Georgetown Security Law Brief

New bill tinkers with detainee review and authorizes executive detention

8/31/08: The New York Times reports on and Opinio Juris discusses legislation introduced in Congress just before the August recess that would tinker with the review scheme for Guantanamo detainees and carry a major new authorization for executive detention.

Tracking online terrorist activity

8/31/08: Der Spiegel profiles the companies SITE and IntelCenter that track the Internet activity of terrorist groups.  HT to BeSpacific.

Forthcoming national security law articles

8/31/08: National Security Advisors summarizes (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) the following forthcoming articles:

• Amanda L. Tyler, "Suspension as an Emergency Power", Yale Law Journal, Vol. 118, 2008-09.
• Madeline H. Morris, "Taking Liberties: The Personal Jurisdiction of Military Commissions".
• Keith A. Petty, "The Privilege of Membership: Combatant Status Determinations & Military Commissions".
• John C. Dehn, "Why Article 5 Status Determinations are Not Required at Guantánamo", Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 371-383, 2008.
• Gideon Parchomovsky and Peter Siegelman, "Bribes v. Bombs: A Study in Coasean Warfare".
• Todd Lochner, "Sound and Fury: Pretextual Prosecution and Department of Justice Antiterrorism Efforts", 30 Law & Policy 168 (2008).
• Fiona de Londras, "International Decision: Saadi v. Italy", American Journal of International Law, Vol. 102, 2008.
• Gregory Fox, "Constitutional Violations and the Validity of Treaties: Will Iraq Give Lawful Consent to a Status of Forces Agreement?"
• Michael Avery, "The Constitutionality of Warrantless Electronic Surveillance of Suspected Foreign Threats to the National Security of the United States", University of Miami Law Review, Vol. 62, p. 541, 2008.
• Ernesto Hernandez Lopez, "Boumediene v. Bush and Guantanamo, Cuba: Does the 'Empire Strike Back?'"
• Martin Katz, "Boumediene and Jurisdiction Stripping: Imperial Politics Meet the Imperial Court".
• Tai-Heng Cheng, "Would Wider Legal Authorization to Use Military Force Abroad Make the United States Safer?"

Recently published hearings on national security

8/31/08: Secrecy News relays the publication of the following Congressional hearings:

• “Department of Justice to Guantanamo Bay: Administration Lawyers and Administration Interrogation Rules (Part I),” House Judiciary Committee, May 6, 2008.
• “Diplomatic Assurances and Rendition to Torture: The Perspective of the State Department’s Legal Adviser,” House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 10, 2008.
• “Improving Detainee Policy: Handling Terrorism Detainees Within the American Justice System,” Senate Judiciary Committee, June 4, 2008.
• “The National Security Letters Reform Act of 2007,” House Judiciary Committee, April 15, 2008.
• “Federal Bureau of Investigation (Part II),” House Judiciary Committee, April 23, 2008.
• “Torture and the Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment of Detainees: the Effectiveness and Consequences of ‘Enhanced’ Interrogation,” House Judiciary Committee, November 8, 2007.
• “Warrantless Surveillance and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: The Role of Checks and Balances in Protecting Americans’ Privacy Rights,” House Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2007.
• “FISA for the Future: Balancing Security and Liberty,” House Intelligence Committee, September 18, 2007.
• “Challenges for the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Posed by the Global Terrorist Threat,” House Armed Services Committee, February 14, 2007.
• “Nomination of Dr. Donald M. Kerr to be Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence,” Senate Intelligence Committee, August 1, 2007.

CIA recruits at journalists' convention

8/31/08: The Washington Post covers the presence of a CIA recruitment booth at the Unity Journalists of Color Convention.

Ferry bomb suspect held in Manila

8/31/08: CNN and the New York Times report that an alleged terrorist leader suspected of plotting the bombing of a Philippine superferry more than four years ago, killing at least 116 people, is being held in Manila after his arrest in Bahrain.

NARA issues records management information for email

8/31/08: The National Archives and Records Administration has issued a bulletin concerning the use of email archiving applications to store email.  HT to BeSpacific.

