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 released an audio message telling Algerians that participation in this year's elections would make them "the traitors in this great sin" of their leaders' "tyranny and infidelity and their fight against religion." A series of bomb explosions apparently targeting the elections resulted in dismal turnout for the May 17 vote.

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Posted to: Africa, Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Middle East, Military, Terrorism
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December 05, 2007

Bush: U.N. Security Council On Board With Iran Policy

President Bush sought today to quell skepticism over his administration's Iran policy following a new U.S. intel report [PDF] stating that the regime most likely stopped pursuing nuclear arms four years ago.

Speaking to reporters on a snowy tarmac in Nebraska, Bush said, "On the way out here I spoke with my team, who gave me a report on conversations the secretary of state and national security advisor have had over the last couple of days with their counterparts in the U.K., Germany, France and Russia. These countries understand that the Iranian nuclear issue is a problem, and continues to be a problem, that must be addressed by the international community."

In a press conference yesterday, Bush said that his administration's policy on Iran -- that it must disclose all about its nuclear activities and cease enriching uranium or face consequences as severe as military force -- remains the status quo, despite the National Intelligence Estimate's conclusions. But the intel community's assessment that Iran stopped pursuing nukes out of fear it would meet the fate of neighboring Iraq has led analysts to conclude that Washington no longer has the leverage it requires to get its P5+1 partners in the U.N. to keep pressure on Tehran.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Terrorism
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December 03, 2007

Iran Watch: Over Before It Even Began?

Just when we thought war with Iran was inevitable, along comes a new National Intelligence Estimate telling us: Never mind!

"We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program," the declassified version of the report [PDF] reads. But then: "We also assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons."

What to make of all this?

The U.S. intelligence community believes "with moderate-to-high confidence" that Iran currently does not possess nuclear weapons. On the other hand, we know North Korea has as many as 10 bombs; it tested one last year. So why has the Bush administration been pointing all of its guns at Iran? Because of the neighborhood it's in. A potentially nuclear-armed Iran spells more immediate trouble for U.S. interests than a definitely nuclear-armed North Korea -- 28,000 U.S. troops on the peninsula notwithstanding.

Democrats and conservatives alike are highly critical of the different policy tracks President Bush has taken on these two problems. While the NIE indicates that the White House will have to lay off a bit on its rhetoric toward Iran, it seems that total transparency (with regard to IAEA inspectors, etc.) is still the baseline.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Terrorism
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November 29, 2007

Purported Bin Laden Tape Addresses Europeans

UPDATED.

We can't get Al Jazeera English's livestream to work [UPDATE 3:04: It works in Internet Explorer, not Firefox], but according to Sky News, the new audio message purportedly from Osama bin Laden seeks to persuade Washington's NATO allies that the fight for Afghanistan is a losing proposition.

"The American tide is ebbing, so it is best for you to press your leaders to change their policies," the speaker says, addressing Europeans.

As per usual, the CIA and other intelligence agencies are working to verify that the speaker is indeed the fugitive al-Qaida figurehead. According to the SITE Institute, which monitors jihadist Web sites, the recordings were released by al-Qaida's media arm, indicating they probably are authentic. If that's the case, it would mean that bin Laden has been unusually chatty this fall.

Enthusiasm for the anti-Taliban effort in Afghanistan has been on the wane for some years. Washington has struggled to persuade its NATO partners to commit to more troops and funding for the military and reconstruction effort there as Taliban fighters and warlords seize ever-greater parcels of territory.

"Europe went along with [the invasion] because they had no other alternative, only to be a follower," the speaker continues. "It is better for you to stand against your leaders who are dropping in on the White House, and to work seriously to lift the injustice against the believers."

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Terrorism
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November 19, 2007

Townsend Resigns As WH Terrorism Adviser

After more than four and a half years as one of the Bush administration's most visible post-9/11 counterterrorism advisers, Fran Townsend is leaving her post on the White House Homeland Security Council to pursue work in the private sector. Townsend joins a steady stream of top advisers who have departed the White House as President Bush's tenure there enters its final year.

"Fran always has provided wise counsel on how best to protect the American people from the threat of terrorism," Bush said in a statement. "With her extensive experience, intellect and candor, Fran has ably guided the Homeland Security Council. She has played an integral role in the formation of the key strategies and policies my Administration has used to combat terror and protect Americans."

Townsend has frequently communicated Bush's counterterrorism policies and the rationale behind them in press conferences and appearances on television talk shows. She is slated to appear on CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon at 4 p.m. EST.

AP and the Washington Post have more on Townsend's departure.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Terrorism
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November 14, 2007

Tancredo's First Ad: Terror At The Borders

It's no secret that Tom Tancredo has a one-track mind when it comes to his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. The Colorado congressman has made it clear that he is trying to push the immigration issue to the forefront of the conversation, and in some states (particularly Iowa), he appears to be succeeding.

For those who haven't heard the message, the Tancredo campaign released a new TV ad this week in Iowa and New Hampshire that is sure to grab viewers' attention with provocative images of real terrorist attacks in London and Madrid and an imagined scenario in which an illegal immigrant leaves a bomb in a crowded shopping mall -- just in time for the holidays, no less.

See today's Ad Spotlight (subscription) for more on Tancredo's debut ad buy. Plus: Did you know John Edwards is the son of a mill worker? The Democratic hopeful is once again reminding South Carolina voters of his humble beginnings in a new TV ad.

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Posted to: Campaigns, Immigration, Republicans, Terrorism, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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November 01, 2007

The Rumsfeld Files: Flurries Of Fury

He's been gone from the Defense Department for almost a full year now, but the ghost of Donald Rumsfeld continues to haunt Washington. The Washington Post today devoted a sizable, above-the-fold portion of its front page to a report on "a series of internal musings and memos" the former defense secretary sent to his staff over the course of his six-year tenure.

The so-called "snowflakes," recently obtained by the Post, offer a treasure trove of Rumsfeldian bluster and chutzpah, focused mostly on Iraq and the war on terror. Some of the more interesting flakes center on Rumsfeld's attempts to counteract negative press about the war and the Pentagon.

Read the WaPo story here. And earlier today, Post reporter Dana Priest addressed some questions about the Rumsfeld memos during a live Web discussion.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Donald Rumsfeld, Iraq, Middle East, Terrorism
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October 31, 2007

Spanish Court Convicts 21 & Acquits 7 In Madrid Bombing Case

The outcome of the trial of 28 defendants accused of being involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the worst terrorist attack by Islamic radicals in Europe's history, offered a mixed bag of convictions, sentences and acquittals that left prosecutors and victims with less than they had hoped for.

Three of the eight primary suspects in the case received the highest conviction of mass murder. While Emilio Suarez Trashorras, Jamal Zougam and Othman el-Gnaoui were each sentenced to 40,000 years in prison, the maximum time they can serve under Spanish law is just 40 years.

Eighteen other suspects, including four of the main defendants, were convicted of lesser charges, such as belonging to a terrorist organization (the bombings were attributed to al-Qaida) or arms trafficking, and were served with shorter sentences of three to 18 years in prison.

None of the defendants, who were mostly young Muslim men of Moroccan and Spanish descent, were found guilty of plotting the attacks, which killed 191 people and injured about 1,800 in March 2004. All of them maintained their innocence and claimed no connection to al-Qaida throughout the investigation and trial.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Spain, Terrorism
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October 23, 2007

Judge Declares Mistrial In Holy Land Case

Disagreements over jury verdicts resulted in a Dallas judge handing a mistrial to five defendants connected to a Muslim charity. High-ranking officials in The Holy Land Foundation -- once the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. and a frequent target of FBI surveillance -- were accused of aiding terrorists and acting as an arm of Hamas.

The jury initially returned yesterday with a mix of not-guilty and deadlocked verdicts on the more than 200 combined charges ranging from tax fraud to providing material support for terrorism. But during routine polling of the jurors to determine that their votes were final, two female jurors spoke up and said their votes were not accurately reflected.

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Posted to: Crime, Israel, Middle East, Palestinians, Terrorism
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October 22, 2007

Bin Laden Urges Iraqi Muslims To Unite

In a new audio recording purportedly made by Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind called on warring Islamic factions to look past their differences.

"Some of you have been lax in one duty, which is to unite your ranks," bin Laden says, in a tape broadcast by Al Jazeera. "Beware of division... The Muslim world is waiting for you to gather under one banner."

The recording, titled "A Message To The People Of Iraq," seems directed at Sunni and Shiite extremists. The U.S. maintains a heavy presence in Iraq four years after the fall of Baghdad largely because of ethnosectarian violence between the groups. Al-Qaida in Iraq, a particularly violent Sunni Muslim group, has so alienated many Iraqi Sunnis that they have joined forces with U.S. fighters in the Anbar province. More recently, Iraqi Shiites have begun distancing themselves from Shiite militias, led by the Mahdi Army.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Iraq, Middle East, Terrorism
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Bhutto Vows To Press On With Election Bid

Less than a week after the deadly terrorist attack on the day of her homecoming, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto continues to insist her country is on the edge of democracy. But has her return destabilized the region even further?

In an interview that aired on the "Today Show" this morning, Bhutto told Ann Curry that she knew people would be put at risk by her choice to return to Pakistan. When pressed as to why she chose to arrive in an open-air motorcade rather than by helicopter, which could have prevented the deaths of 139 people, Bhutto said she found the question "uncomfortable." She finally responded that if she had taken a helicopter, it "means that terrorists can dictate the agenda. It means that terrorists, by threatening violence, can take over nations and destroy the quality of life of their people."

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Posted to: Asia, Pakistan, Terrorism
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October 19, 2007

Mukasey, Torture And The Responsibility Question

Cultural critics blame the proliferation of sadistic and gruesome imagery on television and in movies on Americans' psychic discomfort with their role as players in the war on terror. The phenomenon has even birthed a new category of mainstream entertainment: torture porn.

