Earlier this week I noted with approval Rep. Justin Amash's effort in the House to add an amendment to an upcoming defense appropriations bill that would block NSA's "indiscriminate collection" of Americans’ telephone records by "limit[ing] the government’s collection...
The Obama administration is violating international law and United Nations resolutions in conducting its largely secret war in Somalia. At Foreign Policy, Colum Lynch writes that, "the Obama administration earlier this year expanded its secret war in Somalia, stepping...
According to the nation's top military officer, direct U.S. intervention in Syria would be extremely costly, risk mission creep, lend itself to unintended consequences, and may be ineffective. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey has written a letter...
From (of all places!) National Review: "The House is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on amendments to the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations Bill, one of which will be the LIBERT-E Act, which would prohibit the National Security Agency from collecting telephone and e-mail...
At the end of last week I expressed my doubts that Secretary of State John Kerry could orchestrate substantive peace talks between Israel-Palestine. At the crux of it, since Israel refuses to freeze settlements, and since settlements essentially indicate an intention...
Libertarian-leaning Republicans are holding up a defense appropriations bill until they get amendments through that will block funding for any military operations in either Syria or Egypt and for dragnet-style NSA surveillance. Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) is...
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed underwear bombing on Christmas of 2009 has fueled the imagination of many a TSA agent. Not that the TSA really did anything to foil him, mind, the underbomber's explosive parcel managed to start a small fire that burned his genitals...
From the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence: Courage, like cowardice, often comes in individual, incremental pieces building toward something great and honorable, or small and dishonorable. The resignation of Brandon Toy from General Dynamics fits into...
Nearly 12 years after the 9/11 attack, virtually every single element of national security policy - from the occupation of Afghanistan, to the drone war, to a massive NSA surveillance apparatus, to a defense budget that outpaces the rest of the world combined - is...
