news around intelligence challenges the the Obama administration will face, we came across an op-ed that goes beyond the “usual” challenges (i.e., managing the bureaucratic nature of the intel community, dealing with the post Bush intel baggage, etc.). Lee Hamilton, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., penned this op-ed, which appeared in today’s Indianapolis Star.

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Hindsight is definitely 20/20 and it seems that both President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are speaking from the same messaging document while addressing intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq invasion in 2003.

Secretary Rice told Fox News’ Chris Wallace yesterday that it pains her that the U.S. invaded Iraq based on faulty intelligence, but overall she maintained that the Middle East is a much safer place now. She also said that:

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