Rapid Fire 2010-11-8: Overbilling Settlement

• US personnel ratchet up criticism of Pakistan, openly saying that Pakistan’s ISI is threatening to arrest Taliban commanders who reconcile with the Afghan government. ISI support of al-Qaeda and the Taliban has long been an open secret, made more open as a result of WikiLeaks, but this accusation is a new level of seriousness – and could affect the pending military aid package. Fox News | Pakistan’s DAWN | Times of India | Afghan Conflict Monitor.

• Predator vs Al-Qaeda: US deploys Predator UAVs in Yemen to hunt down Al-Qaeda, the Washington Post reports.

• Changing Course: Northrop Grumman nixes plans to sell shipbuilding business, plans spinoff instead, according to Bloomberg sources.

• F-35 program rumored to be headed for higher costs, further delays.

• Blowing the Whistle: Louis Berger Group settles for $69.3 million a whisteblower lawsuit that alleged the company overbilled the US government for construction contracts in Afghanistan.

• Russian military vets rally against budget-cutting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

• US forces to expand use of Australian military facilities.

• Tea Party: Senator-elect Rand Paul [R-KY], whose candidacy received strong Tea Partier support, says Republican lawmakers must be open to cutting military spending. His dad, Rep. Ron Paul [R-TX-14], has been saying as much for quite some time. Same results now, or is this time different?