NewsTrust - National Security - Most Recent Stories: Opinion

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Security Now 211: Hacking Electronic Voting Machines

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

grc.com - By Steve Gibson, Leo Laporte - Aug. 27 (Interview) - This week Steve and Leo describe the inner workings of one of the best designed and apparently most secure electronic voting machines - currently in use in the United States - and how a group of university researchers hacked it without any outside information to create a 100% stealth vote stealing system.

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The latent seeds of Auschwitz

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

granma.cu - By Inés Míriam Alemán - Jul. 25 (Opinion) - AFTER Nuremberg, where those centrally responsible were tried for crimes against humanity and peace, it seemed as though the world had seen the end of an era, the end of barbarism, and the beginning of a new era based on an international order that would not allow a repetition of the events of World War II

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PANIC! Missouri Congressman Warns Of Imminent Nuclear Threat To Seattle (And The Rest Of Your Scritti Politti)

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - If you cast your mind back to yesterday, on these pages, we made note of Supergenius Congressman Todd Akin, who doesn't understand why ANYONE would be opposed to climate change, because how else would the cold winter months give way to warm springs and summers. Come on! This stuff is academic! Well, people are going to start taking Akin a hell of a lot more seriously. Why? BECAUSE HOLY NUTS SEATTLE IS ABOUT TO BE NUKED BY NORTH KOREA!

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10 things Americans should know about World War II

Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - By Rick Atkinson - May. 24 (Review) - The first thing to know about World War II is that it was a big war, a war that lasted 2,174 days and claimed an average of 27,600 lives every day, or 1,150 an hour, or 19 a minute, or one death every three seconds. One, two, three, snap. One, two, three, snap. In an effort to get our arms around this greatest calamity in human history, let's examine 10 things every American ought to know about the role of the U.S. Army in WWII.

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The Politics of Excusing Torture In The Name of National Security

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FindLaw - By John Dean - May. 15 (Editorial) - Politicians come and go, but the folks who actually run the government have an agenda of their own, including covering their mistakes.

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Coleman A "Hypocrite," I Would Waterboard Cheney (VIDEO)

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - May. 12 (Opinion) - Claiming that he was water-boarded as part of Navy Seal training he received during the Vietnam War era, Ventura says: [Water-boarding] is torture... It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you -- I'll put it to you this way, you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

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U.S. has a 45-year history of torture

Sun, 03 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By A.J. Langguth - May. 03 (Opinion) - As President Obama grapples with accusations of torture by U.S. agents, I suggest he consult the former Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle. I first contacted Daschle in 1975, when he was an aide to Sen. James Abourezk of South Dakota, who was leading a somewhat lonely campaign against CIA abuses. At the time, I was researching a book on the United States' role in the spread of military dictatorships throughout Latin America. Daschle arranged for me to inspect the senator's files, and I spent an evening reading accounts of U.S. complicity in torture. The stories came from Iran, Taiwan, Greece and, for the preceding 10 years, from Brazil and the rest of the continent's Southern Cone.

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Obama's Unmacho Diplomacy

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Kathleen Parker - Apr. 07 (Opinion) - ...evaluating Barack Obama's first European tour as president, analysts have focused on whether he was quite manly enough. On their leadership blog, former Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee and columnist Steve Pearlstein asked whether Obama should have "grabbed an opportunity ... to demonstrate his toughness, showing his saber as well as his smile." Verily, spoken like men. What they're really asking is: Did Obama do justice to the fire hydrant?

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We are about to take the war against terror to a new level

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Gordon Brown - Mar. 22 (Opinion) - Two weeks ago, the world woke to the grim reminder that fringe terrorists in Northern Ireland still put fanaticism before innocent lives. These brutal acts, so devastating in their impact on the families of those murdered, have led the people and politicians of Northern Ireland to stand as one against any return of the terrorist threat. We should be under no illusion, however, that the biggest security threat to our country and other countries is the murderous agents of hate that work under the banner of al-Qaida. We know that there is an al-Qaida core in northern Pakistan trying to organise attacks in Britain. We know also that there are a number of networks here and as the head of MI5 reported recently: "There is no cause for complacency; there is plenty of activity and the threat level remains at severe."

