February 20, 2008

Can These Guys Run Pakistan?

Pervez Musharraf, who seized power illegally and whose unpopularity now prompts rioting in Pakistan's streets, isn't going anywhere.

Not if he can help it, anyway. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (subscription), Musharraf stubbornly insisted on his relevance to Pakistani politics and said he would help shepherd in the newly elected government.

But the leaders of the two parties that won big in Monday's parliamentary election -- former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Party and Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party -- called on Musharraf to step down. The two are meeting today to discuss, in all likelihood, forming a broad-based coalition government that does not include Musharraf.

"He used to say that when people expressed no confidence in him that he would leave. Now the people have announced their decision," said Sharif, who was tossed out of office in the military coup led by the former general in 1999.

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Posted at 9:17 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Pakistan, President Bush, Terrorism
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Supreme Court Nixes Domestic Spying Suit

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected without comment a challenge to the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program. The decision is the latest setback to legal efforts to force disclosure of details of the warrantless wiretapping that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The American Civil Liberties Union wanted the court to allow a lawsuit by the group and individuals over the wiretapping program. Previously, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, saying the plaintiffs could not prove their communications had been monitored. The government has refused to turn over information about the program that could reveal who has been under surveillance.

AP has details on ACLU vs. NSA. And for more on yesterday's Supreme Court decisions, see CongressDailyPM (subscription).

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Posted to: Supreme Court, Terrorism
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February 15, 2008

FISA Fight Spills Over Into Recess

President Bush and Republican congressional leaders today charged that House Democratic leaders put the nation at risk by failing to move legislation renewing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack," Bush said following a meeting at the White House with GOP leaders. "By not giving the professionals the tools they need, it's going to be a lot harder to do the job we need to be able to defend America."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the president's claims of imminent danger were overblown because Bush would still have authority to allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists after the law expires at midnight. "A wide range of national security experts has made clear that the president and our intelligence community have all the tools they need to protect our nation," Hoyer said. He called Bush's remarks "wrong, divisive and nothing more than fear-mongering."

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, House, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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February 14, 2008

House GOP Walks Out Over Contempt Vote, FISA

UPDATED.

Enraged House Republicans staged a walkout from the floor after Democrats sought a contempt of Congress vote for White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers.

"We will not stand for this and we will not stay for this," said Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking from the House floor. "I would ask my House Republican colleagues and those who believe that we should be here protecting the American people to not vote on this bill. Let's just get up and leave."

And with that, a few dozen House GOP lawmakers got up and left. They convened on the Capitol steps to address the cameras.

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Posted at 3:53 PM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, Harriet Miers, Homeland Security, House, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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February 13, 2008

Senate To Battle Over Authorization Bill's Torture Provision

Having cleared a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act revision bill yesterday after weeks of skirmishing, the Senate is now expected to battle over legislation that would prohibit the CIA from using coercive interrogation techniques.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will try today to advance the long-stalled conference agreement on a measure that would authorize intelligence programs and spending for the current fiscal year. Reid is seeking a vote to invoke cloture on the bill, which would cut off debate and set it up for final passage.

But Republicans and the White House oppose a provision in the authorization bill that would prohibit the CIA and all other U.S. intelligence agencies from using interrogation techniques not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual.

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Posted to: CIA, Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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February 11, 2008

Military Commissions To Get First Major Test

The Pentagon formally announced today it was seeking the death penalty for six Guantanamo detainees for their alleged roles in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The cases, to be tried jointly at the government's request, are the first to hit the U.S. government's as-yet-untested military tribunals system.

The creation of a separate judicial system for foreign terrorism suspects has been slowgoing, fraught with do-overs and heavily criticized around the world. Last June, the first two cases to be brought before the newly established military commissions -- under orders from the Supreme Court and Congress -- were summarily tossed out on technicalities. Now, DOD is signaling its intention of finally putting the military commissions to the test, and with its biggest fish in the war on terror so far.

The highest-profile defendant is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who as al-Qaida's No. 3 confessed to planning and facilitating the 9/11 attacks as well as personally beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Military, Terrorism
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February 07, 2008

Mukasey: CIA Waterboarding Will Not Be Investigated

Attorney General Michael Mukasey today said the Justice Department will not open a criminal investigation into waterboarding by CIA employees because his department previously permitted use of the technique in interrogations of suspected terrorists. Waterboarding "cannot possibly be the subject of a Justice Department investigation, because that would mean that the same department that authorized the program would now consider prosecuting someone who followed that advice," Mukasey told the House Judiciary Committee at a department oversight hearing.

