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Senators Press Holder to Declassify Key Facts about Patriot Act

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salem-News.com - Nov. 19 (News Report) - We believe that the information we referenced in those paragraphs – specifically about the use of section 215 – is essential to understanding the full scope of the PATRIOT Act, which is about to be debated in Congress. As we said in June, if you have concerns about declassifying the specific language contained in our letter, we ask that you work with us to find language that conveys enough information to allow for an informed public debate on the PATRIOT Act’s reauthorization

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For Holder, much wrestling over decision

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Carrie Johnson - Nov. 13 (News Analysis) - what the nation's chief law enforcement officer did not lay bare for public consumption was the four months of deliberation, lobbying and tug of war inside his own Justice Department that preceded an announcement that will follow him into history.

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Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arar

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Harper's - By Scott Horton - Nov. 03 (Editorial) - The majority, Calabresi charges, “engaged in extraordinary judicial activism.” Its activism was aimed at extricating political actors from a precarious predicament and keeping the door firmly shut on what may well be the darkest chapter in the entire history of the Justice Department.

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Obama administration seeks to block wiretap suit

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Devlin Barrett - Oct. 31 (News Report) - The Justice Department invoked the state secrets privilege Friday to try to stop a lawsuit over Bush-era wiretapping -- the first time the Obama administration has done so under its new policy on such cases. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision in a California lawsuit challenging the warrantless wiretapping program begun after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Official resigns over Afghan war

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Karen DeYoung - Oct. 27 (Special Report) - A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed. But last

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No Afghanistan ‘Checkposts’ Abandoned While Pak Military Offensive Proceeds ?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Spencer Ackerman - Oct. 19 (News Analysis) - "A piece in the Pakistan paper the News accused the U.S. military of taking the inexplicable step of abandoning “checkposts” on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border while the Pakistani military offensive in nearby Waziristan intensifies. According to Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s staff, it’s just not true".

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Clinton: Not ‘Either/Or’ Between Negotiating With Iran and Supporting Dissidents «

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Spencer Ackerman - Oct. 05 (News Report) - Asked at the George Washington University forum about whether the Obama administration was effectively undermining the Iranian opposition by negotiating with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the choice was not “either/or.” Citing the U.S. experience throughout the Cold War of “always press[ing]” the Soviet Union on [...]

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Still Not Tired

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Thomas L. Friedman - Oct. 04 (Opinion) - Though we may be tired of this “war on terrorism,” the bad guys are not. They are getting even more creative.

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Al Qaeda's on its way out

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

GlobalPost - By C.M. Sennott - Sep. 30 (Opinion) - The image of Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Afghan-born bus driver from Denver and now a terror suspect, embodies the complex truths of where we are right now in the struggle against terrorism.

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Experts Weigh in on Obama’s Explanation of Iran’s Nuclear Facility

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Spencer Ackerman - Sep. 28 (News Report) - Flanked by the French president and the British premier, President Obama on Friday dramatically stated that the “size and configuration” of a previously undisclosed Iranian nuclear facility near the clerical city of Qom make it “inconsistent with a peaceful program.” Several independent experts believe the facility is most likely being constructed to support a nuclear weapons program, especially as Iran’s concealment of it comes after years of nondisclosure and obstruction of inspections. But even those experts believe that the “size and configuration” of the facility does not necessarily mean it could only be used to build an atomic bomb.

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Obama’s Dick Cheney Moment

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Benjamin Wittes - Sep. 28 (Opinion) - His decision not to consult Congress on detentions represents a virtually wholesale adoption of Bush’s failed policies.

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Officials: Iran has second enrichment plant

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Michael D. Shear, Karen DeYoung - Sep. 25 (News Report) - President Obama and the leaders of France and Britain blasted Iran's construction of a previously unacknowledged uranium enrichment facility and demanded Friday that Tehran immediately fulfill its obligations under international law or risk the imposition of harsh new sanctions.

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Meet The New State Secrets Policy, Not So Different From The Old State Secrets Policy

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

American Prospect - By Adam Serwer - Sep. 23 (News Analysis) - The Obama administration's abuse of the state secrets privilege mirrors the Bush administration's, and that's despite months of promises to reform its use.