Accused terrorist sues Norway for civil rights violations

8/31/08: Inter Press Service reports that Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, an alleged Norwegian terrorist, is suing the Norwegian government in the European Court of Human Rights.

Terrorism financing is still big business

8/31/08: Counterterrorism Blog responds to a Washington Post article about the inexpensive nature of terrorist attacks, arguing that terrorism financing is still a big business.

More on reporter shield law: Post editorial advocates legislation

08/31/08: The Washington Post has an editorial advocating passage of the Free Flow of Information Act to shield reporters.

UK terror suspects linked to threat against Gordon Brown - updated

8/30/08: The Guardian and the New York Times (here and here) report that three UK men arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses have been linked to an investigation into threats to kill Gordon Brown.  UPDATE: The New York Times reports that the men were charged with terrorism-related offenses.

More on Rosenberg testimony: Release of more grand jury testimony

8/30/08: The Associated Press and Reuters report that Judge Hellerstein has ordered the release of eight more Rosenberg grand jury testimony transcripts.  Also, an article on the role Georgetown law students played in this case.  HT to Jurist and FOIA Blog.

More on Bismullah: Detainees ask for exculpatory information

8/30/08: SCOTUSblog discusses a request by detainees that the court interpret Bismullah to mean that it must order the government to search for and produce all information that might favor the detainees’ challenge to captivity.

Forthcoming national security law articles

8/23/08: National Security Advisors summarizes (here, here, here, here, here, and here) the following forthcoming articles:

• Jeannine Bell, "Behind this Mortal Bone: The (In)Effectiveness of Torture", Indiana Law Journal, Vol. 83, No. 1, 2008.
• Adrian Vermeule, "The Glorious Commander-in-Chief".
• Eric Posner, "Boumediene and the Uncertain March of Judicial Cosmopolitanism".
• Daniel Moeckli, "Human Rights and Non-discrimination in the 'War on Terror'".
• Daniel Moeckli, "Human Rights Strategies in an Age of Counter-Terrorism".
• Michael Glennon, "A Conveniently Unlawful War: Congress didn't authorize the fight we are now in", Policy Review, Vol. 150, Aug/Sep 2008.

Dratel and Greenberg on enemy combatant cases

8/23/08: National Security Advisors announces the publication of The Enemy Combatant Papers: American Justice, the Courts, and the War on Terror (Joshua Dratel & Karen Greenberg, eds.), as well as an event on Sept. 3 from 6-7 PM to mark the publication.  See our calendar for details.

Update: Third Amendment analysis of NSA wiretapping

8/23/08: Joshua Dugan has posted "When is a Search Not a Search? When it's a Quarter: The Third Amendment, Originalism, and NSA Wiretapping" on SSRN.  Steve Vladeck responds to it.  HT to National Security Advisors.

Call for Papers – International Journal of Intelligence Ethics

8/23/08: The International Journal of Intelligence Ethics has issued a call for papers.  HT to National Security Advisors.

CIA releases Richard Helms collection

8/23/08: The CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room has published A Life in Intelligence - The Richard Helms Collection, the largest single release of Helms-related information to date.  HT to BeSpacific.

PR push for Iraq war preceded intel findings

8/23/08: The National Security Archive discusses a July 2002 draft of the "White Paper" on Iraq's possession of WMD ultimately issued by the CIA in October 2002 that pre-dated the National Intelligence Estimate that the paper purportedly summarized, but which Congress did not insist on until September 2002.

Detainee torture issue taken to Court

8/23/08: SCOTUSblog discusses a petition to the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that detainees who alleged torture had no right to sue Pentagon officials and military officers over the issue.

More on FBI investigation restrictions: Mukasey agrees to postpone implementation

8/23/08: Ars Technica reports that AG Mukasey has agreed to postpone implementation of the new DOJ guidelines that would lessen restrictions on FBI investigations.  The New York Times has an editorial advocating Congressional hearings before implementation.