Mukasey's remarks followed an admission Tuesday by CIA Director Michael Hayden that the agency used waterboarding -- an interrogation technique that causes suspects to believe they are drowning -- on three al-Qaida detainees after Sept. 11, 2001. The department's Office of Legal Counsel has issued opinions that waterboarding is legal in some circumstances, though Mukasey and other Bush administration officials have said U.S. employees do not now use it.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, CIA, Congress, House, Michael Mukasey, Terrorism
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More Warnings Delivered On Afghanistan

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied that her surprise visit to Kandahar today was Washington's way of sticking it to NATO allies not doing their fair share in Afghanistan.

"It's just the rationale of being able to get outside of Kabul and see one of the areas that's been very active," Rice said before touching down, according to Reuters. "I don't think there's any message there to anyone."

Poignantly -- or not, if Rice's statement is taken at face value -- she and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband were touring Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold in the country's south. Most trips by top foreign dignitaries are confined to the much safer capital city of Kabul. Kandahar remains dangerous, but it is also a prime example of the effectiveness of NATO forces in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

And in what has over the years become a ritual, Afghan President Hamid Karzai denied there were tensions between his government and its Western allies.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Europe, Germany, Robert Gates, Terrorism, U.K.
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February 06, 2008

What's The Point Of NATO, Anyway?

The U.S. and Britain have been fighting an uphill battle to win deeper commitments from NATO allies in Afghanistan. With recent independent reports warning that Afghanistan may be tipping back into failed statehood, and a critical upcoming vote in Canada that could determine that country's ongoing security contributions, NATO member nations are facing a kind of do-or-die moment.

The question at hand is: What is NATO's mission in the 21st century?

NATO was formed during the Cold War to fend off the Soviet threat. It was a mutual security pact, in which an attack on one was to be perceived as an attack on all.

After the 9/11 attacks, it became clear that al-Qaida was now the biggest threat facing the West. With little debate, NATO's mission was updated for the 21st century, and forces were sent to Afghanistan.

More than six years later, the success of NATO's fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida is in dispute. The war in Iraq sapped resources from Afghanistan, and more importantly sapped confidence in the United States' and Britain's leadership roles there. Nations have withdrawn forces over the last several years, and now the fighting -- and dying -- falls disproportionately on the U.S., Britain, the Netherlands and Canada.

Member nations privately blame the U.S. and Britain for being so preoccupied with the war in Iraq -- overwhelmingly unpopular among member nations -- that they delivered a seemingly half-hearted effort in Afghanistan. Washington and 10 Downing Street vehemently deny this is the case.

Without positing it directly, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is challenging member nations to remember the point of NATO and step up their contributions. "I do think the alliance is facing a real test here. And it is a test of the alliance's strength," she said at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband today.

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Posted at 5:30 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Europe, Germany, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Pakistan, President Bush, Robert Gates, Terrorism, U.K.
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February 04, 2008

Suicide Bombing Comes In Time Of Weakness For Olmert

The first suicide bombing that Israel has seen in more than a year killed a 20-year-old woman and injured 11 others, and comes at a particularly delicate time in renewed Mideast peace negotiations.

The attack was claimed by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the unofficial terrorist wing of the Fatah Party, and took place at a shopping center in the southern town of Dimona. A second bomber was shot and killed by police before he could detonate explosives strapped to his body.

"Monday's terror attack gives us a painful reminder that we must be vigilant and maintain our readiness in all areas," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "We are waging a war on terror. It is continuing without bounds and we will get to everyone involved in terror activity."

According to BBC News, an al-Aqsa spokesman hinted that the breach along the Gaza-Egypt border made the bombing mission possible. Gaza militants blew up the border two weeks ago amid an Israeli-enforced blockade that made travel to purchase goods and visit family members nearly impossible.

Egyptian security forces finally sealed the last remaining breach on Sunday, but not without violent exchanges with some lagging Palestinians. Officials haven't yet confirmed whether the Dimona bombers entered Israel via Egypt, but the bombing has already led to calls for suspending peace negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Fatah, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinians, President Bush, Terrorism
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January 31, 2008

Reports: Top Al-Qaida Operative Killed

One of al-Qaida's top commanders in Afghanistan, Abu Laith al-Libi, has been killed, reportedly near the Afghan-Pakistan border, several sources confirm. However, the details of his death are still fuzzy.

