Georgetown Security Law Brief

Afghan tribal leader gets life in U.S. prison

04/30/09: The Miami Herald reports that a once-powerful Afghan tribal leader was sentenced to life in prison today by a judge who said his heroin smuggling overshadowed his claims that he tried to help the US rebuild his country.  Bashir Noorzai was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine for smuggling $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He was convicted by a jury in September of conspiring to import, manufacture and distribute heroin.

7 plead guilty to supporting Iran terrorist group MEK

04/30/09: The Miami Herald reports that seven people have pleaded guilty in California to providing material support to an Iraq-based terrorist organization, by raising funds for the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK. The State Department says the militia was supported by Saddam Hussein and works against the Iranian government. The US designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

France and Spain set up joint body to fight terrorism

04/30/09: Agence France Presse reports that France and Spain signed a deal this week to set up a joint security committee to fight terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, the two countries announced following a bilateral summit. The heads of the security services of both countries will meet every six months to plan joint actions in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. The committee will seek to "prevent the Islamist threat," in particular through "an alert procedure" on the use of the Internet by terrorists and on the "development of the jihadist threat in the regions at risk."

US soldier charged in fellow soldier's death while in Iraq

04/30/09: The Miami Herald reports that an American soldier has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a fellow soldier north of Baghdad.  Sgt. Miguel A. Vegaquinones was also charged Wednesday with making a false official statement in the death of Pfc. Sean P. McCune. McCune died after allegedly being shot by Vegaquinones after the two men had finished a guard duty shift on Jan. 11 in Samarra. "The apparent cause of death was a negligent discharge from Vegaquinones' weapon," the military said. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, while lying to investigators can bring a sentence of up to five years.

Britain ends combat operations in Iraq

04/30/09: The Washington Post reports that British military operations in Iraq ended today, a month ahead of schedule, closing a six-year mission that cost the lives of 179 British soldiers and was deeply unpopular in Britain. "Today Iraq is a success story. We owe much of that to the efforts of British troops," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

US Army soldier who fled to Canada to avoid Iraq service pleads guilty to desertion

04/29/09: Jurist reports that a US Army soldier who fled to Canada to avoid serving in the Iraq war pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of desertion. Spc. Cliff Cornell was sentenced to one yera in prison at a court-martial proceeding and was also given a bad conduct discharge. Cornell spent four years in Canada, but was denied asylum by the Canadian government in February. 

Event: Senate hearings on piracy

04/29/09: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on April 30, 2009 at 2:30 pm to examine confronting piracy off the coast of Somalia.

04/29/09: The Senate Armed Services will hold a hearing on May 5, 2009 at 9:30 am to examine ongoing efforts to combat piracy on the high seas.

04/29/09: The Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on May 5, 2009 at 2:30 pm to examine piracy on the high seas, focusing on protecting our ships, crews and passengers.

Symposium: The torture memos

04/29/09: The Federalist Society is hosting an online symposium surrounding the release of the torture memos. Lee Casey, David Rivkin, Bart DePalma, Scott Horton, Douglas Kmiec, David Luban, Andrew McCarthy, and Stephen Vladeck are participating. HT to Opinio Juris.

Symposium: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. National Security

04/28/09: The Council on Foreign Relations has released a video of a symposium entitled "Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. National Security: Options and Prescriptions for U.S. Policy". The panel features Clare Lockhart, John Nagl, J.Alexander Thier, and Kori Schake.

Symposium: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. National Security.

04/28/09: CFR held a symposium entitled "Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. National Security." The First panel, The Current State of Play, is available online. It features Lisa Curtis, Daniel Markey, Ronald Neumann, and Karen DeYoung.

Colombian woman arraigned on terror charges

04/28/09: The Miami Herald reports that Luz Mery Gutierrez Vergara pled not guilt to terrorism charges for allegedly supporting FARC in her native country Colombia. Vergara was extradited from Colombia last year, and was indicted along with 10 other Colombians; the indictment alleges that Vergara helped arrange FARC's purchase of weapons and ammunition.

Hearing: Nominee Harold H. Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Department

04/28/09: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing today at 2:15 pm on the nomination of Harold H. Koh to be Legal Adviser to the State Department. 

Iraq mulls disbanding its National Security Council

04/27/08: Agence France Presse reports that the Iraqi government is considering dissolving the National Security Council, which a senior MP said had 20 times the maximum number of employees permitted under its charter. The head of parliament's legal affairs committee said that the number of employees working at the National Security Council has reached 426, while the order establishing the NSC limits the number to 20.  The Coalition Provisional Authority created the NSC in April 2004, and the Iraqi cabinet voted last week to cancel the order establishing the NSC, and the Iraqi parliament is expected to confirm the decision.

Sikhs file complaint about military standard on turbans and beards

04/27/09: District Chronicles reports that Tejdeep Singh Rattan and Kamaljit Singh Kalsi say they want to report for active duty in July, even as they refuse to comply with the Army's demands to cut their unshorn beards and hair and remove their turbans.  The New York-based Sikh Coalition filed formal appeals after religious accommodation requests were denied for Rattan and Kalsi. The group has also filed complaints with the inspectors general for both the Pentagon and the Army.

Afghanistan president says controversial law restricting women's rights is being amended by Justice Ministry

04/27/09: Jurist reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated that the controversial Shi'ite personal status law, which limits women's rights, is being amended by the country's Justice Ministry. The statement came one day after Karzai told female members of parliament and human rights advocates that he would amend the law in an effort to align its more controversial provisions with international standards of human rights. The law, which has not yet been published, has received a great deal of local and international criticism for allegedly condoning marital rape, setting the minimum marital age for females at nine years old, denying rights of spousal inheritance to widows, and otherwise limiting the freedom of Shi'ite women in Afghanistan.