Audiences mostly comprising males in the 18-to-34 demographic are eagerly forking over $10 a pop to view the fantastical and revolting "Saw" and "Hostel" franchises. More discomfiting are the realistic depictions of torture lately seen in the film "Syriana" and on the show "24." A Foreign Affairs magazine survey (subscription) released in April found a 54-percent majority of Americans were OK with the use of torture on terrorism suspects "sometimes." Jack Bauer doesn't electrocute or nearly drown every hog-tied potential terrorist that comes his way, but when he does, the writers of the show are sympathetic to it. Bauer doesn't "always" torture, he "sometimes" tortures, and the end result is he saves the world. The "24" audience, including a former Democratic president, is apparently OK with that.

Americans may think they know what the legal definition of torture is from these images, but they probably have no idea. As we've learned in recent weeks, the business of defining torture is a difficult one, whether for national security reasons or failure of imagination. Certainly, the Bush administration is in no hurry to turn the issue into a national debate. That's problematic for this country, and not for the reasons you might think.

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Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, Campaigns, John Ashcroft, Michael Mukasey, Military, President Bush, Terrorism, WH 2008
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October 18, 2007

FISA: House Pulls Bill; Senate Strikes Deal

While the Senate Judiciary Committee was grilling President Bush's nominee for attorney general yesterday about some of the most controversial counterterrorism policies supported by his predecessor, leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence were working with members of the Bush administration to find common ground on one of those policies: the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program.

Senators reportedly reached a deal with the administration yesterday that would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperate with the NSA's efforts under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Bush, who in a press conference yesterday urged Congress to expedite the renewal of the surveillance law temporarily approved in August, had made the lack of protections for telecoms a deal-breaker. Earlier this week the White House issued a veto threat if Congress failed to make that concession.

But while there was progress on the Senate side of negotiations yesterday, the House was thrown into tumult when its version of the bill [PDF] was brought to the floor of that chamber. After initially reporting that Democrats were optimistic about their chances of passing the bill without the concessions Bush had asked for, CongressDaily (subscription) reports this morning that "Republicans made a last-minute procedural move that appeared to split Democrats," forcing the Democratic leadership to pull the bill from the floor.

Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, predicted earlier in the day that Congress would eventually yield to the president and grant immunity for telecom companies. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made a similar prediction last week.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, House, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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October 16, 2007

Superpower Watch: Picking Sides, Choosing Teams

Once again, the Bush administration is reminded that while it would be preferable to have the world at its back as it attempts to stabilize the Middle East, it simply does not. Iran and Russia have sealed an agreement among the Caspian Sea nations that "under no circumstances will they allow [the use of their] territories by third countries to launch aggression or other military action against any of the member states." Doesn't take a genius to figure out which third country might top that list.

This declaration accomplishes several things, none of which bode well for Washington's push for Iran to come clean on its nuclear program.

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Robert Gates, Russia, Terrorism, U.N., Vladimir Putin
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October 12, 2007

Let's Talk Before The Whole World Ends

A group of Muslim spiritual leaders and scholars from countries including Iran and Pakistan are reaching out to their Christian counterparts amid boiling conflicts between those two worlds. In an open letter [PDF] addressed to church leaders including Pope Benedict XVI, the Muslims warn that "the future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians."

Muslims and Christians are enjoined to worship but one God and love their neighbors, the letter notes, and a 13-page treatise written by the scholars lists comparable passages of the Q'uran and the Bible. "Love of the [neighbor] is an essential and integral part of faith in God and love of God because in Islam without love of the [neighbor] there is no true faith in God and no righteousness," they write. "Without giving the [neighbor] what we ourselves love, we do no truly love God or the [neighbor]."

The document, released yesterday, already has its skeptics among those who believe Islam's leaders are unwilling to rid their institution of violent fundamentalists. Yet it is an unprecedented call for reconciliation at a time when the turbulent Middle East is the fulcrum of instability around the globe.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Iraq, Middle East, Terrorism
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October 10, 2007

DNI Launches Probe Into Bin Laden Video Leak

Yesterday's revelations that the September leak of an intercepted Osama bin Laden video prompted al-Qaida to close a loophole that allowed surveillance on the group have sparked an official inquiry.

A Washington, D.C.-based private firm that monitors al-Qaida communications, SITE Intelligence Group, had secretly gotten a copy of the video and shared it with the White House. Within hours, SITE argues, multiple government agencies had downloaded the video and it was all over the media -- leaked from the government sources.

Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the director of national intelligence, said in a Washington Post article today that officials will look into the leak allegation, but he doesn't think the leak came from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence or the National Counterterrorism Center.

Frances Fragos Townsend, a White House homeland security adviser, emphasized during a news conference yesterday that the video was released to the whole intelligence community, not just the White House, but she didn't deny responsibility for the leak.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Terrorism
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October 05, 2007

Bush: 'This Government Does Not Torture People'

UPDATED.

The White House today signaled that it will not accede to Congress' demands for transparency on two secret memos on terrorism detainees, insisting it does not engage in torture and that key members had already learned all they needed to know.

"They have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress on the Intelligence Committee. But they are classified for a reason and they are secret," press secretary Dana Perino said during the daily briefing. "One of the reasons they are secret is because they need to be. They need to be cloaked in the classified system so that we can keep that information private so that we're not signaling to our enemies exactly what our techniques are."

Earlier, President Bush gave his first public response to revelations that CIA officers may be using tactics that might qualify as torture in a program secretly endorsed by the Justice Department.

"This government does not torture people. We stick to U.S. law and our international obligations," Bush said in a brief statement to the press this morning.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, Detainees, Guantanamo Bay, Michael Mukasey, Military, President Bush, Terrorism
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October 03, 2007

Is Kim Jong Il Coming In From The Cold?

It's a banner week for Korean diplomacy. The yearslong six-party negotiations have at last resulted in a promise by North Korea to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of the year. And in separate talks, the two Koreas agreed to stop pointing weapons at each other (figuratively, though, not literally).

One can't blame the Wall Street Journal for optimistically comparing this week's events (subscription) to the thaw between the West and Libya, which voluntarily gave up its nukes and made sufficient amends to be taken off Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism. As the Journal notes, the world needs a bit of this kind of good news, considering the gathering storm over Iran.

But there may be a cynical devil lurking over many a Korea-watcher's shoulder. And his name is former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, South Korea, Terrorism
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October 02, 2007

Kim, Roh Meet, But To What Effect?

Not far from the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea are gigantic signs facing the north, beckoning the oppressed citizenry there to come to the other side, "where life is happy."

If the Bush administration is frustrated at Seoul's seeming dearth of anger toward its northern neighbor, this is why: The north-south divide between the Koreans, one of the world's most homogenous people, is to this day a gaping hole in the national psyche. Some South Koreans are haunted by long-lost relatives who wound up stuck on the wrong side of the 38th parallel. Others, particularly those too young to remember the war, are sick of what they increasingly view as American paternalism and want the Koreas to sort out their affairs for themselves.

That's among the reasons lame-duck South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has embarked on his first-ever visit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the object of so much scorn and ridicule elsewhere in the world. A little paunchier and with fewer curls in that famous coiffure, Kim was on hand to greet Roh in Pyongyang today, despite previous announcements he wouldn't meet with his visitor until later.

Buoyed by the North's softening on its nuclear program, Roh seems intent on coming away with results, whether it's a step toward officially ending the 1950-1953 war or another guarantee Pyongyang is dropping its nuclear program. But the time for a "sunshine policy" toward the north, a bane of both the Bush and Clinton State Departments, may be coming to an end.

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Posted to: Asia, Bill Clinton, Bush Administration, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, South Korea, Terrorism
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September 28, 2007

New Vote On Iran Sanctions Delayed

UPDATED.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not go out of her way to hide her disappointment at the latest setback in U.S. efforts to clamp down further on Iran.

"The international community has to have a greater sense of urgency about some of these issues," she said, speaking to reporters at the U.N. this afternoon. "We have two unanimous Security Council resolutions in place on Iran. We're working on a third, and using that track to try to invigorate the negotiations track." Rice conceded that there was already a "certain level of cooperation in Iran."

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Condoleezza Rice, EU, Europe, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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September 26, 2007

U.N. General Assembly: Like Last Year, Only Worse

The astute Brits at the Economist called it.

By granting so many interviews to curious American journalists and agreeing to take questions from college students at Columbia, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made sure that this year's meeting of the U.N. General Assembly would revolve around him. It helps that his BFF in these parts, Venezuelan firebrand Hugo Chavez, sat this one out, which means Ahmadinejad's "no gays in Iran" statement remains the craziest (and most sinister) thing said all week.

Ahmadinejad put on his "serious" face (no smiling) yesterday when he delivered his U.S.-centric speech before the General Assembly. The American delegation didn't bother to stick around for its entirety, such was its predictability. If this scenario reminds you of last year's meeting at the U.N., it should. The bottom line for the Security Council has been no nuclear material for Iran, period. Yesterday, Ahmadinejad ensured that the U.N. will act to shut him down, one way or another.

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, Chechnya, China, Condoleezza Rice, Hugo Chavez, IAEA, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 25, 2007

Bush's Other Legacy On Display At U.N.

President Bush called on the U.N. General Assembly to renew its focus on human rights, as he reminded increasingly distant member nations of America's outsized role in humanitarian work around the globe.

Placing the spotlight on the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Bush told the audience, "The nations in this chamber have our differences. Yet there are some areas where we can all agree."

The president ticked off a laundry list of ills, some of them ancient, still plaguing the globe, from malaria to HIV/AIDS, starvation to closed markets, impositions on the freedom of speech and assembly, and "tyranny and violence."

The Universal Declaration is not being upheld, Bush said, "when innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear" or "when millions of children starve to death or die from a mosquito bite."

"Changing these underlying conditions is what the declaration calls the work of underlying freedom," he said.