The news first appeared on Ekhlaas.org, a Web site used by Islamist groups, BBC News reports. It has since been confirmed by the Washington-based SITE Institute and various news organizations.

Al-Libi, a senior leader of the terrorist organization, served as a "key liaison" with the Taliban, according to AP. Citing Pakistani intelligence officials and locals, AP reports that "a missile hit a compound in a village about 2.5 miles outside Mir Ali in North Waziristan late Monday or early Tuesday, destroying the facility." Pakistani officials said they did not know the source of the missile. BBC News reports that about a dozen militants were killed in the attack, including al-Libi.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Pakistan, Terrorism
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January 30, 2008

Mukasey Frustrates Again On Waterboarding

Attorney General Michael Mukasey fended off questions today on waterboarding, CIA destruction of interrogation tapes, the U.S. attorney firings and other high-profile issues in his first appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee since his contentious confirmation hearings three months ago.

Mukasey said the CIA does not conduct waterboarding now and that the committee would be privately informed should that change. Mukasey repeatedly declined to say if waterboarding -- an interrogation technique that causes suspects to believe they are drowning -- constitutes torture, or to confirm if it was used by the CIA.

"Given waterboarding is not part of the [interrogation] program and may never be added to the program, I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment on its legality," he testified. Mukasey did suggest a standard where the brutality of an interrogator's action would be weighed against the value of information elicited to decide if the act constitutes torture. That position drew rebukes from several committee Democrats.

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Posted to: Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, CIA, Constitution, Michael Mukasey, President Bush, Terrorism
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January 28, 2008

Liveblogging President Bush's Final State Of The Union Address

End note. SOTU affairs are always a laundry list, and few expect them to deliver poetry. This year's address (full text) did lack the rhetorical punch of previous years, particularly Bush's first SOTU address following 9/11, which received very high marks.

If there is one character trait that describes this president, it is determination-bordering-on-
stubbornness. He has largely ignored polls and the punditry, and he only changed tacks in Iraq when the calls for a change in course permeated his own administration. Plenty of Americans didn't tune in to this speech tonight, on the assumption Bush is a lame duck. That is probably not the case, at least as far as the legislature is concerned.

With his veto threat and the executive order coming Tuesday, Bush is asserting himself in a dramatic way. The rate of federal spending under Bush's watch is triple that of the Clinton administration. That Bush is positioning himself to put a foot down on pork-barrel spending was pretty unexpected in his final year in office. We'll be watching to see how it pans out.

As for Bush's various claims in tonight's speech, NPR's reporters have been posting fact checks all evening. See their corrections on the tax cuts, FISA, Iraq and entitlement reform. Good night.

10:27. A somewhat unexpected criticism of the president here: "In spite of the attempts to convince us that we are divided as a people, a new American majority has come together. We are tired of leaders who rather than asking what we can do for our country, ask nothing of us at all.

"We are Americans sharing a belief in something greater than ourselves, a nation coming together to meet challenges and find solutions; to share sacrifices and share prosperity; and focus, once again, not only on the individual good but on the common good."

It should come as little surprise that Sebelius has endorsed Barack Obama. This speech reflects Democrats' palpable eagerness to move the country well away from the Bush era.

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Posted to: Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Climate Change, Congress, Democrats, Economy, Hillary Rodham Clinton, House, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Senate, Taxes, Terrorism, Trade, Veterans, WH 2008
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January 25, 2008

The New New Way Forward In Iraq

To non-hyperpartisans who've been following developments in Iraq, it's been clear for some time that there will be a significant U.S. presence there going into the next decade, regardless of which party rules the White House next year. Though both sides called a de facto truce in Congress following the anticlimactic testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker in September, lawmakers appear to be getting their sea legs back on the war debate.

A skirmish is just now brewing over the White House's negotiations with the Iraqi government concerning the longer-term American posture there. "Status of forces" agreements are standard issue with allies; we have one with more than 120 countries, according to the State Department. Iraq, of course, is not just any country, and Democrats are nervous that the new agreement will lock the U.S. into a deeper, more long-term engagement than they'd like.

