US Threatens to Limit Intel Sharing With UK

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

(NEWSER) - After weeks of deliberation, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and ordered the military to carry it out. The exact size of the troop escalation has not been announced, but sources put the number in the neighborhood of 30,000 more troops. The president started informing military leaders last night and will explain his plan in detail in a national speech tomorrow from the US Military Academy at West Point. More»

Anwar al-Awlaki videos blamed for radicalizing young Brits

(NEWSER) - Several UK officials are calling on the US to censor Anwar al-Awlaki’s videos on YouTube, after a would-be assassin cited them as a key ingredient in her radicalization. More than 5,000 of Anwar al-Awkali’s sermons can be found on YouTube, exhorting the faithful to take up terrorism. “Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim,” the American-born al-Qaeda cleric declares in one. Police think those videos radicalized Roshonara Choudhry, who was convicted yesterday of stabbing Labour politician Stephen Timms. More»

Upbringing could explain why he disses US allies

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration has dissed one traditional American ally after another, with Britain the worst example, writes Charles Krauthammer. In trying to figure out why, he quotes a British diplomat who notes that President Obama is someone who "grew up in Hawaii, whose foreign experience was of Indonesia and who had a Kenyan father. The sentimental reflexes, if you like, are not there." Krauthammer thinks he's on the right track. More»

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney lambasted Barack Obama today for his decision to name a special prosecutor to look into Bush-era terror interrogations. The move raises “doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security,” he said in a statement. “The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions.” More»

(NEWSER) - The White House was busily waging a do-or-die battle to pass health reform when it was suddenly handed exactly what it wanted to avoid: a polarizing battle about Bush-era tactics that President Obama has already condemned. Obama is attempting to remain above the fray as the administration insists that AG Eric Holder is acting independently. But keeping the president out of the line of fire won't be easy, reports the Los Angeles Times. More»