By
Benjamin Wittes
Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 8:04 AM
Check out the composition of this panel—which must of stressed all of Dahlia Lithwick’s copious social skills to keep civil.
I haven’t watched it yet, but I thought I would flag it for interested readers. The Aspen Security Forum describes … Read more »
By
Robert Chesney
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 10:56 PM
The indictment in United States v. Abdo, alleging a plot to bomb a restaurant in the Killeen area frequented by soldiers from Fort Hood, is available here.… Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 1:01 PM
Over at Secrecy News, Steve Aftergood writes:
The government’s treatment of former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake was abusive and akin to acts of British tyranny in pre-Revolutionary War days, said Judge Richard D. Bennett at the July
… Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 12:38 PM
The UK Human Rights Blog has this analysis of the British government’s detainee inquiry, which is just getting off the ground. It includes useful links to the investigation’s terms of reference and protocol documents, as well as a description of … Read more »
By
Raffaela Wakeman
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Congressional reporters may have been left with nothing to write about last night, but we sure have plenty to read about today in the world of national security, the war on terror, and cybersecurity.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence … Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 9:23 PM
The Onion has the story:
WASHINGTON—In a 30-minute video released Thursday, al- Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized the mass transportation infrastructure of the United States, claiming significant repairs and upgrades would need to be implemented before the militant group
… Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 4:17 PM
Two weeks ago, I posted a short piece—which grew out of a paper I am writing on the relationship between liberty and security—concerning what Ben Franklin really meant when he said that “Those who would give up essential Liberty, … Read more »
By
Raffaela Wakeman
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Unsurprisingly in a world dominated by debt ceilings, Rupert Murdock, and Amy Winehouse, there is little to report today.
Ayman al-Zawahri released his first video as Al Qaeda chief and successor to Osama bin Laden. In it, he encouraged Syrian protesters … Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 9:59 PM
An interesting column by David Ignatius pointed me to this fascinating-looking report by Richard Danzig, Marc Sageman, and others. Published by the Center for a New American Security, the report is entitled “Aum Shinrikyo: Insights Into How Terrorists Develop Biological … Read more »
By
Robert Chesney
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 5:28 PM
I’ve written a lot over the years about the way law responds to changing practical phenomena such as the emergence of non-state actors as a strategic threat, ala al Qaeda, as have many others. This vein of scholarship often emphasizes … Read more »
By
Robert Chesney
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 4:55 PM
There are few topics more slippery—and more emblematic of the current age—than the intersection of transnational organized crime, narcotics, illicit arms, and violent non-state actors. On that front, this has been a busy week. Consider the pair of indictments announced … Read more »
By
Robert Chesney
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 4:23 PM
I came away from today’s HASC hearing much more optimistic about the future course of our detention/prosecution policy than I had been coming in, as there were signs of what I hope will become consensus on two key issues.
The … Read more »
By
Benjamin Wittes
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 3:30 PM
By
Robert Chesney
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 12:22 AM
By
Benjamin Wittes
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 3:39 PM
I was lucky enough, unlike a number of other commentators, to be on the road on Friday when news of the attacks in Norway broke—and thus missed the opportunity to make an assumption that proved spectactularly wrong about who the … Read more »