It's already playing on the campaign trail. In a debate in Las Vegas last week, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama agreed to pursue legislation requiring President Bush to request congressional approval for the Iraq status of forces agreement. "I think we have to do everything we can to prevent President Bush from binding the hands of the next president," Clinton said.

Presidents usually don't have to bring those agreements before Congress, but administration officials acknowledged to the Washington Post that they might have to submit the Iraq agreement for lawmakers' approval.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Congress, Constitution, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Robert Gates, Terrorism, WH 2008
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January 24, 2008

Mosul Police Chief Killed

A suicide bomber killed the head of the Mosul police force this morning. Brigadier Gen. Saleh Mohammed Hassan was touring the site of yesterday's massive bombing when he was approached by a man wearing an explosives vest under an Iraqi police uniform. Two officers were also killed.

Police had been investigating the three-story building destroyed yesterday due to reports that it was being used to stockpile weapons or produce bombs. It had been rigged with explosives, and because it was located in the middle of a city block, its destruction injured scores of people. At least 30 were killed and more than 130 wounded.

Mosul is becoming a "gathering point and growing target for Sunni insurgents," the Washington Post reports, and the London Guardian calls it "the last urban centre with a strong al-Qaida presence." See the stories for more details.

Posted at 7:52 AM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Iraq, Middle East, Terrorism
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January 23, 2008

Senate Resumes Sparring Over FISA; Cheney Pushes For Renewal

UPDATED.

Vice President Dick Cheney today urged Congress to pass legislation that permanently addresses the nation's surveillance law and shields telecommunications companies from lawsuits for helping the Bush administration spy on U.S. citizens without court warrants. Cheney made his remarks in a short speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, just as the Senate was moving toward resuming debate on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act legislation. CongressDailyPM (subscription) has details on Cheney's remarks.

The opening salvo over FISA renewal was fired yesterday in the Senate, as Democratic leaders sought more time to craft legislation while the White House and Republicans ramped up pressure for immediate action.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Republicans late yesterday for another month to craft permanent legislation to overhaul FISA; a temporary law making changes to the bill expires Feb. 1. Reid said more time was needed for lawmakers to work out their differences and to conference with the House. "It's not fair to the House to jam them so that they have one day to act on this," Reid said.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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January 22, 2008

Judge Gives Padilla 17 Years

Jose Padilla, the onetime accused dirty-bomber whom the U.S. government tried to prosecute for five years in an untested legal maze, has been sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison for aiding terrorists abroad.

The charges on which Padilla was convicted last summer are a far cry from the initial accusations against the 37-year-old American citizen. When he was picked up in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the Justice Department accused him of plotting to detonate radioactive, or dirty, bombs in the U.S.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Detainees, Jose Padilla, Terrorism
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January 16, 2008

Ex-Congressman Indicted For Funding Terrorism

Mark Deli Siljander, a former Republican congressman from Michigan, has been indicted for his alleged role in a terrorist funding ring.

Siljander served in the House from 1981 to 1987, after which he was named a U.S. representative to the U.N. by President Reagan. Siljander, 57, showed a special interest in U.S.-Islamic relations, and went on to take an advisory post at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies. He's also lectured on the subject for his Washington-based consulting firm, Global Strategies, Inc., according to its Web site.

AP reports that the 42-count indictment leveled against the Islamic American Relief Agency accuses the charity of funneling more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida/Taliban sympathizer who has threatened international troops in Afghanistan. According to the charges, Siljander was paid $50,000 -- stolen from USAID -- to lobby for IARA.

According to a DOJ press release, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahedeen leader, was the recipient of IARA's alleged scheme. Hekmatyar's organization, Hezb-e-Islami-Gulbuddin, is accused of engaging in terrorist acts with al-Qaida and the Taliban.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Terrorism
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January 14, 2008

At Least Six Killed In Kabul Attack

At least six people were killed and six more injured when a suicide bomber exploded and militants opened fire on a luxury hotel in Kabul earlier today, according to U.S. officials and a Taliban spokesman.

State Department officials told AP that at least one American died in the attack, which was aimed at Western civilians staying at the Serena Hotel. A Norwegian journalist was also reportedly killed.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the militants were targeting Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who was in the hotel basement at the time and survived unhurt.