Bush then turned his attention to the representatives of Myanmar.

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Posted to: Asia, Bill Clinton, Bush Administration, China, Climate Change, HIV/AIDS, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 24, 2007

This Charming Man: Ahmadinejad & The U.N.

Another opening of the U.N. General Assembly, another chance for America's foes to take a whack at President Bush on a world stage.

The star of this year's production is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His visit to Columbia University and his request to visit Ground Zero (did anybody really think there was any chance that would happen?) have ensured that the theme of this week's convention, global warming, will be eclipsed by an entirely different kind of heat.

So why the fuss now, when Ahmadinejad's audience before the Council of Foreign Relations last year generated so much less controversy? Easy -- we're going to war in Iran.

Not really. (We think.) The jaw-jaw over taking Iran's nuclear facilities out by force has ratcheted beyond a level many thought possible, given the U.S. entanglements in Iraq.

But anyone who caught Ahmadinejad's squinty-eyed, non-response responses on "60 Minutes" last night probably has a clue into why the West finds this charismatic leader so very maddening.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Terrorism
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September 20, 2007

Bin Laden Threatens Musharraf In New Tape

UPDATED.

Osama bin Laden, the elusive leader of al-Qaida who has come out of the woodwork in recent weeks, reportedly urges Pakistanis to rebel against their leader, President Pervez Musharraf, in a new recording released today.

Bin Laden's appeal for Musharraf's removal is in response to the killing of a rebel cleric during a government raid on his mosque in Islamabad last July.

The storming of the Red Mosque "demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims ... and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory,'' bin Laden said in the message.

Meanwhile, the al-Qaida terrorist organization has also released a new video message "in which bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, boasted that the United States was being defeated in Afghanistan, Iraq and other fronts" and "promised more fighting in Afghanistan, North Africa and Sudan's Darfur region." AP has details of the video.

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Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Pakistan, Terrorism
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Ahmadinejad Denied Ground Zero Visit

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won't get up close to the World Trade Center site when he visits New York City for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly next week. Aides to the controversial Iranian president had requested that he be allowed to go to the site to lay a wreath in memory of the 2,700 victims of the 9/11 attacks.

White House hopefuls didn't miss the chance to pan the idea. Republican Rudy Giuliani, who was the city's mayor at the time of the attacks, issued a statement calling the idea of a visit "outrageous" and listing Ahmadinejad's connections to Osama bin Laden, insurgents in Iraq and pursuit of nuclear weapons.

At a campaign event in Florida, fellow Republican Mitt Romney expressed a similar sentiment: "Can you imagine the audacity, the shocking nerve, the chutzpah to suggest he would visit Ground Zero, the handiwork of terrorists of the very kind he supports?" New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton also called the idea "unacceptable."

But their protests were superfluous: According to city police, the request was denied because no one is allowed that close to the site. Ongoing construction means safety concerns for visitors.

Continue reading "Ahmadinejad Denied Ground Zero Visit"

Posted at 7:55 AM
Posted to: Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Terrorism
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September 19, 2007

Bring Us The Body... Of Case Law

A bloc of 42 Republicans -- and Joe Lieberman -- have rejected a vote on an amendment that would restore habeas corpus rights to terrorism suspects. (See reports on how the vote went down here, here and here.)

The Senate rejection leaves the question of constitutionality to the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to weigh this matter in the coming term anyway. Several of the justices -- quite possibly a majority -- are disturbed that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 strips terror suspects of the right to appeal their detention.

This most fundamental of rights may only be suspended during invasion or insurrection, per the U.S. Constitution, no matter if the accused is a foreigner or a citizen. The further we get away from the 9/11 attacks -- the very reason for this shadowy system of justice -- the more uncomfortable the justices seem about the entire military detention process. Several have struggled with the squishy boundaries of what the "war on terror" even means. This may explain the court's unprecedented June reversal of its own decision not to hear the petitions of two prisoners challenging their detentions.

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Posted to: Arlen Specter, Bush Administration, Congress, Constitution, Detainees, President Bush, Senate, Supreme Court, Terrorism
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Car Bomb Kills Anti-Syrian Pol In Beirut

UPDATED.

A car bomb in a Christian suburb of Beirut killed a prominent anti-Syrian lawmaker today, in what is now regarded as an assassination.

Antoine Ghanem, a member of the Christian Phalange party, died in the attack along with several others. BBC News and AP have confirmed at least six deaths in addition to Ghanem, and at least 20 people were wounded by the powerful car bomb. News footage showed several vehicles ripped apart and burning. Damage to nearby buildings extended to the top floors.

Ghanem's death marks the eighth assassination of an anti-Syrian political figure since 2005, and comes six days before a divisive presidential vote in the Parliament, AP reports. The BBC News reports that Ghanem "was a member of the governing 14 March Movement and his death has reduced the bloc's majority in the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies to just two." It is believed that pro-Syrian forces have been picking off political foes in that body to reduce the ruling party's majority.

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Posted to: Lebanon, Middle East, Syria, Terrorism
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September 18, 2007

In Case You Missed It...

... we're going to war with Iran. France is on board, too. (With us, not Iran.)

What?

The surreality of global relations this week is enough to make us wonder if we're trapped inside one of John Bolton's fevered dreams. Let's untangle this web of crazy carefully, lest all our heads collectively explode.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is now seeking to assure allies that his country will "negotiate, negotiate, negotiate" before resorting to the option of war with Iran. On Sunday, the socialist ignited a firestorm when he told an interviewer, "We must prepare for the worst," adding, "The worst, sir, is war."

Kouchner said that France was "preparing" itself for the prospect of war in the event efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program were unsuccessful.

En route to a meeting with his counterpart in Moscow today, Kouchner sought to dial back his earlier remarks. "I do not want it said that I'm a warmonger. My message was one of peace, serious and determined," he told traveling reporters. Later, he blamed the media for running wild with what he'd said on Sunday. "As usual with journalists, they take one phrase and you don't know what came after," he said on a Russian radio talk show.

That's fair. Then again, maybe France picked a really bad time to propose Germany dump its historical baggage and dive into the nukes business.

Continue reading "In Case You Missed It..."

Posted at 6:30 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, France, Germany, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Syria, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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September 17, 2007

Bush Nominates Mukasey For Attorney General, Still Sore Over Gonzales

UPDATED.

As expected, President Bush formally announced his nomination of retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to take the helm at the Department of Justice -- but not without an indirect jab at his critics over the resignation of the previous attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn this morning, Bush said, "When [Mukasey] takes his place at the Justice Department, he will succeed another fine judge." Recalling Gonzales' resume as a Texas Supreme Court judge, White House counsel and AG, Bush continued, "This honorable and decent man has served with distinction."

If that was a message to Gonzales' many critics in the Beltway, the president then narrowed his remarks to critics on Capitol Hill. "The attorney general takes on an important responsibility for the country. It is vital that the position be confirmed quickly. I urge the Senate to confirm Judge Mukasey promptly," he said.

Continue reading "Bush Nominates Mukasey For Attorney General, Still Sore Over Gonzales"

Posted at 12:48 PM
Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Arlen Specter, Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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September 14, 2007

Bush's Iraq: The Future Is Now

The closest most Americans get to a frontline view of the war are the accounts of journalists on the ground. Increasingly, reporters are having trouble keeping their anger and frustration over the state of affairs in Iraq below the surface.

Last night, CNN's Michael Ware could not contain his disbelief after President Bush's address to the nation on the war.

"My first impression is -- wow," Ware responded after host Anderson Cooper asked for reaction to the speech. "It's one thing to return to the status quo, to the situation we had nine months ago with 130,000 U.S. troops stuck here for the foreseeable future. It's another thing to perpetuate the myth" of a stabilized Iraq.

The Aussie native proceeded to swiftly rebut some claims the president made during his prime-time address. "Let me go down this list of what the president said. That 'if America were to be driven out of Iraq, extremists of all strains would be emboldened.' They are now. 'Al-Qaida could gain new recruits and new sanctuaries.' They have that now. 'Iran would benefit from the chaos and be encouraged in its efforts to gain nuclear weapons and dominate the region.' It is now. 'Iraq could face a humanitarian nightmare.' It does now. And that 'we would leave our children to face a far more dangerous world.' That's happening now. That's 'wow.'" (Here's the YouTube video.)

Ware, for you cable news haters, was Time magazine's Baghdad bureau chief before joining CNN in June 2006, smack-dab in the middle of the raging insurgency that nearly engulfed the entire country.

Continue reading "Bush's Iraq: The Future Is Now"

Posted at 6:19 PM
Posted to: David Petraeus, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Terrorism
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Report: Germany Wavers, U.S. Revives Iran Planning

About a month ago, we wondered why White House officials were leaking word that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps was to be designated a terrorist organization. Looks like we may have an answer.

Reuters reports that the leak may have been a hawkish attempt to goad the State Department into taking a tougher line on Tehran. The White House alleges Iran is arming and funding Shiite insurgents in Iraq, compounding existing frustration over Iran's nuclear ambitions. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has mostly laughed off U.N. economic sanctions aimed at his uranium enrichment program.

Now, there are indications the sanctions process may have hit a roadblock.

Continue reading "Report: Germany Wavers, U.S. Revives Iran Planning"

Posted at 11:41 AM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, EU, Europe, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 13, 2007

McConnell Revises Statement On Anti-Terror Law

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is backtracking from comments he made earlier this week about the role a new surveillance law played in the unraveling of an alleged terrorist plot in Germany last week.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Monday, McConnell told senators that a new law granting the federal government the authority to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects helped lead to the arrests of three men in Germany last week who were allegedly plotting to bomb U.S. interests in that country.

McConnell made the claim in response to a question from Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I/D). But almost immediately after he did, other government officials and intelligence experts began questioning its veracity. McConnell reportedly called Lieberman to withdraw his claim on Tuesday, and yesterday he clarified his position in a statement [PDF].

