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How WikiLeaks scandal affects information sharing at DoD

In our DoD Report, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says information sharing at DoD is too important to set aside even in the wake of the WikiLeaks scandal. We al...

Federal News Network Staff

August 2, 2010 4:01 pm

2 min read

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What will the WikiLeaks leak mean for information sharing in the Defense Department? Defense Secretary Robert Gates says information sharing is too important to put aside. Gates, speaking to Christiane Amanpour on ABC’s This Week, said he is both mortified and appalled by the WikiLeaks scandal. Gates says had the soldier accused of sending the classified documents to WikiLeaks been stationed anywhere in the U.S. he would have been detected. But, he was stationed at an operating base in Afghanistan where the military has increased its effort to push as much information and intelligence to soldiers as possible. Gates says he will not deny soldiers on the front lines top secret information because of one leak. But, he says, “We’re going to look at are there ways in which we can mitigate the risk but without denying the forward soldiers the information.”
Forget everything you’ve heard. Despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ effort to rein in defense spending, the industry is apparently doing just fine. The Washington Post reports, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics are all reporting increased profits for the second quarter. Lockheed Martin’s profit grew 12 percent to $825 million, up from $734 million the year before. Lockheed officials say sales got a big boost from the company’s civilian government projects, including the 2010 Census. General Dynamics increased its second-quarter profit by almost five percent though revenue stayed essentially flat at $8.1 billion. Earnings grew from $618 million in the second quarter of 2009 to $648 million. They credit their information systems and technology division, which posted its highest ever revenue and earnings. Profit was up close to 10 percent for the group. Northrop Grumman also announced a major jump in its profit. Earnings jumped by 80 percent in the second quarter. Northrop said it benefited from a nearly $300 million tax benefit related to an Internal Revenue Service review of tax returns from 2004 through 2006.

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