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Blackwater: Widening the rift

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Dawn - By Sana Saleem - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - Conspiracy theories have always had high currency in our part of the world and ritual cynicism towards America is quite usual. Recent reports claiming the presence of CIA’s contractual army – Blackwater – in Pakistan have bolstered concerns within the Pakistani public about US involvement in this country’s affairs. It’s high time, though, that the government came clean with the public about the extent of US involvement in this country’s security affairs.

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Grayson, POGO Use ACORN Defunding Push to Go After Military Contractors

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Spencer Ackerman - Sep. 22 (Breaking News) - Ryan Grim has the story, I have stifled guffaws. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) picked up on the legislative overreach and asked the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) to sift through its database to find which contractors might be caught in the ACORN net. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Gumman both popped up quickly, with 20 fraud cases between [...]

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Battle Looms Over the Patriot Act

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Charlie Savage - Sep. 20 (News Report) - As Congress prepares to consider extending provisions of the USA Patriot Act, civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers are gearing up to press for sweeping changes to surveillance laws.

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Fear was no excuse to condone torture

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Charles C. Krulak, Joseph P. Hoar - Sep. 15 (Opinion) - In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster. But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.

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Sept. 11 Attacks Helped Shape Obama's Worldview

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Scott Wilson - Sep. 12 (News Report) - It was not hollow rhetoric. The attacks and the steps that the Bush administration took to prevent another one have defined the way Obama views the world and have influenced, more than any other event, his understanding of national security. That

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Are Post-Sept. 11 Airport Screens Just 'Security Theater’?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Brian Naylor - Sep. 11 (Special Report) - While the technology to screen passengers has become more advanced and the check-in lines a little shorter, the question of whether flying is terrorism-proof remains. The Transportation Security Administration touts its latest machinery, but critics call the screening process "security theater."

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At OpEdNews: Under the Cloak of Questionable Premise

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Op Ed News - By Robert Johnson - Sep. 11 (Editorial) - This short list scratches the surface of serious doubt. With discretion, hard information and solid leads can be gleaned from the Web and databases like NexisLexis. But until there is arm’s-length inquiry with powers to subpoena and indict and a mandate to uphold the rule of law, what really happened on 9/11 is left to folklore, and state skullduggery stays armed with a vague and powerful excuse.

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N.C. native wrongly deported to Mexico

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

charlotteobserver.com - By Kristin Collins - Sep. 01 (News) - Lyttle is one of a growing number of people who have been swept up in the federal immigration detention system since 2001, when terrorist attacks prompted an unprecedented effort to find and deport illegal immigrants. The U.S. government deported 350,000 people in the fiscal year that ended in October 2008.

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Video: Dick Cheney calls Eric Holder's interrogation investigation political

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Fox News - By Chris Wallace - Aug. 31 (Interview) - WALLACE: So even these cases where they went beyond the specific legal authorization, you're OK with it. CHENEY: I am.

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How a Detainee Became An Asset

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - Aug. 30 (Special Report) - After enduring agency's harshest interrogation methods, self-described mastermind of 2001 terror plot becomes "preeminent source" on al-Qaeda.

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Abuse Issue Puts the C.I.A. and Justice Dept. at Odds

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Peter Baker, David Johnston, Mark Mazzetti - Aug. 28 (News Report) - With the appointment of a prosecutor to investigate detainee abuses, conflicts between the two agencies burst into view, threatening relations between two players on President Obama’s national security team.

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Holder's Decision To Probe CIA Hints At a New Dynamic

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Carrie Johnson, Anne E. Kornblut - Aug. 28 (News Analysis) - The back story to Monday's appointment of a career prosecutor to review CIA interrogation methods illustrates Holder's influence in the new administration and sheds light on the emerging and delicate relationship between the White House and the Justice Department. In this and other big battles, including the decision to release memos this year by Bush administration officials giving the green light to harsh interrogation tactics, Holder and his Justice Department have prevailed over strong objections from the CIA and the intelligence community. Holder hasn't won every one of those battles, but he has won many.

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