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Posted at 4:00 PM
Posted to: Mike McConnell, Terrorism
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Sunni Leader And U.S. Ally Killed In Iraq

A key Sunni leader who cooperated with the U.S. was killed by insurgents in Iraq today. AP reports that Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his personal bodyguards died when a roadside bomb exploded near his home in Ramadi, capital of Iraq's Anbar province.

Abu Risha was the leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also called the "Anbar Awakening," an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes that have joined with American forces and the Iraqi government in an effort to reclaim the overwhelmingly Sunni province from al-Qaida in Iraq. The group has helped restore peace and order to Anbar, once considered by the U.S. to be firmly in the hands of the insurgency.

The group has been heralded by supporters of the war as an example of success in Iraq and a role model for the rest of the country. Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, testifying this week before Congress, frequently cited Anbar as evidence of a new bottom-up reconciliation process that they hope will spread to other provinces.

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Posted at 1:27 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Terrorism
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September 11, 2007

9/11 Victims Remembered At Events Around The Country

The Gate reported yesterday on the relative lack of commemorative spirit on this sixth anniversary of 9/11. However, the events of that day continue to evoke powerful memories for many Americans, particularly those directly affected by the attacks in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania. Events were held in each of those states this morning to commemorate those who lost their lives six years ago.

New York City. Events here differed from the previous five anniversaries. Due to construction at Ground Zero, the official memorial service was held in nearby Zuccotti Park. Bells tolled at the moments when the two World Trade Center towers were struck and collapsed. Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered remarks before a crowd of emergency workers who were at Ground Zero on the day of the attacks and read out the names of the 2,750 people who perished there.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been criticized by some for attending the event this year while running for the GOP nomination for president, but he has been in New York on all six anniversaries and his remarks today were brief and non-controversial. Democratic presidential candidate and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was also in attendance.

Continue reading "9/11 Victims Remembered At Events Around The Country"

Posted at 2:15 PM
Posted to: Terrorism
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Polls Reveal The Lingering Scars Of 9/11

It was a much drearier Tuesday morning in the Northeast today than it was six years ago, but once again Americans awoke to the horrific images of commercial airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This time, of course, it was a replay.

While the sixth anniversary of 9/11 appears to herald the most visible return to normalcy since the attacks occurred, new surveys show they have left an indelible mark on the nation's psyche. And while most Americans say they have not made permanent changes to their individual lifestyles since Sept. 11, 2001, they continue to feel that the nation is at risk of another attack.

See today's Poll Track (subscription) for new numbers on terrorism and the 9/11 anniversary from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, Gallup/USA Today and Zogby pollsters.

Plus: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's decision to revisit Ground Zero for today's memorial services is not as controversial to most Americans as it is to some New Yorkers, the Gallup/USA poll shows. CBS News/New York Times also has numbers on the GOP front-runner's persona as the anti-terrorism candidate.

Posted at 11:32 AM
Posted to: Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism
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September 10, 2007

Liveblogging The House Iraq Report Hearing

[Senate Foreign Relations hearing] [Senate Armed Services hearing]

6:45. It's over, it's really over. Tomorrow, on the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Petraeus and Crocker are due back on the Hill at 9:30 EDT to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate hearing will be shorter than today's (mercifully), and as we said earlier might be a little more uncomfortable for Crocker and Petraeus thanks to the presidential aspirations of Joseph Biden, Christopher Dodd and Barack Obama, who sit on the committee. We'll be following the proceedings. See you tomorrow.

6:42. Calif. Democrat Loretta Sanchez also accuses Petraeus of cherrypicking. Were they saving the hostile committee members for last?

Sanchez does get to a very good question, though: If life is improving in Iraq, why are Iraqis so miserable? She points to a new poll on Iraqis' attitudes, which shows most of them are miserable, frightened and deeply pessimistic about their future. Crocker, whose central thesis is that Iraqis are far too traumatized and so new to democracy that nation-building will be a protracted and messy affair, says he hasn't seen the poll, and doesn't have much of an answer beyond that.

6:31. The blame-the-Iraqis tack some U.S. pols have adopted in recent months has always seemed a little too convenient. Crocker appears to agree. Missouri Republican Todd Akin asks why Petraeus and Crocker haven't been harder on Iraqi politicians today, and Crocker's measured response is among the more credible arguments for keeping the surge going. "A tremendous amount has happened in a very short time," he says of improvements in some provinces. Crocker adds that in some of the newly stabilized regions, Iraqi leaders are working on restoring law and order. More important, they know that their funding comes from Baghdad, and are showing cooperation with the central government as a result, he says.

Continue reading "Liveblogging The House Iraq Report Hearing"

Posted at 6:56 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Congress, David Petraeus, House, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Syria, Terrorism
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9/11/2007: The New Normal?

Remember the end-of-irony declaration following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks? In 2004, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter was forced to eat his words and acknowledge, "Americans are by and large obsessed with crummy reality TV, and the lives of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton." (Never mind that his own publication arguably fuels that obsession.)

Nobody expects Americans to drop everything and just be sad every year on Sept. 11. It remains a little jarring, though, to see just how normal life is going to be tomorrow.

Rap rivals 50 Cent and Kanye West both drop their new albums, for instance. This may not have much resonance in the halls of Congress, but just pull aside an intern and ask. The "Fiddy" and Kanye releases are a big deal indeed.

Continue reading "9/11/2007: The New Normal?"

Posted at 11:56 AM
Posted to: Terrorism
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September 07, 2007

Texas Attorney Won't Ditch Stinky Tie If Bin Laden Alive

Yesterday morning, we woke up to this news about Bob Flournoy, the Lufkin, Texas, city attorney who's been wearing a red, white and blue necktie since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Flournoy vowed to keep wearing the tie until Osama bin Laden was captured or killed. But six years later, with the trail on the al-Qaida leader gone cold, Flournoy's tie was a tattered and smelly shadow of its original self.

What to do? Leave it to an attorney to come up with an out clause. The elusive terror mastermind was probably dead, Flournoy reasoned. If bin Laden did not prove that he was alive by next Tuesday, Sept. 11, Flournoy would declare him dead and take off his American flag necktie for good.

Looks like Flournoy might be stuck with his fragrant albatross for some time.

Continue reading "Texas Attorney Won't Ditch Stinky Tie If Bin Laden Alive"

Posted at 2:41 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Terrorism
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Will White House Appeal Judge's Patriot Act Ruling?

Andrew Cohen of the Washington Post's Bench Conference blog thinks so. But a DOJ appeal may actually not be worth it.

U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero's ruling [PDF] yesterday strikes a provision in the revised 2005 Patriot Act that allows the government to compel data and records from businesses. The FBI was permitted to forbid those businesses -- Internet service providers, phone companies, etc. -- to object to, or talk about in any way, orders to surrender records. (Judicial review was permitted, but Marrero concludes that the bar for reversal was set unreasonably high.)

That meant those companies had no way of alerting customers that their records were being seized by the feds, nor could they resist handing the records over in the name of protecting customers' privacy. ISPs in particular have vocally objected to this provision; the one that brought the lawsuit is listed as "John Doe."

Marrero found that the gag order violated the businesses' First Amendment rights. That's a fairly easy legislative fix. Congress agrees with DOJ that in some cases, particularly those related to terrorism investigations, it may be necessary to demand records from vendors and order them to keep quiet about it. But lawmakers could rewrite the provision and expand judicial review over this process, placing additional burden on the FBI to show a compelling reason why a gag order is necessary. It's hard to think of a good reason why DOJ would object to that.

Continue reading "Will White House Appeal Judge's Patriot Act Ruling?"

Posted at 11:59 AM
Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, Constitution, Robert Mueller, Terrorism
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September 06, 2007

Report: Bin Laden Tape To Be Released On 9/11 Anniversary

Osama bin Laden has prepared an address to Americans that will be released next week on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks, jihadist forums are claiming.

The SITE Institute, which monitors extremist Web sites, reports that an "image of bin Laden contained in the banner found on jihadist forums is reminiscent of his last video appearance in 2004, but his beard is now completely black, as it was previously streaked with grey." (The Web site appears to have just been hit with too much traffic.)

With no solid leads on the al-Qaida chieftain's whereabouts or whether he's even alive, U.S. intelligence will seek to authenticate the video. It's been impossible to definitively authenticate previous videos, but the last major video message from bin Laden came in October 2004, in which he warned the U.S. to stay out of the Muslim world in order to avoid "another Manhattan." The message was considered the "October surprise" of that presidential election.

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Posted at 6:20 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Terrorism
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Foiled Plot Raises Questions About Germany's Role In Afghanistan

After yesterday's announcement of three arrests in an alleged plot to bomb the Frankfurt International Airport and a U.S. air base near Ramstein-Miesenbach, German authorities are now searching for as many as 10 more suspects in the thwarted attacks.

According to the Washington Post, German officials are seeking Germans, Turks and suspects of other nationalities, several of whom are Muslim converts, who are "believed to be part of a support group helping with plans for a massive bombing to kill Americans." German Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning told public television network ARD that the al-Qaida affiliated group was not believed to be planning other attacks and no longer posed a security risk. Yesterday, Lebanese officials announced they had arrested a fourth man in connection with the case.

The thwarted attacks have raised concerns in Germany over whether the country's involvement in the Afghan peacekeeping mission in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. has made it a prime target for terrorists. Germany's mandate for that mission is currently up for renewal, and some lawmakers wanted to scale it back even before the recent plot was revealed.

Continue reading "Foiled Plot Raises Questions About Germany's Role In Afghanistan"

Posted at 12:00 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Europe, Germany, Terrorism
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September 05, 2007

Three Terror Suspects Arrested In Germany

German officials arrested three men amid allegations that they were planning to bomb two high-profile targets: the Frankfurt International Airport and a U.S. air base in Ramstein.

Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three had trained at camps in Pakistan and obtained more than 1,500 pounds of hydrogen peroxide that could be used for making explosives. Barrels of the chemical were allegedly stockpiled in the Black Forest and being relocated to a rented house when the men were taken into custody near the town of Oberschledorn, north of Frankfurt.

"They were planning massive attacks," Harms said, though she could not specifically confirm the Frankfurt and Ramstein plots reported by German media. German official Wolfgang Bosbach added that the attacks probably had been planned to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

Continue reading "Three Terror Suspects Arrested In Germany"

Posted at 10:54 AM
Posted to: Terrorism
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August 30, 2007

Taliban Releases More South Korean Hostages

The Taliban released four more South Korean hostages and is expected to release the remaining three sometime today, ending a six-week crisis. Twelve captives were released on Tuesday.

The Taliban originally kidnapped 23 Christian missionaries on July 19 as they were traveling from Kabul to the Ghazni province, a Taliban stronghold. Two male hostages were shot and killed when Taliban demands for a prisoner exchange were not met. In mid-August, two female hostages were released as a show of goodwill.

The 12 hostages freed on Tuesday were released in three separate groups in scattered locations after South Korean diplomats reached an agreement with Taliban representatives. It is reported that no money exchanged hands, but that the South Korean government reiterated previously agreed upon plans to withdraw 200 non-combat troops from Afghanistan, as well as to halt missionary work in the Muslim country.

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Posted at 11:23 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, South Korea, Terrorism
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August 28, 2007

Taliban To Release South Korean Hostages

Over a month after the Taliban abducted a group of South Korean aid workers in central Afghanistan, the militants agreed to release the 19 remaining hostages in captivity.

The South Korean government reported today that the Taliban had agreed to let the Christian aid workers go after face-to-face talks mediated by the Red Cross in the Afghan city of Ghazni. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi confirmed the deal to the Associated Press but declined to give specifics on the date or location of the hostages' release.

Bloomberg cited a negotiator and tribal elder who told the Agence France-Presse that the South Koreans "will be freed in three or four days," and Thomson Financial reports that the hostages are expected to be transferred to Kabul.

In exchange, South Korea promised to withdraw its 200 troops stationed in Afghanistan by the end of the year -- which had already been scheduled -- and end missionary activities in the country.

Twenty-three hostages were originally captured. The group's leader was killed a few days after the July 19 kidnapping, and a second was killed in late July after the Afghan government failed to appease the kidnappers. Two female hostages were released a few weeks ago in a sign that negotiations were progressing.

Posted at 10:50 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, South Korea, Terrorism
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August 27, 2007

Afghan Opium Production Booming

Opium production in Afghanistan has reached "frightening" new levels, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime announced today. The opium business there is up 17% from last year, and now comprises 93% of the drug's worldwide output.

"No other country in the world has ever had such a large amount of farmland used for illegal activity, besides China 100 years ago," UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa told AP.

The report did note one positive development: The drug trade in Afghanistan's northern provinces has significantly declined. The opium boom has taken place almost entirely in the troubled Helmand province in the south, where the presence of Taliban and other insurgent fighters is strongest.

Costa blamed not only insurgents in Helmand for the crisis but also the Hamid Karzai government's "benign tolerance of corruption."

See the full UNODC report here [PDF]. Reuters has a fact sheet on the Afghan poppy trade, and the New York Times reports on firefights in Helmand province over the weekend.

Posted at 2:40 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, Crime, Drugs, Terrorism
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August 22, 2007

Known Knowns And Unknown Unknowns Of The New Wiretap Program

Ever since December 2005, when the White House admitted it conducted surveillance on Americans without obtaining a warrant, lawmakers have been wondering about the scope and extent to which the federal government was spying on its own citizens. When one of the judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, James Robertson, quickly resigned in protest, many Americans became acquainted with the top-secret FISA court for the very first time.

It's nearly two years later, and details are still slow in coming. Some things we think we know: The Bush administration admits the National Security Agency bypassed FISA's provisions protecting Americans from wanton Fourth Amendment violations, but as an afterthought. The target was overseas electronic communications -- of any kind, even without reasonable certainty that the target had ties to terrorism. If an American just happened to be on the other end of the line, so be it.

Some civil libertarians, of course, view the NSA program as President Bush giving himself license to listen in on every Tom, Dick and Mary squawking into a cell phone. That's possible, but it's also doubtful. Counterterrorism is the point (and no, saying so does not justify what may very well be unconstitutional domestic surveillance).

And that presents ever more obstacles for administration critics clamoring to know what the government has been up to. The White House has made arguments implying that it is circumventing the law (see all those signing statements), but refuses, even under congressional subpoena, to describe how and in what circumstances it is doing so. Keeping secrets in the name of national security has generally been deemed a legitimate and necessary function of government. The problem is this president and this administration. The executive branch has a tremendous amount of flexibility in deciding what falls under the category of "national security." For those who don't trust Bush or Dick Cheney, that is incredibly frightening.

Continue reading "Known Knowns And Unknown Unknowns Of The New Wiretap Program"

Posted at 8:00 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, Constitution, James Comey, President Bush, Robert Mueller, Terrorism
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Inspector General Cites Pre-9/11 CIA Failures

A new report shows that six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, there's still plenty of shame and blame to go around among those tasked with protecting Americans from terrorism.

The newly declassified findings of CIA Inspector General John Helgerson reveal "some 50 to 60 individuals" in the agency may have been aware that two of the hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, had been issued visas to enter the United States. The 9/11 commission pinpointed the CIA's decision not to add the known al-Qaida affiliates to its watch lists or notify the FBI when they were issued visas as one of the more spectacular intelligence failures leading up to the attacks.

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Posted at 12:00 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, CIA, George Tenet, Terrorism
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August 20, 2007

Survey: Foreign Policy Wonks Not So Keen On The Surge

The roller coaster ride that is the public debate over the Iraq troop surge just got a bit bumpier. In recent weeks, a growing number of military experts, former skeptics and even some high-profile Democratic lawmakers seemed to be coming around to President Bush's controversial decision to raise U.S. troop levels in certain areas of Iraq this year. And the apparent growing body of evidence showing that the surge was, in fact, helping to quell the violence there seemed to be giving hope to the American public, with opinion polls showing small bumps in confidence on the security front.

But a new survey shows the nation's top foreign policy experts singing another tune. The third Terrorism Index compiled by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for American Progress reveals deep concerns within the expert community about the Bush administration's policies in Iraq and the larger war on terrorism thus far.

Continue reading "Survey: Foreign Policy Wonks Not So Keen On The Surge"

Posted at 4:20 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Iraq, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Terrorism
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August 16, 2007

Padilla Found Guilty Of All Charges

UPDATED.

Jose Padilla and two co-defendants have been found guilty of all the terrorism counts against them, including conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas and providing material support for terrorism.

The seven men and five women on the jury reached their decision after a day and a half of deliberations in the U.S. District Court in Miami. Padilla and his co-defendants could receive a life sentence for the conspiracy charges; the material support charges carry up to 15 years.

For Padilla (pronounced puh-dill-ah), one of the most high-profile accused terrorists in the U.S., the three-month trial capped a topsy-turvy legal saga and a rare public test of the Bush administration's post-9/11 domestic prosecution of the war on terror.

Continue reading "Padilla Found Guilty Of All Charges"

Posted at 3:31 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Jose Padilla, Terrorism
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August 15, 2007

White House Seen Leaning Toward Hawks On Iran

Off-the-record sources in the Bush administration informed two of the nation's most widely read papers that the U.S. will soon label Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Why?

There's nothing in either account in the Washington Post or New York Times that indicates the topic is highly controversial within the administration. Heated internal debates have fueled quite a few leaks to the press from individuals alarmed by one executive action or the other.

So, why leak the news when both papers report the unprecedented decision is all but a done deal? (This isn't a rhetorical question, by the way -- we're genuinely curious. Send theories.)

Continue reading "White House Seen Leaning Toward Hawks On Iran"

Posted at 12:08 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, Bush Administration, China, Condoleezza Rice, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Terrorism
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August 13, 2007

Taliban Releases Two S. Korean Hostages

More than three weeks after taking 23 South Korean church volunteers hostage in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan, Taliban captors have released two female hostages in what they said was a show of goodwill. The two women, identified as Kim Kyung-ja and Kim Ji-na, were delivered to a Red Cross convoy on a deserted road this morning.

South Korean officials began talks with the militants on Friday. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said releasing the two hostages today was a gesture "for the sake of good relations between the Korean people and the Taliban," but reiterated earlier demands for the release of Taliban prisoners by Afghan and U.S. forces. The Afghan government, for its part, has taken any prisoner swap off the table.

The Taliban's gesture comes after militants executed two male hostages in the group late last month.

The Korea Times, CNN and the Glasgow Herald have more on the story. The London Guardian has a timeline of this and other Taliban hostage crises.

Posted at 7:15 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, South Korea, Terrorism
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August 09, 2007

Pakistan: An Inconvenient Autocracy

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's intervention this morning may have averted a worsening of the political crisis in Pakistan, but that nation's troubles, which in many ways are linked to the U.S.'s, are far from over.

According to Financial Times sources, it's likely Rice "underlined the negative impact of declaring an emergency and how this would affect Gen. [Pervez] Musharraf's image in the US Congress." Impatience with Pakistan's ineffectiveness at quelling the Taliban and al-Qaida insurgencies along its border is palpable in Congress, and taking a star turn in the presidential campaigns as well.

The death knell for Musharraf's rule is only getting louder, and serves as a useful reminder of President Bush's conveniently flexible definitions of freedom and democracy, two of the mainstays of his presidency.

