War on Terror

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New Iraq NIE Likely to Remain Secret

Officials keen to keep report classified after Iran estimate flap

(Newser) - 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...

Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5
Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5

Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5

Chertoff reflects on successes, challenges at Homeland Security

(Newser) - 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...

Bush Urges Congress to Pass Surveillance Bill
Bush Urges Congress
to Pass Surveillance Bill
UPDATED

Bush Urges Congress to Pass Surveillance Bill

Threat growing as House holds up bill over immunity for telecoms, prez charges

(Newser) - 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...

Missile Hits 'al-Qaeda Haven' in Pakistan

10 dead in strike linked to US

(Newser) - 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...

Former Gitmo Prosecutor to Testify for Bin Laden Driver

Top lawyer now critic of tribunals' fairness

(Newser) - 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...

CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory

Brits apologize for earlier denials of ties to terror cases

(Newser) - 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...

Waterboarding Violates UN Torture Law

Official urges nations to prosecute, but doesn't point finger

(Newser) - 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...

Yemeni Inmate Claims Months of Abuse in CIA Cells

He tells Salon he was held at 'black sites'

(Newser) - 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...

Judge Declares Mistrial in Sears Tower Plot Case

Jury acquits 1, splits on 6 others accused of pursuing al Qaeda ties

(Newser) - 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...

Supreme Court Weighs Third Gitmo Case

Watershed verdict on detainees rights will help define Bush legacy

(Newser) - 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,...

Gates Surveys US War in Afghanistan

'Not worried about a back slide' despite rise in attacks, he says

(Newser) - 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...

Breakthrough May Put Japan Back on Board Afghan Mission

Bill would OK fueling US 'terror inspection' ships

(Newser) - A Japanese parliamentary committee has apparently broken a deadlock that halted aid to US ships in the Indian Ocean headed to Afghanistan. The nation's constitution forbids involvement in overseas wars, but Japanese fuel tenders have provided 126 million gallons of fuel to coalition ships. The opposition party blocked the operation...

US Urges Japan to Return to Afghanistan

Japanese naval contribution halted by domestic politics

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan today to resume a naval support mission for US operations in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Japan has conducted refueling operations in the region for the past six years at a cost of approximately $195 million. The mission was stopped earlier this month after an opposition...

Soccer Mom Tracks Terrorists
Soccer Mom Tracks Terrorists

Soccer Mom Tracks Terrorists

Former cheerleader chats up jihadists on her home computer

(Newser) - A suburban Montana mom led US forces to Taliban cells in Afghanistan, found a renegade Stinger missile merchant in Pakistan, and identified a ring of suicide bombers. She also nabbed two domestic terrorists—all from her home computer. Shannen Rossmiller is an amateur Internet sleuth who poses as an al-Qaeda...

Rumsfeld Memos: 'Keep Elevating the Threat'

'Snowflakes' urge linking Iraq and Iran

(Newser) - During his six years as defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld told staffers to “keep elevating the threat” and develop “bumper sticker statements” to sell administration war policies. Internal memos obtained by the Washington Post depict a media- and politics-obsessed Rumsfeld who instructed staffers to link Iraq and Iran, contemplated...

Could Bin Laden's New Video Be Fake?

Computer scientist thinks it's re-cut 2004 footage with new audio

(Newser) - Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's latest video may have been faked, according to recent analysis. A computer scientist points out that the video freezes whenever bin Laden mentions current events and that the footage is nearly identical to a video released in 2004. It's likely the "new" tape is...

What Price War? Try $2.4T
What Price War? Try $2.4T

What Price War? Try $2.4T

Figure much higher than previous estimates for Iraq, Afghanistan

(Newser) - Americans will have to pony up $8,000 apiece to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars through the next decade—a total that could top $2.4 trillion—according to a projection by the Congressional Budget Office released today. The figure dwarfs previous CBO estimates because it factors in $705...

'Bomber' Busted in Vienna Fleeing US Embassy

Explosives trigger alarm; 2nd man held

(Newser) - Austrian police yesterday arrested a man after his explosives-laden backpack set off alarms at the US embassy in Vienna. He fled when the bag, filled with grenade-like bombs and nails, triggered metal detectors. He was caught soon after nearby and told police that an acquaintance, who was also later detained,...

Germany Opens Trial Against 'Cyber-Jihadist'

In groundbreaking case, Iraqi accused of inciting terror online

(Newser) - Deutsche Welle reports on a landmark trial in Germany, where an Iraqi-born Kurd has been accused of using the internet as a terror weapon. Prosecutors charge that over the 18 months German intelligence monitored his internet use, he posted material intended to incite terrorist attacks. The lead prosecutor has accused...

MIT Student Wears Fake Bomb to Airport

Woman arrested at gunpoint says circuit board is 'art'

(Newser) - An MIT student was arrested today at the Boston airport wearing a device that appeared to be a bomb. Police armed with machine guns took her into custody and determined that the circuit board on her chest was harmless. “Thankfully because she followed our instructions, she ended up in...

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