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Pakistani Intelligence Aiding Afghan Taliban?

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The BBC is reporting on a leaked NATO report claiming that elements of Pakistani intelligence are directly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan even as the U.S.-led NATO forces are fighting them: The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC. The leaked [...]

Ron Paul Steps In It In South Carolina

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Once again, Ron Paul showed last night why he could never win the Republican nomination.

U.S. Evacuates Pakistan Drone Base

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As part of the blowback from the accidental deaths of two dozen Pakistani soldiers in a NATO helicopter raid, the U.S. is leaving a base in Pakistan used in drone operations: In another sign of deteriorating relations with Pakistan, the United States is vacating an air base used to launch American drones in response to [...]

Defense Bill Allows For Indefinite Military Detention of American Citizens

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The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 authorizes the President the authority to indefinitely detain persons, even American citizens arrested on American soil, without trial because they allegedly support the enemy.

Republicans For Waterboarding

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The most disturbing part of Saturday’s debate came when most of the GOP candidates endorsed torture.

Wargaming An Attack On Iran

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Karim Sadjapour writes about a wargaming scenario he recently participated in with a group of former U.S. officials and experts on Israel and Iran to try to play out how an Israeli strike on Iran might go. Sadjapour was on the Iranian team and, as he relates, it didn’t turn out well for anyone: Iran’s [...]

The Costs Of Attacking Iran

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An attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons research facility won’t be an easy thing.

Defense and State Reining in CIA Drone War

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The CIA’s drone war in Pakistan has gotten so out of hand that the Pentagon and State Department are reigning it in.

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 16 Year-Old American Citizen

The U.S. drone war in Yemen has taken out another victim: A wave of CIA drone strikes targeting al-Qaeda figures in Yemen is stoking widespread anger there that U.S. policy is cruel and misguided, prioritizing counterterrorism over a genuine solution to the country’s raging political crisis. Politics has never been a concern to Sam al-Homiganyi [...]

TSA Hits the Road

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The TSA is deploying VIPR units to weigh stations and bus stations in TN.

Herman Cain’s Odd Response On Negotiation With Terrorists

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Yesterday before the Republican debate, Herman Cain made a misstep that once again displayed out far out of his depth he is when it comes to foreign policy. It came in an interview with Wolf Blitzer in response to a question about the release of Israeli solider Galid Shalit in a prisoner exchange: BLITZER: Imagine [...]

What Is Iran Up To, If They’re Up To Anything?

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What’s the logic behind Iran’s alleged plot to commit terrorist attacks inside the United States?

Iranian Terror Plot in US Foiled

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The Justice Department claims to have disrupted a major Iranian-backed terrorist attack in the United States.

There Really Is A Death Panel

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We’re learning more about the Obama Administration’s decision to kill Anwar al-Awlaki

They Just Want Us To Trust Them And Not Ask Any Annoying Questions

This exchange between White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and ABC’s Jake Tapper lays out pretty starkly the Administration’s position on the President’s authority to order assassinations of American citizens without due process of law: video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player There’s something fundamentally wrong here, I think. Even if you accept the idea that al-Awlaki [...]

The Death Of Anwar Al-Awlaki And The Imperial Presidency

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Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

Terrorist Plot, Or Homeland Security Theater?

When the FBI essentially creates a terrorist in order to arrest him, have we really accomplished anything?

When Can a President Order an American Killed?

Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, gives a religious lecture in an unknown location

My latest for The Atlantic, “The Thorniest Question: When Can a President Order an American Killed?” has been posted.

Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen

Anwar al-Awlaki, a major al Qaeda leader and American citizen, has been killed in Yemem–almost certainly by an American Predator drone. BBC (“Islamist cleric Anwar Awlaki ‘killed in Yemen’“): The US-born radical Islamist cleric and suspected al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen, the country’s defence ministry reported. US administration officials confirmed the [...]

Rezwan Ferdaus Terror Plot: Serious or Amateur?

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Rezwan Ferdaus, an American Muslim, has been charged with a major terrorist plot against his country.

Up To 20,000 Missiles Reported Missing From Libya

Earlier this month I took note of a report of a number of Russian made surface-to-air missiles that were missing from a weapons cache in Libya. It now appears that the problem is much worse than that: U.S. officials had once thought there was little chance that terrorists could get their hands on many of [...]

Admiral Mullen: Pakistan Backed Terrorist Group That Attacked U.S. Embassy

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The relationship between the United States and Pakistan seems destined to head into bad waters after yesterday’s accusation by outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen that the terrorist group that attacked the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was backed by elements of Pakistan’s intelligence service: WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military official said Thursday that [...]

FBI Investigating Use Of Anti-Muslim Literature in Training

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Just last week I wrote about the investigative work that Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman had done in discovering the FBI’s use of bizarre anti-Muslim propaganda in some of its advanced counter-terrorism training programs. Yesterday, the FBI issued this statement: The FBI is currently conducting a comprehensive review of all training and reference materials that relate [...]

CIA Launches Investigation Of Work With NYPD

Last month, we learned that the Central Intelligence Agency has spent the last ten years aiding the New York City Police Department in anti-terror efforts, with no small degree of controversy. Now, The New York Times reports that the CIA has launched an internal investigation of its involvement with the NYPD: WASHINGTON — The Central [...]

FBI Using Anti-Muslim Literature To Train Counterterroism Agents

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The FBI has been using some odd materials to train its counterterrorism agents.