Continue reading "Pakistan: An Inconvenient Autocracy"

Posted at 4:42 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Pakistan, Terrorism
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Bush Stays Course On Iraq, Taxes & Torture

President Bush today addressed a varied list of topics -- ranging from the nation's bridges to corporate tax cuts to Iran -- ahead of a retreat to his family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The deeply unpopular leader kicked off the news conference, broadcast by all the networks along with cable, with one of the few bright spots of his administration: education. His initiatives in this arena have managed to receive bipartisan support, including the America Competes Act, which he will sign today. The bill boosts and expands science, technology, engineering and math education, as well as research and development.

"The American economy is the envy of the world and we need to keep it that way," Bush said in his opening remarks. "The bill I will sign today will help ensure we do remain the most competitive and innovative nation in the world."

As Bush was speaking, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slip-siding after three days of record gains. French bank BNP Paribas announced this morning that it froze three funds because of concerns about the U.S. subprime lending market, reviving American investors' panic about volatility there.

Protesting that he was not an economist, Bush refused to detail what he thought should be done about the subprime lending problem, but did seem to draw the line at a federal bailout. He also said that because many of the defaulting homeowners "didn't understand what they were signing up for," it would be a "proper role for government to enhance education initiatives," and again pointed to the America Competes Act.

Continue reading "Bush Stays Course On Iraq, Taxes & Torture"

Posted at 1:48 PM
Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, CIA, Campaigns, Congress, Detainees, Europe, France, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Taxes, Terrorism, WH 2008
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August 01, 2007

McConnell Admits Spy Program Is Part Of Broader Effort

President Bush's critics have long insisted there is more to the administration's NSA spying program than anyone admitted, and new revelations from the country's top intelligence official now confirms some of those suspicions.

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said yesterday that the scope of the NSA's surveillance activities extended beyond the warrantless phone taps and e-mail monitoring that Bush described in December 2005.

In a letter sent yesterday to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the Washington Post reports, McConnell wrote that the executive order Bush gave after the 9/11 attacks covered "a number of... intelligence activities" -- not just the wiretap program.

"This is the only aspect of the NSA activities that can be discussed publicly, because it is the only aspect of those various activities whose existence has been officially acknowledged," McConnell said.

Continue reading "McConnell Admits Spy Program Is Part Of Broader Effort"

Posted at 10:21 AM
Posted to: Arlen Specter, Congress, Mike McConnell, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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July 31, 2007

Second Slain South Korean Hostage Found

The Taliban killed another hostage from the group of 23 South Korean Christians kidnapped in Afghanistan on July 19. The body of Shim Sung-Min was found riddled with bullets soon after the Taliban announced yesterday that the Afghan government had missed a late-afternoon deadline for their demands.

South Korean officials reacted angrily to the news. A government statement reiterated that the country "strongly condemns and urges an immediate end to these heinous acts of killing innocent people in order to press for demands that it can't meet." The kidnappers have demanded that the Afghan government release 23 Taliban prisoners in return for the hostages.

A Taliban spokesman claimed the other hostages were safe but any rescue attempt would endanger their lives.

There are conflicting reports about the location of the body. The New York Times places it in a province in central Afghanistan, the Warzu area of the Andar district. AFX News reports that it was found in the southern province of Ghazni -- the same place as the body of the first hostage, who was killed last week.

Posted at 7:37 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, South Korea, Terrorism
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July 30, 2007

Taliban Claims To Have Killed Another Hostage

Taliban kidnappers are claiming to have killed another South Korean hostage after the Afghan government failed to meet their demands by a late afternoon deadline today, Reuters and AFP report.

"We shot dead a male captive because the government did not listen to our demands," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf reportedly told Reuters.

Kidnappers have been holding the 22 hostages for over a week. They are demanding that the Afghan government free 23 Taliban prisoners in exchange for the hostages' safe return. Kidnappers shot and killed another male hostage last week and have repeatedly threatened more violence if their demands are not met.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke out against the Taliban's tactics for the first time publicly over the weekend. "Hostage taking and abuse of foreign guests, especially women, is against Islam and the Afghan culture," Karzai reportedly told South Korean envoy Baek Jong-chun yesterday. Eighteen of the remaining hostages are women.

Afghan officials today asked for more time in their negotiations with the kidnappers. Reuters reports that the group's spokesman did not mention a new deadline when he spoke with reporters by telephone about the latest killing.

Posted at 1:45 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Terrorism
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July 25, 2007

Gadhafi: Still A Menace?

Libya's release of six Bulgarian medics who had been sentenced to die has earned that country loads of goodwill from Europe and the U.S. France's pledge of $400 million in compensation for the families who allege the group infected their children with HIV helped secure the deal; meanwhile, the EU is now preparing a substantial aid package for the northern African nation. President Bush recently named the first U.S. ambassador to Libya in more than three decades, and today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she looked forward to paying Tripoli a visit soon.

It's an odd reversal for a nation once considered to be a sponsor of terrorism. In the 1980s, Moammar Gadhafi was right up there with the late Ayatollah Khomeini on America's enemies list. An alliance of conservatives and human rights groups whose memories stretch back to the 1980s aren't happy with the turnabout.

Gadhafi's decision to give up his nuclear weapons logically precipitated warmer relations with the West, but the Wall Street Journal balks: "The blackmail habit is hard to shake, and rewarding a dictator for hostage-taking is fraught with moral hazards." A director of U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights complained, "This is really an outrageous case, in which the lives of these nurses and medic were literally ransomed for $400 million.... There is nothing to prevent the future scapegoating of foreign health workers and holding them hostage in exchange for foreign aid."

Indeed, the West's embrace of Gadhafi comes as Taliban militants hold a South Korean church group hostage in Afghanistan. One was killed earlier today.

Continue reading "Gadhafi: Still A Menace?"

Posted at 7:23 PM
Posted to: Africa, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Europe, France, Libya, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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Taliban Kills South Korean Hostage

An Afghan official has confirmed that one of the 23 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan has been shot and killed, Reuters reports.

The victim, identified by the Korean media as 42-year-old pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, was among a group of church volunteers kidnapped by Taliban militants on July 19 in central Ghazni province. His body was riddled with 10 bullets, according to reports.

AP reports that several of the hostages have been freed. The militants are demanding release of Taliban prisoners by this afternoon in exchange for the remaining hostages.

Afghan officials said negotiations were also centering on money. Foreign governments have been criticized after paying for the release of hostages there.

Posted at 12:58 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, South Korea, Terrorism
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TSA Warns Of Terrorist 'Dry Runs'

UPDATED.

A series of suspicious events over the last year at several U.S. airports -- in Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee and San Diego -- prompted the Transportation Safety Administration to send a message to airport security workers and local law enforcement asking them to look out for any activities that could be terrorists practicing "dry runs" for future attacks.

Security personnel were reminded to check for components that could be used to make improvised explosive devices.

The advisory message, sent July 20, was leaked to the media and posted online late yesterday. Reporters questioned Bush administration officials, leading TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe to make a statement.

"There is no credible, specific threat here," she said. "Don't panic. We do these things all the time."

TSA also said that the bulletin was routine, one of about 90 already sent this year. The Department of Homeland Security said there was no information about a specific threat. Airports' alert level will stay at orange, meaning "high," while the rest of the country is on yellow for "normal."

The bulletin's leak came at the same time as a warning about home-grown al-Qaida cells. Air Force Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart suggested that the military triple its response teams to address the increased threat.

Posted at 6:53 AM
Posted to: Terrorism
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July 24, 2007

Bush To War Critics: It's Al-Qaida, Stupid

President Bush delivered a stern challenge to anti-war Americans: Admit that leaving Iraq is the same as walking away from the war against al-Qaida.

Speaking before airmen at the Charleston Air Force Base, Bush used newly declassified portions of the latest National Intelligence Estimate [PDF] to beat back critics demanding he commit to withdrawal from Iraq.

Compared with other insurgent elements, "al-Qaida in Iraq stands out for its extremism, unmatched operational strength, foreign leadership, and determination to take the jihad beyond Iraq's borders," Bush said, quoting from the report. Reminding audience members that U.S. military commanders in Iraq and intelligence agencies at home consider al-Qaida to be "public enemy No. 1," Bush said, "There's a good reason they are called al-Qaida in Iraq. They are al-Qaida. In Iraq."

Continue reading "Bush To War Critics: It's Al-Qaida, Stupid"

Posted at 4:00 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Congress, David Petraeus, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Terrorism
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July 23, 2007

9/11 Bill Conferees Near Final Agreement

Negotiations over the weekend and early today yielded breakthroughs on two of the most contentious issues holding up a sweeping bill to implement unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, while talks on other sticking points could wrap up later today, according to aides.

House and Senate conferees have agreed in principle to let the Bush administration decide which federal agency should be in charge of managing and disbursing transportation security grants, aides said. The administration has already stated its preference to have the Homeland Security Department handle the job, rather than the Transportation Department, aides added.

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Posted at 5:04 PM
Posted to: Homeland Security, Terrorism
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Taliban Threatening To Kill South Korean Hostages

Taliban kidnappers in Afghanistan have increased their demands and are threatening to begin killing 23 South Korean hostages captured last Thursday if those demands are not met, AP reports.

Officials in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, where the hostages are being held, said kidnappers did not show up for a planned meeting earlier today, but instead declared by telephone that they wanted provincial leaders to release all militant Taliban prisoners in exchange for the Korean hostages. Reuters reports that the kidnappers have extended their deadline for the Afghan government to meet their demands to 14:30 GMT Tuesday.

A Taliban spokesman claimed today that the hostages were currently being held "in good health," but that any rescue attempt would endanger their lives.

The Washington Post reported this morning that Afghan security forces were surrounding the site where the hostages were being held and preparing for a possible strike if negotiations failed. And Yonhap News reports on the South Korean government's efforts to secure the safe release of the hostages, who hail from the Saemmul Christian Church in Bundang, a city outside of Seoul.