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Searching for a fourth wife

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Altmuslimah - Mar. 08 (Comment) - As a reporter who began work in the Middle East shortly after September 11, I learned to see the region in terms of a great ideological battle between Islam and the West. During six years of reporting across the region, I've come face-to-face with the darker sides of Islamic extremism: suicide bombings, kidnappings and sectarian violence. I had only an occasional glimpse of the richer and multi-faceted world of engaged, passionate Muslims.

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How to stop the drug wars

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Economist - Mar. 06 (Editorial) - Next week ministers from around the world gather in Vienna to set international drug policy for the next decade. Like first-world-war generals, many will claim that all that is needed is more of the same. In fact the war on drugs has been a disaster, creating failed states in the developing world even as addiction has flourished in the rich world. By any sensible measure, this 100-year struggle has been illiberal, murderous and pointless. That is why The Economist continues to believe that the least bad policy is to legalise drugs.

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Obama's Guantánamo Mistake: He's Not Closing Gitmo the Right Way

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Brandt Goldstein - Jan. 22 (Opinion) - there is another dimension to putting an end to Guantánamo that doesn't seem to be getting the attention it deserves, and that is the legal dimension. Obama has issued an executive order -- a directive from the president -- to shut down the prison. That alone is not enough. What Obama must do now is work with Congress to enact a federal statute that outlaws forever the use of Guantánamo as a detention facility.

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“Fear Placebos” and Homeland Security

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

cato-at-liberty.org - By Benjamin H. Friedman - Jan. 11 (Opinion) - In the ongoing Cato Unbound discussion about how the government should respond to excessive fear of terrorism, Bernard Finel writes: The cynical response focuses on continuing the sorts of grand, empty gestures we have already pursued since 9/11. We can continue to pack our shampoo in 3 oz bottles and ignore the color coded signs and tolerate the petty annoyances. Over time, fear will fade and it is unlikely that this unfocused motion will result in grievous consequences.

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Gutting Security: O's Dangerous Anti-Terror Pick

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Family Security Matters - By Dick Morris, Eileen McGann - Jan. 10 (Opinion) - President-elect Barack Obama's appointments to Homeland Security, the Justice Department and now the CIA indicate a virtual abandonment of the War on Terror. As Homeland Security chief, he's named a governor whose only experience has been with the U.S.-Mexican border. His attorney general pick, meanwhile, took the lead in pardoning FALN terrorists. Now he has rounded out his national-security and Justice Department teams by naming ultraliberals.

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Myths & Facts About the Real Bush Record

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Real Clear Politics - By Ed Gillespie - Dec. 23 (Opinion) - As the year draws to an end and President Bush enters his final month in office, there is much commentary about the Administration's record over the past eight years. Unsurprisingly, many of these stories assail and distort the President's record and recycle myths and unfounded allegations that have been leveled for the better part of his two terms. Historical accuracy requires a response to the litany of attacks leveled against President Bush, and while there's not enough space to respond to all of them, here are five of the most egregious:

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U.S. security

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

International Herald Tribune - By Peter Bergen - Dec. 15 (Opinion) - ... the American Muslim community has rejected the Qaeda ideological virus. American Muslims have instead overwhelmingly signed up for the American Dream, enjoying higher incomes and educational levels than the average.

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Obama the Healer

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By David Ignatius - Dec. 14 (Opinion) - Barack Obama wrote in "Dreams From My Father" of his days as a student at Occidental College, groping for his political identity: "We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night, in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Frantz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy." That's one of the passages from his autobiography that has fueled conspiracy theories among right-wing bloggers. They speak of Obama as if he's a tool of Third World revolutionaries who have somehow been preserved in dry ice since the 1960s. But that's silly. A man who plans to retain Bob Gates as secretary of defense and install a retired Marine four-star general as his national security adviser is not a creature of adolescent rebellion. But here's a contrarian thought: Before Obama assumes the burdens of commander in chief, maybe he should dust off that copy of Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth" and give the radical theorist another look. In doing so, he would remind himself of the special opportunity he will have as president to speak to a world that still suffers from the anti-Western fury that Fanon described in 1961.

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