Conservative GOP congressman stands by controversial slam
Des Moines Register Mar 11, 08 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser)
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An Iowa congressman isn't going to back down from remarks that terrorists will be "dancing in the streets" if Barack Obama is elected, the Des Moines Register reports. Republican Steve King told a radio station last week that Obama's middle name—Hussein—would be one reason terrorists would hail an Obama win. "They'll be dancing in the streets," he said.
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Aural damage from Iraq, Afghanistan wars reaching epidemic levels
Associated Press Mar 8, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser)
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US troops are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with epidemic rates of hearing damage, AP reports, with 128,000 disabled by permanent hearing loss or tinnitus, ringing in the ears. The nature of the current conflict is part of the problem, with roadside bombs and sudden ambushes giving troops no chance to use protective equipment. "They can't say, Wait a minute, let me put my earplugs in,'" said a Navy specialist. "They are in the fight of their lives."
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Officials keen to keep report classified after Iran estimate flap
Washington Post Mar 7, 08 1:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Intelligence officials may keep the results of a new assessment on Iraq confidential when it's completed next month, the Washington Post reports. The new National Intelligence Estimate will be given to Congress, but intelligence officials are gunshy about making it public because of the brouhaha that erupted when they released an NIE about Iran's nuclear program last fall.
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Chertoff reflects on successes, challenges at Homeland Security
Christian Science Monitor Feb 28, 08 1:32 PM CST
(Newser)
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With the Department of Homeland Security celebrating its fifth anniversary Saturday, Secretary Michael Chertoff says six attack-free years could tempt the next US administration to make cuts in his agencies, the Christian Science Monitor reports. He said he has a "moral responsibility" to make choices he might not see bear fruit, rather than take the usual Washington approach of post-disaster recriminations.
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UPDATED
Threat growing as House holds up bill over immunity for telecoms, prez charges
CNN Feb 28, 08 9:29 AM CST
(Newser)
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President Bush urged Congress this morning to pass an update to the terrorist surveillance bill that expired more than a week ago, CNN reports. Bush said the delay poses "a risk of opening a gap in our intelligence gathering." The bill stalled in the House over a provision granting immunity for telecommunications companies that might have turned over phone records illegally.
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10 dead in strike
linked to US
Reuters Feb 28, 08 6:19 AM CST
(Newser)
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A missile struck a house in South Waziristan, the volatile Pakistani region bordering Afghanistan, killing 10 suspected militants and wounding 7 others. The house was known to be a safe haven for members of al-Qaeda, and most of the casualties are believed to have been Arabs, Reuters reports. A spokesman for Pakistan's military said he had no knowledge of the attack, and a security official said he believe the strike was launched by US forces in Afghanistan.
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Top lawyer now critic
of tribunals' fairness
AFP Feb 22, 08 6:41 PM CST
(Newser)
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The former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo will be a defense witness for Osama bin Laden's driver at his upcoming military tribunal, the AFP reports. Morris Davis, who has become an outspoken critic of the administration’s legal approach to the war on terror since his resignation in October, will testify on behalf of Salim Hamdan, who is accused of delivering arms to terrorist agents.
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Brits apologize for earlier denials of ties
to terror cases
BBC Feb 21, 08 2:17 PM CST
(Newser)
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Two US flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation abroad—a practice known as extraordinary rendition—landed on British territory in 2002, confirmed CIA Director Michael Hayden today. Though the UK previously denied such landings, Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted planes refueled on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, reports the BBC, a fact revealed in a recent search of US records.
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Official urges nations
to prosecute, but
doesn't point finger
Reuters Feb 8, 08 11:30 PM CST
(Newser)
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A top UN official said today that CIA waterboarding constitutes a war crime, but she stopped short of accusing Washington directly. "I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture," Louise Arbour said. Her comment comes days after CIA chief Michael Hayden admitted that operatives have used the practice on terror suspects, Reuters reports.
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He tells Salon he was held at 'black sites'
Salon Dec 15, 07 7:37 AM CST
(Newser)
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A Yemeni man claims he was held for 19 months in secret CIA prisons, shackled in tiny cells with no idea why he was there or if he would ever be free again, bombarded by rap music or white noise around the clock. Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah says he was picked up as an al-Qaeda suspect in 2003 and held at the the agency's infamous "black sites" before being released without charge or explanation, he tells Salon.
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Jury acquits 1, splits on 6 others accused of pursuing al Qaeda ties
Associated Press Dec 13, 07 5:12 PM CST
(Newser)
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A jury acquitted one suspect today and was deadlocked over the six others in the "Liberty City Seven" case, in which prosecutors had accused the Miami men of swearing allegiance to al Qaeda and plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. The case was a centerpiece in the Bush Administration's campaign against homegrown terrorism, the Associated Press reports.
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Watershed verdict on detainees rights will help define Bush legacy
Wall Street Journal Dec 5, 07 7:52 AM CST
(Newser)
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The White House is in the hot seat today as the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on the rights of Guantanamo Bay inmates to judicial review. Detainee cases were also considered by the court in 2004 and 2006—both rulings went against the administration—but the decision in this case, due in June, is expected to be the most decisive, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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'Not worried about a back slide' despite rise in attacks, he says
Reuters Dec 3, 07 8:26 PM CST
(Newser)
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan today to size up areas where attacks have recently doubled and suicide bombings spiked 30%, Reuters reports. He was upbeat despite a Pentagon admission that al-Qaeda is helping Taliban forces to recover. "I'm not worried about a back slide as much as I am how we continue the momentum going forward," he said.
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