Posted at 12:42 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Terrorism
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July 20, 2007

Bush Outlines New Rules For Detainee Interrogations

President Bush has issued an executive order prohibiting the CIA from engaging in "cruel or inhuman treatment" when interrogating terrorism suspects.

AP reports that Bush also outlawed humiliating or degrading treatment of suspects, along with acts that "denigrate" their religious practices.

Bush ordered the CIA to draw up a new, comprehensive policy for the treatment of detainees. It is not clear how the order affects a signing statement Bush attached to a defense appropriations bill in late 2005, in which he reserved the right as head of the "unitary executive branch" to override existing and future legislation pertaining to detainees.

Posted at 4:28 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Detainees, President Bush, Terrorism
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July 19, 2007

Pakistani Bank Denies Pearl Charges

Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Habib Bank Limited of Karachi. The suit accuses the bank of offering financial services to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

"I am looking for the truth of what happened to Daniel, for our family, our friends, and the public record," Mariane Pearl wrote in a statement. "This process allows us to delve deeper into the investigation, and to bring accountability and punishment to those involved with his kidnapping, torture and murder."

Several other defendants are named in the suit, including captured al-Qaida leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The bank, in which the Pakistani government holds a 49-percent stake, denies the allegations. "As an institution, we have never been involved in supporting any terrorist organisation," one official told Reuters.

Pearl was kidnapped in Pakistan in January 2002. He was murdered soon after, and a video released by his kidnappers showed him being beheaded. Pakistan convicted four men of his murder in July 2002.

Posted at 3:09 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Pakistan, Terrorism
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July 16, 2007

North Korea Shuts Nuclear Reactor. Now What?

The nuclear watchdog of the U.N. has confirmed that North Korea shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, nearly five years after the reclusive communist nation defiantly sparked a WMD standoff with the United States. Time for high-fiving in the White House, right?

Only if you've got a short memory. Washington has been down this road with dictator Kim Jong-il before, and while there's a startling amount that the U.S. doesn't know about the Dear Leader, one thing is certain: Kim isn't going to make the de-nuclearization process easy.

Continue reading "North Korea Shuts Nuclear Reactor. Now What?"

Posted at 7:28 PM
Posted to: IAEA, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism
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July 11, 2007

Chertoff Asked To Explain Attack Warning

House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., rapped Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today for saying he has a "gut feeling" that the nation faces an increased risk of terrorist attack this summer.

Chertoff made his comments to the Chicago Tribune's editorial board Tuesday, even while saying no evidence points toward an imminent threat.

"Words have power, Mr. Secretary," Thompson wrote in a letter to Chertoff today. "You must choose them wisely -- especially when they relate to the lives and security of the American public."

Thompson said "tens of billions of taxpayer dollars" have been spent on Homeland Security infrastructure, resources and communications systems to identify risks and convey them to state and local officials.

"What color code in the Homeland Security Advisory System is associated with a 'gut feeling?'" the letter asked. "What sectors should be on alert as a result of your 'gut feeling?' What cities should be asking their law enforcement to work double shifts because of your 'gut feeling?'"

Continue reading "Chertoff Asked To Explain Attack Warning"

Posted at 5:24 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, House, Terrorism
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July 10, 2007

Bush Stands Firm On Iraq Despite Political Weakness

UPDATED.

In remarks delivered to a pre-selected audience at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, President Bush sought to repel a storm of attacks on his Iraq war policy.

"I'm doing my best to educate people about the perils of the world in which we live, and that we have an active strategy to deal with it," Bush said, after asking the audience to consider him the "explainer in chief."

Referring to al-Qaida in Iraq, Bush said, "They believe as strongly in their ideology as I believe in ours. They will kill a Muslim, a child, or a woman at a moment's notice to achieve their objectives."

Continue reading "Bush Stands Firm On Iraq Despite Political Weakness"

Posted at 6:40 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, David Petraeus, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Terrorism
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Senate Leaders Break Impasse Over 9/11 Commission Bill

Senate leaders reached agreement yesterday to move a massive bill implementing unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 commission to a conference with the House, paving the way for negotiators to wrap up work on the legislation as early as this week, according to lawmakers and their aides.

"Republicans did drop their objection to taking the bill into conference," said a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Aides said Republicans agreed to give unanimous consent to proceed to conference after Democrats dropped a provision that would have granted federal airport screeners collective bargaining rights.

Continue reading "Senate Leaders Break Impasse Over 9/11 Commission Bill"

Posted at 9:34 AM
Posted to: Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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July 06, 2007

Report: U.K. Bomb Plot Suspects Eyed U.S.

An Iraqi doctor is the first suspect to be charged in attempting bombings in London and Glasgow, AP reports.

Bilal Abdullah, 27, is believed to have been riding in a Jeep Cherokee that was loaded with gasoline canisters and driven into Glasgow's airport last Saturday. "I have now made the decision that there is sufficient evidence and authorized the charging of Bilal Abdullah with conspiracy to cause explosions following incidents in London and Glasgow," said British prosecutor Susan Hemming.

BBC News has just obtained new video of the Glasgow crash; it contains graphic images.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that two of the doctors being held in the attacks may have attempted to come to the United States. Sources said Mohammed Jamil Asha, 26, and a suspect who hasn't been identified inquired about enrolling in graduate medical programs with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, a national organization based in Philadelphia.

Posted at 4:02 PM
Posted to: Europe, Terrorism, U.K.
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Trying To Get Beyond The Politics Of War

The reaction to yet another Republican defection from President Bush on Iraq says a couple of things about where we are on the war right now.

One: Politically, it is no longer possible to be openly optimistic about the war's outcome and be taken seriously. There may be pockets around the country where this does not hold but for the most part it seems true. The Democrats chanting for an exit out of Iraq no longer temper their remarks with the "I hope I'm wrong" caveat. The new conventional wisdom is that the war is no longer winnable.

That leaves Republican lawmakers who back the war but really want to be re-elected next year with one choice: stop backing the war. That isn't to say that changes of heart on the GOP side are all the result of cold, political calculation. Sens. John Warner, Richard Lugar and George Voinovich were skeptical about Bush's war strategy before it was politically popular to be.

Unfortunately for New Mexico's Pete Domenici, he wasn't.

Continue reading "Trying To Get Beyond The Politics Of War"

Posted at 3:44 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Congress, David Petraeus, Democrats, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Terrorism, WH 2008
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Menacing Letters Target Goldman Sachs

UPDATED.

The FBI is probing a possible terror threat against global investment house Goldman Sachs. Letters sent to newspapers across the country read, "Goldman Sachs. Hundreds will die. We are inside. You cannot stop us," and are signed, "A.Q.U.S.A."

The seeming reference to al-Qaida and Goldman Sachs' headquarters in New York City compelled an investigation. But a Goldman Sachs spokesman said that an FBI analysis did not find the threat to be credible, CNN reports.

The Newark Star-Ledger, which received one of the letters, reports that they were mailed from Queens, N.Y., and that the letter it received was postmarked June 27.

Posted at 3:27 PM
Posted to: Terrorism
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July 03, 2007

U.K. Terror Scare Puts U.S. Cities On Alert

As has been the case on every Fourth of July since the 9/11 attacks, many Americans will be chomping on hot dogs and waving tiny American flags as heavily armed police and security forces stand by.

CNN reports that the Transportation Security Administration is dispatching special counterterrorism teams to subway and commuter systems in eight major cities: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The extra precautions are being taken as British officials seek to unravel what looks to have been an unsophisticated but coordinated car bomb attack in that country. The relative ease of assembling a crude car bomb in a major metropolitan area has security officials on both sides of the pond re-evaluating their anti-terrorism strategies.

BBC News, the Guardian and the Telegraph have the latest on the British investigation.

Posted at 1:05 PM
Posted to: Europe, Terrorism, U.K.
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July 02, 2007

U.K. To Rethink Detainee Policies Following Terror Plot

Britain is on its highest-level terror alert as officials scramble to head off what The Economist is calling that nation's "dreadful summer ritual" -- coordinated homegrown plots by Islamic radicals.

Officials believe the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow may have been part of a coordinated plot. Seven people, all of whom are believed to be foreigners, have been arrested.

This is the second consecutive year Britain has thwarted a potentially massive terror plot since the 7/7 London transit attacks in 2005. In a statement to the British Commons today, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the government might rethink its detention policies for suspected terrorists.

"There may well be a case for looking very carefully at the amount of time that we are able to detain people pre-charge in order to ensure the very best opportunity to bring convictions," she said.

Continue reading "U.K. To Rethink Detainee Policies Following Terror Plot"

Posted at 10:39 AM
Posted to: Europe, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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June 18, 2007

U.S. Attack On Mosque Kills Afghan Children

UPDATED.

U.S. forces said today that they had inadvertently killed seven children in an airstrike against a mosque and religious school in eastern Afghanistan that were being used as an al-Qaida safehouse. Several insurgents were also killed in the attack, which took place Sunday.

A coalition spokesman blamed al-Qaida for the casualties, claiming they were using the children as shields. "We are saddened by the innocent lives that were lost as a result of militants' cowardice," said Major Chris Belcher. Belcher said surveillance leading up to the attack had not revealed the children's presence at the mosque.

It was a bloody weekend in Afghanistan. Earlier Sunday in Kabul, a suicide bombing on a bus carrying police officers to a training compound killed 35 people and wounded 52. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest of its kind since the war began in 2001.

Continue reading "U.S. Attack On Mosque Kills Afghan Children"

Posted at 10:33 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Terrorism
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June 01, 2007

Lebanese Army Hits Refugee Camp

At least nineteen people, including three Lebanese soldiers, died today when the army struck at the Nahr al-Bared camp in southern Lebanon. Militants loyal to al-Qaida have dug into the Palestinian camp in recent weeks, defending their positions and forcing the Lebanese army to battle them for control of the area.