According to the New York Times, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, "calling it a coordinated assault by four men armed with guns and suicide belts." The attack was "one of the most brazen assaults by the Taliban in the heavily protected heart of the Afghan capital," the Times reports.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, Terrorism
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January 08, 2008

ICYMI: War In Iraq *Still On*

Hey everybody, we're still at war in Iraq! (And Afghanistan.) We know, it's easy to forget when every newspaper and news channel is focused on New Hampshire.

The Gate is going to let Granite State voters do their thing -- you know, democracy -- and will update with the results tonight when they are confirmed. In the meantime, here are some developments from Iraq that you will have missed if you're as glued to the TV as we are.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have begun a significant air and land raid in insurgent-infested Diyala River Valley. About 4,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are involved in the effort, which launched overnight, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Pentagon's new counterinsurgency strategy has successfully brought violence down, but commanders still face an uphill battle in their bid to scrub out/neutralize al-Qaida in Iraq. Part of the reason why is that militant fighters in Iraq are by now well-versed in dissipating into the general population when these U.S.-led missions begin.

According to the LAT account, "there were reports that the 50 to 60 senior insurgent leaders holed up northwest of Muqdadiya had fled."

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Military, Palestinians, President Bush, Terrorism, WH 2008
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January 02, 2008

DOJ To Investigate Destruction Of CIA Tapes

UPDATED.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced today that the Justice Department would open a criminal probe into why the CIA destroyed videotapes of terrorism interrogations, but a top administration critic renewed calls for an outside investigation.

"It is disappointing that the attorney general has stepped outside the Justice Department's own regulations and declined to appoint a more independent special counsel in this matter," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers.

The DOJ probe follows a preliminary investigation conducted internally at the CIA after Director Michael Hayden disclosed that videos of two al-Qaida suspects being harshly interrogated were destroyed. The White House has bristled at reports that it had a role in the tapes' destruction, but officials have generally refused to clarify what they knew and when they knew it.

In a statement announcing the investigation, Mukasey said, "Following a preliminary inquiry into the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations, the Department’s National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation."

The investigation would normally fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia, but following a recusal request, a U.S. attorney based in Connecticut will handle the matter, Mukasey said. U.S. attorneys are political appointees, but questions about just how political those appointments were culminated in the resignation of Mukasey's predecessor, former AG Alberto Gonzales, last year.

Mukasey described John Durham, the first assistant U.S. attorney in the Connecticut office, as "a widely respected and experienced career prosecutor who has supervised a wide range of complex investigations in the past."

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Posted at 5:27 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, CIA, Congress, Michael Hayden, Michael Mukasey, Military, President Bush, Terrorism
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December 28, 2007

Why We Fight

Before the Christmas break, we wrote that Americans' dwindling interest in the Iraq war might be perilous to the national interest, as Alasdair Roberts recently contended in Foreign Policy. Now the war on terrorism -- which even critics of President Bush must admit now includes Iraq -- is back in the headlines, thanks to yesterday's tragic events.

The view from Washington is that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a serious kneecap blow to U.S. foreign policy. To quickly review: President Pervez Musharraf, an ally by necessity, is increasingly unpopular at home and for good reason. (People who live under military dictatorships generally do not enjoy the experience.) Meanwhile, there's a virulent strain of anti-Western, Islamic fanaticism seeping through Pakistan at the moment, which means this White House's usually cherished principles of liberty and democracy do not apply.

The Bhutto-Musharraf power-sharing compromise was seen as the most feasible shot at calming Pakistan's restive populace. In Bhutto, Washington saw a more reliable and transparent ally in the war against extremism, in part because of her shady ethical past. She had something to prove.

Now that she's gone, we're back to where we were, and less than two weeks before Pakistan's elections no less. No doubt there is panic in the Beltway today, if only for the dearth of available options now.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Campaigns, China, Democrats, Iraq, John McCain, Joseph Biden, Middle East, Pakistan, President Bush, Republicans, Ron Paul, Russia, Terrorism, WH 2008
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December 27, 2007

Bhutto Assassination: U.S. Policy Unchanged... But For How Long?

UPDATED.

Officials in the Bush administration said that current White House policy toward Pakistan hadn't immediately changed in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, despite questions about whether President Pervez Musharraf had a role in today's attack.

"U.S. policy has always been based on promoting a... peaceful, moderate country" in Pakistan, said State Department spokesman Tom Casey. "Our efforts have not been focused on any individuals, but on achieving that goal."