More on Suskind's allegations: CIA officially denies everything

8/23/08: SpyTalk discusses the official CIA denial of Ron Suskind's allegations, which comes after "a thorough internal investigation of Suskind's charges."

Guiora on Google speaker series

Amos Guiora recently presented his book Constitutional Limits on Coercive Interrogation as part of the Authors@Google series.

US citizens' border crossing tracked and recorded

The Washington Post reports that DHS has been collecting information on all US citizens crossing the border by land.

Brennan Center Seeks Director for Liberty and National Security Project

National Security Advisors relays an announcement that the Brennan Center is seeking a Director for its Liberty and National Security ("LNS") Project.

New CRS reports on detainee habeas challenges, journalist privilege, and national security strategy

Secrecy News announces new CRS reports on:

• “Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court”
• “Journalists’ Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses”
• “National Security Strategy: Legislative Mandates, Execution to Date, and Considerations for Congress"

Forthcoming national security law review articles

National Security Advisors summarizes (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) the following forthcoming articles:

• Christopher Slobogin, "Defending Preventative Detention".
• Vik Kanwar, "Re-Tooling the Rule of Law: Instrumentalism and the Implementation of Humanitarian Law in Failed and Fragile States".
• Jules Lobel, "Conflicts between the Commander in Chief and Congress: Concurrent Power Over the Conduct of War", Ohio State Law Journal, Vol. 69, p. 391, 2008.
• Haiping Wang, "Comments on the 2007 Draft Manual on International Humanitarian Law in Air and Missile Warfare", Chinese Journal of International Law, Vol. 7, No. 1, p. 107, 2008.
• Anthony Cullen, "The Definition of Non-International Armed Conflict in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: An Analysis of the Threshold of Application Contained in Article 8(2)(F)", Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 419, 2007.
• M. Katherine B. Darmer, "Miranda Warnings, Torture, the Right to Counsel and the War on Terror", Chapman Law Review, Vol. 10, No. 3, p. 631, 2007.
• Margaret Satterthwaite, "From Rendition to Justice to Rendition to Torture: Informal Transfer under International Law and the Prospects of Enforcement in U.S. Courts".
• Larry Cunningham, "The Border Search Exception as Applied to Exit and Export Searches: A Global Conceptualization", Quinnipiac Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2007.
• Kent Roach, "Review and Oversight of National Security Activities with Some Reflections on Canada's Arar Inquiry", Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2007.
• Charles Weisselberg, "Terror in the Courts: Beginning to Assess the Impact of Terrorism-Related Prosecutions on Domestic Criminal Law and Procedure in the USA", Crime, Law and Social Change, Vol. 50, Nos. 1-2, p. 25, 2008.
• Jenny Martinez, "Process and Substance in the 'War on Terror'", Columbia Law Review, Vol. 108, No. 5 (June 2008).
• Jeff Breinholt, "Resolved, Or Is It? The First Amendment and Giving Money to Terrorists", American University Law Review, Vol. 57, p. 1273, 2008.
• Eric L. Muller, "Hirabayashi: The Biggest Lie of the Greatest Generation".

New report advocates closing NRO

Threat Level discusses a recommendation by the Allard Commission that the National Reconnaissance Office be closed.

DIA takes on offensive counterintelligence

The Washington Post covers and Secrecy News discusses the Defense Intelligence Agency's new authority to engage in offensive counterintelligence operations that seek to thwart foreign intelligence activities.

New Joint-Use Intelligence Analysis Facility

War on Terrorism discusses the groundbreaking for the new Joint-Use Intelligence Analysis Facility at Rivanna Station, VA.

Potential end of French and Italian terrorist asylum doctrine

Counterterrorism Blog discusses indications that France and Italy are moving away from the Mitterand doctrine of offering asylum to terrorists who renounced violence.

DOJ proposal would ease restrictions on police intelligence collection

The Washington Post reports on a new DOJ proposal that would make it easier for state and local police to collect intelligence about Americans, share the sensitive data with federal agencies, and retain it for at least 10 years.

