Angler 2.0: Brennan Wields His Puppet Strings Differently
As I said earlier, the parallel between the Jo Becker/Scott Shane Angler 2.0 story and the earlier series by Becker and Barton Gellman is hard to miss.
But I'm very interested in how the stories are structured differently. With Angler 1.0,…
John Brennan, Liar
Since Jo Becker co-wrote the Angler series in the WaPo with Barton Gellman, her long piece today with Scott Shane will be seen as the Obama version of that story: how he evades the law to pursue ruthless counterterrorism policies.
I'll have…
Brennan to Pakistan: The Beatings Drone Strikes Will Continue Until Morale Improves
There was yet another US drone strike in Pakistan today. According to Bill Roggio at Long War Journal, today's strike is the fourth strike in six days. After the first strike in this series, I posed the question of whether that strike was more…
WaPo Forgets the Scarequotes for the Word "Plot"
I'm agnostic about how many of the plots attributed to Iran in this WaPo story are real. Certainly, there are hints, even from Joby Warrick's sources, that the insinuation that "Iran and Hezbollah" are behind the attacks--which were reportedly…
On Chris Hayes & America's Fallen Heroes
I will admit I was watching the F1 Grand Prix de Monaco this morning and not Up With Chris Hayes on MSNBC. It turns out I missed some controversy. I was referred to the matter by Doug Mataconis of Outside the Beltway. Mataconis argued that…
US Let China Buy Treasuries Directly During Debt Ceiling Crisis
Reuters has a story on how the Treasury Department allowed China to start buying US Treasuries directly last June.
The documents viewed by Reuters show the U.S. Treasury Department has given the People's Bank of China a direct computer link…
Panetta: We Do Not Share Anything Inappropriate with Anybody ... Except Our Assets' Identities
When Leon Panetta confirmed that Shakeel Afridi was working with the CIA when he used a vaccination program to collect intelligence on Osama bin Laden, he likely made it much harder for Pakistan to release the doctor, or even give him a…
Bashar al-Assad, Gitmo Judge and Jury
As Steven Aftergood reported, Syrian Gitmo detainee Abdulhadi Omer Mahmoud Faraj has challenged the government's inane policy prohibiting detainee attorneys from refuting the claims made in Gitmo files. The motion argues that letting the claims…
The Government Can't Make Up Its Mind Whether WikiLeaks Amounts to Aiding Al Qaeda or Not
The government's arguments in Hedges v. Obama are getting more and more inconsistent.
This is the case, recall, where Chris Hedges, Birgitta Jonsdottir, and several other people challenged the section of the NDAA that affirmed the President's…
Either Torture Is Ongoing Or the Administration Is Hiding Something Else
I don't mean to be ungrateful that the NYT wrote an editorial about the 2nd Circuit's decision to help the CIA hide its torture documents from FOIA. I'm not! I'm glad they're noting how the courts are collaborating in hiding our government's…
The Assassination Czar's War Crimes Dodge: Revisiting John Brennan's Targeted Killing Speech
Now that John Brennan is in charge of selecting which patterns of behavior we should target with drones, it ought to be easy to charge him with war crimes. The at least eight civilians we killed in Jaar a number of weeks after Brennan seized…
George Jahn Once Again Grants Anonymity for Dubious Iran Accusation
Just under two weeks ago, AP's George Jahn released the infamous cartoon around which he built a dubious nest of mostly anonymous charges that Iran had conducted work toward developing a neutron trigger device for nuclear weapons, using an explosive…
Dallas Trash Talk
That's right mofo's, we gots us a full on food fight here on the Emptywheel blog.
What's it all about? Well, when you get down to it, it is ALL about Dallas.
No, I am not talking about J.R. Ewing (and who shot him - psssst it was Bing…
The Ted Stevens OPR Report: The Return of the DOJ Roach Motel
The long awaited, and much anticipated, DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Report on the misconduct in the Ted Stevens Prosecution has just been delivered to Congress, and thereafter immediately released to the public by the Senate…
Overview of the Pat Fitz Resignation Press Conference
Patrick Fitzgerald just finished his resignation press conference (the blockquotes are my notes).
In his own statements, he focused on comments to the people he works for, and those he works with. That was largely a tribute to the 300 people…
John Brennan, Assassination Czar
Between appearing on Democracy Now this morning and some other things, I'll be out of pocket most of the day.
But I should say that I didn't invent the moniker "Assassination Czar." I'm not sure who did (though I'm happy to provide credit!),…
Afridi's Trial: Similar to Gitmo Military Commissions? Bonus: Rohrabacher Goes Bold
Fallout continues from yesterday's sentencing of Dr. Shakeel Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA to identify Osama bin Laden prior to the US raid that killed him. Marcy commented yesterday on the poor outcome from Leon Panetta disclosing…
Patrick Fitzgerald Resigns
For better (he's always been an aggressive, though usually fair, prosecutor) or for worse (I really believe he did try to hold Dick Cheney accountable for exposing Valerie Plame's identity), Patrick Fitzgerald has resigned. And he's a more honest…
Flaunting Shakeel Afridi's CIA Ties Appears Not to Have Worked All that Well
When Leon Panetta went on 60 Minutes and confirmed Pakistani doctor Dr. Shakeel Afridi was working for the US when he faked vaccinations in Abbottbad to collect information from Osama bin Laden's compound, I noted the hypocrisy of his public…
US Drone Strike in Pakistan Reeks of Political Retaliation Yet Again
Today, US drones killed four more people in North Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This strike comes at a critical time in US-Pakistan relations, as many believed that the US and Pakistan would announce…