State Department, US Press Hide Important Karzai Statement on Bilateral Security Agreement
Although there really is only one controlling issue in the quest to sign a new SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) BSA (Bilateral Security Agreement) governing US troops in Afghanistan after official NATO actions conclude at the end of next…
Obama's Headlong Rush to Counterterrorism Transparency
By my count, Thursday will be the 100th day since Obama promised, in his State of the Union Adress delivered February 12, "to engage Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent…
AP President Focuses on White House Claims about OBL Anniversary Threats
A lot of people are pointing to this Bob Schieffer interview of AP President Gary Pruitt because, later in the interview, Pruitt claims seizing the AP's records without narrowing the scope or notifying the AP is "unconstitutional." While…
Hillary Said Appoint a Gitmo Champion; The Opposite Happened
There's a weird detail in this Daniel Klaidman piece on Obama's claimed newfound commitment to closing Gitmo.
One of the new details in it describes a memo Hillary Clinton wrote just before she left the State Department.
One recent plea,…
Group Behind Deadly Kabul Blast Upset by Negotiations on US Troops Remaining in Afghanistan
There was a deadly blast in Kabul yesterday, shattering what had been several months of relative peace in the capitol. The suicide blast targeted a convoy of US vehicles. From the New York Times:
Hezb-i-Islami, a relatively small insurgent…
Did AP Learn about Fake UndieBomb 2.0 because Real Marshals Deployed to Prevent It?
In my next post, I'm going to revisit this post, where I showed 372 days ago that at least one or two of the major early sources for the most damning information on UndieBomb 2.0 came from non-US based sources.
But before that, check out…
Dzhokhar's Sharpie Manifesto
CBS had a fascinating scoop this morning, reporting that (presumably in the hours when he was holed up and authorities searched just blocks away), Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a part-confess part-manifesto on the wall of the boat.
The note -- scrawled…
DOD Won't Be Taking Over Drone Strikes Anytime Soon
In today's Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the AUMF, Carl Levin asked Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Michael Sheehan whether CIA should get to use drone strikes, in addition to DOD. (at…
Did Tommy Vietor Hang Out CIA on UndieBomb 2.0?
The same day that the White House released 94 pages of Benghazi emails, which not only show that most at CIA supported the talking points used by the Administration but also include annotations of the CIA roles involved that reveal far more…
What Is the Attrition Rate for Afghan Special Operations Forces?
Yesterday, Major General Tony Thomas, who heads US Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan, fielded questions via satellite from a number of reporters gathered in Washington. The transcript of the session can be found here. One claim by Thomas…
The Internet Didn't Kill the Middle Class; Laxity and Apathy Did
In tandem with the release of his book, Who Owns the Future?, Jaron Lanier’s interview with Salon generated a lot of hand-wringing across social media. It seems Lanier, one of our so-called intellectual visionaries, believes that the collapse…
Dear Eric Holder: You're Doing Recusal Wrong
Let me start this post by saying I think it is absolutely appropriate for Eric Holder to have recused himself from the UndieBomb 2.0 investigation, in part because -- as someone read into the UndieBomb 2.0 operation, he was interviewed by the…
The White House's Imminent Benghazi Coup de Grace
As I was watching the Eric Holder hearing and news came out that the White House had released 94 pages of Benghazi emails, I thought at first it was a strategy of whack-a-scandal. The Benghazi scandal is not one; the AP and IRS stories are genuinely…
There's a Place for Resolving Disputes, and the Administration Chose Not To Use It
As I was writing my flurry of posts on the AP call record seizure yesterday, former National Security Council Spokesperson Tommy Vietor and I were chatting about the facts of the case on Twitter. He disputes two of the AP's claims: that they…
Putin's Game
'I declare it's marked out just like a large chessboard!' Alice said at last. 'There ought to be some men moving about somewhere--and so there are!' she added in a tone of delight, and her heart began to beat quick with excitement as she went…
Pakistan's Next Government Beginning to Take Shape
Most of the results from Saturday's historic election in Pakistan are in. The biggest surprise is that Imran Khan's PTI party, which had been viewed as a possible upset winner, fell to third place behind the outgoing PPP. Nawaz Sharif and his…
Scott Bloch Sentencing Blocked By The Court
I have been a bit busy lately, so this is a tad late; but I should probably give the update on the Scott Bloch criminal sentencing that was scheduled for 9:30 am Monday morning May 13 in DC District Court in front of Judge Robert L. Wilkins.…
I Wonder What Fahd Al-Quso Thought of the AP's UndieBomb 2.0 Story?
It turns out Fahd al-Quso, whom the government alleged was Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's external operations director when he was killed in a drone strike May 6 of last year, never lived to see the AP's UndieBomb 2.0 story, which presumably…
AP Response to DOJ Reveals They COULDN'T Have Had Most Damaging Info Brennan Exposed
The AP has a scathing reply to Deputy Attorney General's claim that the subpoena he signed fulfilled DOJ guidelines on scope and notice. Among other details, it reveals the AP only learned via Cole's letter that DOJ seized just portions of the…
If UndieBomb 2.0 Is One of the Worst Leaks of Holder's Career, Why Is John Brennan CIA Director?
In a press conference today, Eric Holder didn't let recusal from the UndieBomb 2.0 leak investigation stop him from commenting on it. Among other things, he claimed this one of the most serious leaks he has seen since he started as a prosecutor…