George and Trish Vradenburg are using their political connections, and their considerable fortune, to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime. What motivates them? The fear that Trish, like her mother, may have the disease. More here.

There’s much welcome indignation over the twin scandals at the General Services Administration and the Secret Service. Does this signal a new era of accountability? Don’t bet on it. More here.

Ever wonder what happens when the United States welcomes a new foreign ambassador? Here’s my behind-the-scenes look at a ceremony that’s steeped in tradition and timed to the minute.

Have a bunch of Silicon Valley computer geeks figured out how to stop terrorists?

I was a guest on this week’s “On the Media,” talking about the renewal of the Patriot Act, and whether the Obama administration is secretly interpreting the law in a way that allows the government to collect more information.

As the CIA has gotten better at hunting down and killing people, it has come to look increasingly like a military outfit run by civilians.The ascendancy of Gen. David Petraeus to CIA director begins to make a lot more sense when you consider that the difference between CIA and military operations is getting less significant […]

A draft indictment against former NSA official Thomas Drake, which was never filed, shows that the government contemplated prosecuting him for a range of crimes, including conspiracy. But many of the most serious charges were dropped. Why? And what does it tell us about the Obama administration’s ongoing campaign to staunch leaks of classified information? […]

The Watchers is on sale today in paperback. You can pick up a copy in your favorite bookstore or online. It’s got a nifty new cover, as well as a new afterword on the Christmas Day bombing attempt. That event occurred as the hardcover was going to press, so we couldn’t work it in. I’m glad it’s in the new version, because it ties up the theme of the whole book very nicely.

Here are some links to bookstores selling the paperback:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Borders

Powell’s

IndieBound

Penguin

I’ve long known that, on many important national security decisions, former president George W. Bush wasn’t in the driver’s seat. But I was shocked to discover that at one of the most critical points of his presidency, Bush wasn’t even in the car. Here’s my review of Bush’s shocking admission, in his new memoir, about […]

My new feature in Washingtonian looks at the ten year saga to buy the Air Force’s new mid-air refueling tanker. I’ve been writing about government contracts for years, and this is easily the most fascinating, controversial, and personally ruinous contracting story I’ve ever encountered. Hopefully, by year’s end, the Air Force will put an end […]