India arrests 10 in July bombngs

CNN (here and here) and the New York Times cover the arrest of 10 suspects in the Western India terrorist attacks.

UT seeks National Security and Human Rights clinic director

National Security Advisors relays an announcement for a Clinic Director for the new National Security and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas.

Would-be LAX bomber to be resentenced

National Security Advisors discusses the 9th Circuit order remanding the case of Ahmed Ressam for resentencing, including an analysis of incorrect media coverage.

Opinion: Regarding structural problems of the military commission system

Opinio Juris and Law and Terrorism discuss a structural flaw in the military commissions which creates a system allowing for direct political influence over the trial process, including discussion of Gregory McNeal's newest essay Beyond Guantanamo.

Complete OSS files released - updated

CNN and SpyTalk cover the release by the National Archives of the complete 750,000 pages of OSS records, including the personnel files.  UPDATE: More CNN and Washington Post coverage.

Libya and US make deal on terror claims - updated

The New York Times reports on a deal between the Libyan and US governments in which Congress will rescind a provision in a law that allowed victims of terrorism to seize Libyan government assets in return for Libya making a single lump payment of more than $1.2 billion to the United States for distribution to the families of victims.  UPDATE: SpyTalk reports on victims' attorney Thomas Fortune Fay's displeasure with the deal.  UPDATE: OpenCRS just released a new CRS report on "Suits Against Terrorist States by Victims of Terrorism."  UPDATE: The New York Times and CNN report on the final agreement.

FBI admits to obtaining reporters' phone records

The New York Times covers (here and here) the FBI's admission that it improperly obtained the phone records of reporters for the New York Times and the Washington Post in the newspapers’ Indonesia bureaus in 2004.

Five arrested in Italy "terror cell" bust

CNN covers the arrest in Italy of five North Africans who allegedly recruited Islamic extremists for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.

DOJ Inspector General's semiannual report

The DOJ just released the Inspector General's semiannual report to Congress on any actions related to claims of civil rights or civil liberties violations allegedly committed by DOJ employees between 1/1/08-6/30/08.  HT to BeSpacific.

New CRS report on Congressional testimony by Presidential advisers

CRS published a new report on “Presidential Advisers’ Testimony Before Congressional Committees: An Overview.”

New CRS report on FISA retroactive telecom immunity

CRS published a new report on “Retroactive Immunity Provided by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.”

Former UK spy chief explains GCHQ

The Times Online covers an interview with Sir David Pepper, former head of the UK signals intelligence center GCHQ.

Update: More on Virginia Islamic Saudi Academy textbook debate: More pressure on State to act

8/12/08: Counterterrorism Blog discusses a new effort by Rep. Wolf to have the State Department act in the controversy surrounding the ISA's radical textbooks, including a CRS study he commissioned.

Virginia woman sentenced for helping Chinese spy - updated

The New York Times reports on the sentencing of a woman who helped a spy transmit military secrets to the Chinese government.  UPDATE: The New York Times reports on the sentencing of the spy.  UPDATE: The Daily Comet reports in more detail.

Bush signs new EO 12333 revamping intelligence community - updated

The Washington Post and the New York Times cover, and SpyTalk and Secrecy News discuss, President Bush's unveiling of the newest amendments to Executive Order 12333, the foundational document on "United States Intelligence Activities."  UPDATE: Walter Pincus discusses the EO in the Washington Post.

Vision 2015 and the definition of intelligence - updated

Sources and Methods discusses the recently released DNI report Vision 2015: A Globally Networked and Integrated Intelligence Enterprise.  UPDATE: Danger Room discusses it.

DOJ files second appeal to maintain control of detainee transfer

SCOTUSblog discusses a recent DOJ appeal resisting any judicial intervention on the question of when, where, and how to transfer detainees.

Regarding allegations that White House ordered the forgery of Iraqi documents to suggest a link with Al Qaeda

The Washington Post covers and SpyTalk discusses (here and here) the controversy over the allegations in Ron Suskind's new book The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism that the White House ordered former CIA officials to fabricate documents linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11.