Two leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee are questioning the harsh federal prosecution of Aaron Swartz and the bulked-up felony charges against him even as the Pentagon - citing official talk of  possible "cyber-Pearl Harbor" attacks by mysterious foreign hackers, extremist groups or "aggressor nations" - has announced it will expand its cyber-security force fivefold to over 4,000 people. Glenn Greenwald and other critics charge the move is part of a fear-mongering campaign that will expand the role of the U.S. as the world's leading cyber-aggressor, privatize government cyber-spying, and make a few companies lots of oversight-free money while at the same time posing new threats to our privacy and Internet freedom.

"What Dwight Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex has been feeding itself on fear campaigns since it was born. A never-ending carousel of Menacing Enemies - Communists, Terrorists, Latin American Tyrants, Saddam's chemical weapons, Iranian mullahs - has sustained it, and Cyber-Threats are but the latest."