John Galt Kills Americans
The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine yesterday released the results of a study addressing mortality in the United States as compared to other developed nations. The full report can be purchased here, where a summary also…
The Lawyers that Stayed, the Lawyers that Left
Charlie Savage covers a very troubling development in the case of Ali al-Bahlul, a Yemeni who is serving a life sentence for serving as Al Qaeda's videographer.
After Hamdan had his conviction vacated by the DC Circuit last year because…
Will NYT's Ombud Encourage a NYT Pre-Sentencing Memo for Bradley Manning, Too?
When I first read Scott Shane's long profile of John Kiriakou, I thought, "how interesting that the NYT is doing a piece that exposes the government's double standards just in time for the sentencing of Kiriakou, one of their sources."
That's…
Zero Option on Table as Karzai Comes to Washington
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Washington this week for a visit that culminates on Friday in a meeting with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He also meets with outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday.…
It's Hard to Summarize Opinions Pertaining to Two Purportedly Unrelated Laws
Steven Aftergood relays the explanation of a senior intelligence official as to why the intelligence community can't release even a teensy little bit of the FISA Court's classified opinions.
“We tried,” a senior intelligence agency official…
Blabby Brennan to Replace Publicity Petraeus at CIA?
"He is a horrendously political animal, and there will be a tendency to politicize information to put the best spin for the administration on it."
--An anonymous CIA officer, speaking of John Brennan, with whom he worked at CIA during the…
Brennan Attacks First Responders Again
In a sane world, John Brennan would be on his best behavior while his nomination to lead the CIA is pending approval in the Senate. Sadly, the world we inhabit has become so insane that Brennan's "best behavior" appears to be a return to drone…
John Brennan Promises to Take the Gloves Off
In response to John Brennan's nomination, PBS sent out the clip from their 2006 interview in which he endorsed taking the gloves off. I find that clip, plus the complete interview transcript, all the more instructive given what has transpired…
Warrick Promotes Neocon Framing of Newest Iran Sanctions
Despite crippling smog in Tehran that may well derive from sanctions aimed at refined gasoline and the UN noting several months ago that US sanctions against Iran "appear to be affecting humanitarian operations in the country", Joby Warrick…
The Official John Brennan Story
The NYT has chosen to have someone who presented an outdated picture of drone targeting that covered up changes implemented under John Brennan report on John Brennan's nomination to be CIA Director. The story is predictably imbalanced.
Take…
The Seduction of John Brennan's "Moral Rectitude"
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As has been floated over the last few days, Obama will reportedly appoint John Brennan CIA Director later today.
FWIW, having John Brennan in a position where he will be subject to Congressional oversight--rather…
Wildcard Weekend, Sexy Rex Art and Johnny Football
There is a lot of football news in the wind but, frankly, there is only one thing everybody is interested in. Rex Ryan's wife. Tattooed on his ass, er arm. Dressed only in a Dirty Sanchex jersey. No wonder Tebow couldn't get on the field and…
Why Ask the FBI about Classification on the Targeted Killing FOIA?
The FBI, as far as we know, never gets to press the buttons on JSOC and CIA's drones. And as I noted last June, FBI information we know exists (some of it in unclassified form) was suspiciously absent from the materials identified in the response…
The Disposition of Informants and Citizens
A lot of the commentary about Craig Whitlock's Tuesday article on three alleged al Shabaab members rendered to the US focused on whether he accurately described this rendition--to a law enforcement proceeding and not, as happened under Bush,…
Military Slowly Gaining Perspective on Insider Attacks in Afghanistan
Citing a "former American official", the New York Times today dubbed insider, or green on blue, attacks as "the signature violence of 2012" as it provided information directly from an Afghan soldier who turned his gun on US troops on May 11…
The Dianne Feinstein-Jose Rodriguez Grudge Match
It cannot be sheer coincidence that Dianne Feinstein released two letters to acting CIA Director Michael Morell just hours before WaPo published yet another fact-free defense of torture from Jose Rodriguez.
In addition to demanding proof…
Al-Haramain Will Not Appeal 9th Circuit Decision Immunizing Illegal Wiretapping
The single best chance to hold the government accountable for its illegal wiretapping, the al-Haramain suit, is over.
Our goal was for the judiciary to rule that the president may not disregard an act of Congress in the name of national security.
[snip]
Ironically,…
The DOD Targeted Killing Memo Not Addressed to DOD
I'm still deep in the weeds of Judge Colleen McMahon's opinion rejecting the NYT and ACLU's efforts to get the legal basis for killing Anwar al-Awlaki, The Child (as McMahon calls Anwar's son Abdulrahman), and Samir Khan.
I observed yesterday…
Why Not Have a Hearing on Civilian Drone Casualties?
Yesterday, I suggested that Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger's certainty that public accounts of drone casualties are overstated may say more about our failed intelligence oversight than it does about the number of civilians who have died…
Colleen McMahon's Cheshire Cat: CIA's Stephen Preston
As you no doubt remember from Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat keeps disappearing. Indeed, the cat's habit of disappearing at will presents an insurmountable challenge to the Queen's normally simple rules on executions.
When [Alice] got…