Paul Krugman: 9/11 Has Become “An Occasion For Shame”

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Paul Krugman chose to mark the the 10th anniversary of September 11th with an odd blog post.

December 7, 1951 v. September 11, 2011

Not every 10th anniversary of a horrible surprise attack has been treated the same.

No Football On 9/11?

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Was it wrong for the NFL to schedule its opening Sunday on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks?

Bush, Clinton, Biden Honor Flight 93

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The short-lived national unity spawned by the attacks of a decade ago was re-kindled for a few hours as former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush joined with Vice President Joe Biden to honor Flight 93.

A Decade of Lost Freedom

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Measuring our progress a decade after the 9/11 attacks

Are We Safer?

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Measuring our progress a decade after the 9/11 attacks

Federal Officials Investigating “Specific, Credible” Terror Threats Connected To 9/11 Anniversary

Late breaking today is news that Federal officials are looking into possible threats of terror attacks tied to the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks: A “specific, credible” threat has emerged surrounding the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, U.S. officials said Thursday. But they emphasized that there was a great deal [...]

America’s License to Kill

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Killing’s our business and business is good.

College Campus 9/11 Commemorations

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Are colleges teaching the right lessons about the 9/11 attacks?

Report: CIA Worked With Libyan Intelligence, Utilized Libya As Site For Secret Interrogations

The collapse of the Libyan government has led to the discovery of a treasure trove of documents, including evidence of close cooperation between the CIA and Libyan Intelligence in the rendition and torture of suspected al Qaeda members: Documents found at the abandoned office of Libya’s former spymaster appear to provide new details of the [...]

Know Thine Enemy

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Understanding why your enemy hates you seems to be an important thing, but some people would rather believe in caricatures.

Ron Paul: American Foreign Policy Is The Primary Motivation For Terrorism

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Ron Paul is again making the argument that American foreign policy has contributed to terrorism. He’s more right than wrong.

Libyan Rebels Refuse To Extradite Any Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Suspects

Any hope that a change in government in Tripoli would bring the people responsible for the bombing for Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland has gone out the window: TRIPOLI, Libya – The Libyan rebels’ interim government says it will not deport the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The rebel Justice Minister [...]

U.S. Troops In Afghanistan Until 2024?

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The U.S may be on the verge of committing the next decade to the future of Afghanistan.

Report: CIA Aiding NYPD In Domestic Surveillance Programs, Raising Civil Liberties Concerns

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Is the NYPD becoming too much like the CIA?

Lockerbie Bomber Not Dying After All

With rebel forces closing in around Tripoli, we’re once again getting word that the only man convicted in the bombing of Pam Am Flight 103, released by the British because he was supposedly dying of cancer, isn’t likely to die anytime soon: Scottish authorities have come under attack from around the world for the decision [...]

How They Got Bin Laden

The New Yorker has a great piece out today by Nicholas Schmidle detailing the behind the scenes details of the mission that ended the life of Osama bin Laden: The Americans hurried toward the bedroom door. The first SEAL pushed it open. Two of bin Laden’s wives had placed themselves in front of him. Amal [...]

Al Qaeda On The Brink Of Collapse?

Some U.S. officials believe that the assassination of Osama bin Laden has put al Qaeda on the ropes: U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed al­Qaeda to the brink of collapse. The assessment reflects a widespread view [...]

Oslo Shooter Anti-Muslim Christian Extremist

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The death toll in Norway’s deadliest day of terrorism is up to 91. The man behind it, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, is a frequent poster of anti-Muslim screeds on Christian fundamentalist websites.

Pakistan Threatens To Remove Troops From Afghan Border Over Aid Dispute

As I noted yesterday the United States is withholding certain military aid to Pakistan over that countries actions in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now, Pakistan is threatening to end its cooperation in the War On Terror if aid remains cut off: Pakistan could pull back troops fighting Islamist militants near [...]

U.S. Withholding Military Aid To Pakistan

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Signs of tension between the United States and Pakistan are becoming more and more evident: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to [...]

TSA: Terrorists Looking To Surgically Implant Bombs

A new warning from the Transportation Security Administration: The U.S. government has warned domestic and international airlines that some terrorists are considering surgically implanting explosives into humans to carry out attacks, The Associated Press has learned. There is no intelligence pointing to a specific plot, but the U.S. shared its concerns last week with executives [...]

U.S. Drones Strike Somalia, Or As We Can Now Call It, “War Number Five”

Today’s Washington Post reports that  American drones have made strikes against “militants” in Somalia: A U.S. drone aircraft fired on two leaders of a militant Somali organization tied to al-Qaeda, apparently wounding them, a senior U.S. military official familiar with the operation said Wednesday. The strike last week against senior members of al-Shabab comes amid [...]

Another TSA Outrage: 95 Year-Old Women With Cancer Now A National Security Threat

After reading through the details of this story, one can only wonder why the people involved were thinking: Lena Reppert, a native of Barry County, was flying from Florida to move home to the Hastings area, where she’s living with relatives who are caring for her, said her daughter, Jean Weber of Destin, Fla. Instead [...]

Pretty Much Every Resident Of Our “Ally” Pakistan Hates Us

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A Pew Research Center poll released this week provides a stark reminder of just how bad the reputation is in what is arguably one of our most important strategic allies: Currently, just 12% express a positive view of the U.S. and only 8% have confidence in President Barack Obama to do the right thing in [...]

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