President Bush and Musharraf are to speak by phone today. Administration officials are being careful not to go beyond expressing condolences and general condemnations of terrorism as they monitor the delicate political crisis in Pakistan. Fires broke out as Bhutto supporters rioted in the streets. Islamabad declared a "red alert," meaning police were on guard against violent outbreaks related to her death, but stopped short of imposing martial law.

(For our report on Bhutto's assassination and the initial reaction, click here.)

Administration officials said they would offer whatever help Pakistan needed but that they had not been asked to assist in a pending investigation into the attack. If the White House is questioning whether Musharraf could have provided greater security for Bhutto, as it requested, officials aren't saying. Pakistan's military and intelligence services are riddled with Islamic extremists. Whether that is a result of Musharraf's ineptitude or relish for political expediency is another question observers are asking, but that the White House is not -- out loud, anyway.

"We are going to continue working with President Musharraf," Casey said. "We are going to continue working with the PPP [Bhutto's opposition Pakistan People's Party] and other moderate democratic elements in Pakistan to try to bring us all together to achieve those goals."

Casey continued, "We intend to move forward with current policy."

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Pakistan, President Bush, Terrorism
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Breaking: Benazir Bhutto Killed In Attack

UPDATED.

Outraged supporters of Benazir Bhutto have taken to the streets following confirmation that the Pakistani opposition leader was assassinated today, with at least one province placed on emergency alert.

Bhutto had just spoken at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, and had gotten into a car when a gunman opened fire. The apparent assassin then blew himself up. There are conflicting reports on how she was killed. Some witnesses said she had been shot in the neck and chest, while a doctor at the hospital that treated her told the New York Times she had shrapnel wounds but would not confirm she had been directly shot.

At least 15 other people were also killed in the attack, according to various news reports. "Police in Sindh have been put on red alert," a police official told Reuters, referring to Bhutto's home province. "We have increased deployment and are patrolling in all the towns and cities, as there is trouble almost everywhere."

Television footage is showing mobs of people setting fires and destroying property in the streets.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Bill Richardson, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, John McCain, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, President Bush, Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism, WH 2008
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December 19, 2007

WH Lawyers May Have Encouraged Destruction Of CIA Tapes

One day after a federal judge ignored the Justice Department's objections and ordered a hearing into the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes, the New York Times is reporting that at least four high-ranking White House lawyers may have had a role in the decision to destroy the video evidence.

Citing "current and former administration and intelligence officials," the Times names four White House officials -- former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff David Addington, former senior National Security Council lawyer John Bellinger and former White House counsel Harriet Miers -- who "took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives" from al-Qaida.

The Times' sources reportedly gave "conflicting accounts as to whether anyone at the White House expressed support for the idea that the tapes should be destroyed."

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Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, CIA, Harriet Miers, Michael Hayden, Michael Mukasey, Terrorism
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December 17, 2007

Senate Takes Up FISA Revisions Without Immunity Deal

The Senate today voted 76-10 today to begin debate on legislation that would limit the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance activities, as lawmakers and aides scrambled behind the scenes to prepare amendments and find common ground on several controversial issues.

The Senate agreed to take up a bill approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee that would overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with plans to consider a competing bill backed by the Senate Judiciary Committee as a floor amendment. Significantly, the Intelligence panel's measure would give telecommunications companies retroactive legal immunity for helping the Bush administration engage in electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens without warrants dating back to September 2001. The Judiciary bill does not include any protections for the phone carriers, who face about 40 civil lawsuits.

The unsuccessful effort to prevent the Senate from beginning debate on the Intelligence Committee's version came primarily from Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis.

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Posted to: Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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December 11, 2007

What Is Al-Qaida In The Islamic Maghreb?

It's too soon to know for sure, but indicators so far point to a North African Sunni terrorist group, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (QIM), as the culprit behind today's twin bombings that killed more than 60 people in Algiers. U.S. and European intelligence agencies have been tracking al-Qaida-affiliated groups in North Africa for some time because of well-founded fears that it will be the next frontier in the war against Islamic terrorism.

The current incarnation of QIM is not even a year old. In January, the Algeria-based Islamic extremist group Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known by its French initials as GSPC, announced it was changing its name because its membership in al-Qaida had been formalized.

Washington counts Algeria's democratically elected government as an ally in the war on terror, and provides financial assistance [PDF] via the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative. QIM counts Western-friendly Algiers as its enemy, and in May the group