Troops rolled closer to the camp in tanks today and fired on the Fatah al-Islam militants. A source from the group told Reuters that some positions had been ceded and that there was "widescale destruction in civilian areas."

The Lebanese army cannot legally enter any refugee camp according to the terms of a 1969 Arab agreement; today's fighting took place just outside the camp's borders. About 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon's 12 camps.

A temporary truce prompted last week's exodus of nearly half the camp's population to refugee camps in other parts of the country, but violence resumed in earnest this week. More than 80 people have already been killed in Lebanon's bloodiest internal fighting since the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.

Posted at 4:00 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Lebanon, Terrorism
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May 24, 2007

Ron vs. Rudy: The Battle Rages On

Is Ron Paul running in the wrong primary?

That was the question FOX News Channel's Chris Wallace asked the five-term Republican congressman from Texas in the May 15 GOP presidential debate in South Carolina, and the question still haunts Paul as his feud with front-runner Rudy Giuliani over foreign policy continues.

The latest chapter came this morning, when Paul teamed up with Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit, to "educate" Giuliani about terrorism and foreign policy. Reuters covered the event at the National Press Club, where Paul unveiled a reading list for the former mayor that included the 9/11 commission report and Scheuer's own book, "Imperial Hubris." In a press release, campaign chairman Kent Snyder added, "We have also included some Cliffs Notes in case Mr. Giuliani is too busy giving $100,000 speeches on national security."

Continue reading "Ron vs. Rudy: The Battle Rages On"

Posted at 3:43 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Campaigns, Iraq, Middle East, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism, WH 2008
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May 23, 2007

Bush Discusses Al-Qaida Threat At Coast Guard Commencement

Graduation is typically a time for congratulations, friendly advice and best wishes for a bright future. But today, President Bush used his commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., today to issue a dire warning to the graduates assembled and to the American people: "To strike our country, the terrorists only have to be right once; to protect our country, we have to be right 100 percent of the time."

Faced with the country's growing dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq and increasing pressure from Congress to change course, the president took another shot at drawing a connection between the war in Iraq and the larger war on terrorism in his address.

Continue reading "Bush Discusses Al-Qaida Threat At Coast Guard Commencement"

Posted at 2:59 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Terrorism
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May 16, 2007

Peacekeepers Killed Near Mogadishu

A roadside bomb struck a convoy of African Union soldiers north of the Somalian capital today, killing four and injuring five. Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, spokesman for Somalia's interim president, blamed the attack on al-Qaida.

Earlier in the day, four people were killed and 20 were injured in an attack on a movie theater south of Mogadishu. The violence comes a day after Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, discussed the peacekeeping mission.

BBC News notes that today's bombing is the worst attack on the peacekeeping force since 1,600 Ugandan soldiers entered the country in March. A force of 8,000 will eventually take over security responsibilities from the Ethiopian army; yesterday, both the United States and the African Union warned Ethiopia not to pull its troops out before the new peacekeeping force could arrive over the course of several months.

Posted at 2:15 PM
Posted to: Africa, Terrorism
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May 14, 2007

The Evolving Case Against Jose Padilla

The terrorism trial of Jose Padilla began today, and it was a far cry from what anyone had imagined following his arrest at O'Hare International Airport in May of 2002.

Since then, Padilla's status in the eyes of the government has evolved from "dirty bomber" to "enemy combatant" to suspected al-Qaida operative, the latest definition of the Chicago native. The 36-year-old spent more than three years in a Navy brig, despite being an American citizen. Just as the U.S. Supreme Court was about to weigh in on whether it was constitutional to hold Padilla indefinitely without charge, the Bush administration moved to have him declassified as an enemy combatant and transferred to a civilian facility.

Much of the air has been taken out of the government's case against Padilla, a former member of a Puerto Rican gang who converted to Islam shortly after being released from jail in his early 20s. There will be no mention of a radioactive dirty bomb at this trial -- at least, not from the prosecution. Instead, Padilla is accused of applying to be an al-Qaida operative and volunteering to carry out violent assaults against targets abroad. Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi have been charged as his co-defendants.

Continue reading "The Evolving Case Against Jose Padilla"

Posted at 6:53 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Jose Padilla, Terrorism
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Padilla Trial Begins

Both sides made their opening statements today at the long-awaited trial of accused al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla. At a federal courthouse in Miami, prosecutors charged that Padilla provided material support to terrorists.

Two other co-defendants are on trial simultaneously. Padilla was arrested at a Chicago airport in 2002, accused of plotting a dirty bomb attack; he became a defendant in this case after an effort by his attorneys to challenge his detention.

Check The Gate later this afternoon for more on the trial.

Posted at 2:25 PM
Posted to: Terrorism
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May 11, 2007

Report: Terrorist Plot Targets U.S. Interests In Germany

ABC News is reporting that U.S. officials have been working to prevent a terrorist plot on American military and diplomatic interests in Germany.

U.S. officials alerted the German government last month that intelligence indicated a possible attack in the works, according to ABC. Security has quietly been beefed up at the U.S. Embassy there, along with other diplomatic and consular offices.

ABC also reports that "U.S. air marshals have been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the United States."

U.S. targets are plentiful in Germany, which houses America's largest military hub outside of its own borders.

Posted at 1:01 PM
Posted to: Terrorism
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Taliban Frees French Hostage

Eric Damfreville, a French aid worker kidnapped by Taliban fighters over a month ago, was released today to tribal elders in Kandahar. The Red Cross confirmed Damfreville's release and said its workers have him in their custody.

The Taliban credited the action to recent comments from France's new president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, who said on April 26 -- before his election -- that he would consider pulling his country's troops out of the NATO force in Afghanistan and that France could not remain in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters that the Taliban's leadership council "decided to free him for the newly elected French president" who "had said in his utterances that France will deliberate over withdrawing French troops from Afghanistan."

Continue reading "Taliban Frees French Hostage"

Posted at 12:24 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, Europe, France, Terrorism
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May 09, 2007

Terrorism Across The Border

A joint investigation by NBC News and Telemundo, its Spanish-language corporate sibling, has unearthed a "well-financed" Hezbollah base in South America.

"From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated mainly from Lebanon in two waves, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and after the 1985 Lebanese civil war," NBC News reports on its Web site.

Washington has long suspected Islamic terrorists may be setting up camp in South America, but the new NBC-Telemundo report indicates Hezbollah is running a flush and healthy operation just a few porous borders away from American soil.

In February, Newsweek reported on South and Central American governments' reluctance to respond to evidence of terrorist money-laundering in their countries, and CBS News sounded the alarm last year.

Posted at 7:00 PM
Posted to: Hezbollah, Terrorism
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May 08, 2007

Thwarted Terror Plot Targeted Troops

UPDATED.

Six men believed to be Islamic radicals were arrested early this morning for plotting an attack on soldiers in Fort Dix, N.J., and were scheduled to appear in district court in Camden this afternoon.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie confirmed at a press conference this afternoon that his office had brought complaints against the six men. He emphasized that the threat against Fort Dix "had been taken care of" through the efforts of police and the FBI: "We were able to do what American law enforcement is supposed to do in the post-9/11 era, and that is to be one step ahead."

Surrounded by a host of officers, FBI agents, attorneys and other personnel, Christie called the investigation and arrests "the model for the post-Sept. 11 era."

Continue reading "Thwarted Terror Plot Targeted Troops"

Posted at 4:01 PM
Posted to: Military, Terrorism
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April 05, 2007

U.K. Sailors Back Home; Bomb Suspects Charged

With Congress in recess and President Bush clearing brush in Crawford, it's very quiet today in Washington. Not so for America's allies across the pond.

First, the latest news: Police have charged three more suspects in the 2005 London transit bombings that killed 52 and injured nearly a thousand, the London Guardian reports. "Sadeer Saleem, 26, Mohammed Shakil, 30, and Waheed Ali, 23," are accused of conspiring with the suicide bombers who carried out the rush-hour attacks on three crowded subways and one double-decker bus on July 7, 2005.

Continue reading "U.K. Sailors Back Home; Bomb Suspects Charged"

Posted at 12:55 PM
Posted to: Europe, Iran, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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April 03, 2007

Bush To Congress: Come Back And Do Your Job

Congressional Democrats have been piling the criticism on President Bush this year, about everything from the Iraq war to the federal deficit to, most recently, the firings of U.S. attorneys late last year. But today in the Rose Garden it was Bush's turn to return fire, as the U.S. military faces a potentially crippling funding shortage while heavily engaged in two conflicts overseas.

"Congress' failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. And others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to. That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people," Bush said, with a pointed intensity not seen from the besieged White House in some time. "Get home, get a bill passed and get it to my desk," Bush told lawmakers, who are in recess for at least a week.

Continue reading "Bush To Congress: Come Back And Do Your Job"

Posted at 11:07 AM
Posted to: Congress, Iraq, Military, Terrorism
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March 30, 2007

Hicks Found Guilty On Terror Charges

Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks was found guilty "of providing material support for terrorism, marking the first conviction at a U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II," AP reports.

The 31-year-old Australian's plea agreement requires him to serve seven years in prison on the condition that he "drop any claims of mistreatment by the U.S. government since he was captured in Afghanistan and taken to Guantanamo Bay, said the judge, Marine Corps Col. Ralph Kohlmann."

Continue reading "Hicks Found Guilty On Terror Charges"

Posted at 11:35 AM
Posted to: Guantanamo Bay, Terrorism
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March 15, 2007

Mohammed Admits To Pearl Murder

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted to masterminding the 9/11 attacks; today, the public learned that he was also behind the killing of reporter Daniel Pearl.

"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," the transcript of Mohammed's Guantanamo Bay testimony reads. Pearl, who worked for the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and killed in January 2002. A video of his death was released on the Internet, but his executioner's face wasn't visible.

Continue reading "Mohammed Admits To Pearl Murder"

Posted at 3:01 PM
Posted to: Terrorism
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