Specter introduces bill that would instruct courts to ignore presidential signing statements

04/27/09: Secrecy News reports that Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) reintroduced three bills last week that he said were needed to limit presidential power and to restore the proper constitutional balance among the three branches of government. One bill (S.875) would instruct courts not to rely on a presidential signing statement when interpreting the meaning of any statute. Another deals with the warrantless wiretapping cases before Judge Walker.

Effectiveness of harsh questioning is unclear

04/26/09:  The Washington Post reports that whether harsh tactics were decisive in Khalid Sheik Mohammed's interrogation may never be conclusively known, in large part because the CIA appears not to have tried traditional tactics for much time, if at all.  According to the agency's own accounting, Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times during his first four weeks in a CIA secret prison.  Two former high-ranking officials with access to secret information, however, said the interrogations yielded details of al-Qaeda's operations that resulted in the identification of previously unknown suspects, preventing future attacks.

Lebanon arrests 3 on charges of spying for Israel

04/26/09:  The New York Times reports that the authorities in Lebanon arrested three men on Saturday on charges of spying for Israel, the latest chapter in a long-running intelligence war between the countries that has led to the arrests of at least nine people here over the past year.  The three men arrested Saturday, two Lebanese and one Palestinian, do not appear to have worked together. He identified the Lebanese men as Ali Mantash and Robert Kfoury, and the Palestinian as Mohammad Awad.

British spy loses secrets in a handbag

04/25/09:  The London Times reports that a British agent has thrown the war against drug traffickers into chaos by leaving top secret information about covert operations on a bus in South America.  In a blunder that has cost taxpayers millions of pounds and put scores of lives at risk, the drugs liaison officer lost a computer memory stick said to contain a list of undercover agents’ names and details of more than five years of intelligence work.

Detainee torture case rejected anew

04/24/09:  SCOTUSBlog reports that avoiding a ruling on constitutional rights for Guantanamo Bay detainees, the D.C. Circuit Court on Friday once again threw out claims of torture and religious bias by four Britons no longer being held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba.  The decision followed a return of the case to the Circuit Court by the Supreme Court, to test whether the Justices’ ruling last June on detainees’ rights affected this lawsuit.  The Circuit Court found it did not.  The new ruling in Rasul, et al., v. Myers, et al., can be found here.

F.B.I. calls animal rights activist ‘terrorist’

04/24/09:  The New York Times reports that this week, the F.B.I. annouced that it had added a 31-year-old American animal rights activist named Daniel Andreas San Diego to its list of "Most Wanted Terrorists."  Describing Mr. San Diego as a “domestic terrorist,” the F.B.I. warned that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.” According to the bureau, Mr. San Diego is wanted for the role he may have played in the bombings of two San Francisco-area office buildings.

German trial opens in alleged plot against U.S. targets

04/24/09:  The Washington Post reports that four members of an alleged Islamist terror cell went on trial in Germany Wednesday, charged with plotting to kill dozens of Americans and Germans in a campaign to force Germany to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.  Prosecutors said the defendants had accumulated enough chemicals to make nearly half a ton of explosives, which they had planned to use in bomb attacks on U.S. military bases, dance clubs, bars and other places frequented by Americans living in Germany.

Rape, beatings and bribery: Iraqi police out of control

04/24/09:  The London Times reports that in the desperate rush to drag Iraq back from civil war, sweeping powers were granted to its new security forces. Human rights workers, MPs and American officials now believe that they are all too often a law unto themselves: admired when they defeat terrorists but also feared for their widespread abuse of power.

Carter era agreement again cited in bid to block Iran hostage lawsuit

04/23/09:  CNS News reports that the Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by former hostages against the government of Iran. It is the latest twist in a long legal and legislative saga arising out of a deal struck with Tehran in the closing days of the Carter administration. The multi-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of 52 Americans taken hostage by government-backed Islamists in Tehran during the 1979 Islamic revolution and held at the U.S. Embassy for 444 days. The case is Roeder v. Iran.

Sudan court sentences rebels to death for 2008 attack on Khartoum

04/23/09:  Jurist reports that a Sudanese court on Wednesday sentenced 11 members of the Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement to death by hanging for their involvement in a 2008 attack on Khartoum. Out of seven other defendants tried in the proceedings, five were acquitted and two had their cases transferred to a different court due to mental issues and age.

Tony Blair calls on world to wage war on militant Islam

04/23/09:  The London Times reports that in an address last night to a forum on religion and politics in Chicago, Mr Blair said that the world today faced a struggle posed by "an extreme and misguided form of Islam", which threatened the majority of Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

US prosecutors charge Afghan with funding Taliban terrorism with drug money

04/22/09:  Jurist reports that the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday announced charges against an Afghan of conspiring to finance terrorist activity. Haji Juma Khan, who was already detained on charges of narco-terrorism, is accused of providing the Taliban with proceeds from his drug operation with knowledge that the money would be used in terrorist activities in Afghanistan. The prosecution alleges that Khan was closely aligned with the Taliban in the course of his drug activities and that his organization sold enough morphine base fill the US heroin market for two years. Khan faces up to a life sentence and a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

Pakistan wants terror raid apology

04/22/09:  The Financial Times reports that Pakistan has urged the UK to allow students arrested in anti-terror raids to remain in the country after they were released without charge.  The Home Office handed the men to the UK Borders Agency to seek deportation because of "national security concerns".

Four on trial over German terror plot

04/22/09:  CNN reports that four men accused of involvement in a foiled terrorist plot against Western targets went on trial Wednesday in Germany.  Three of the men -- two Germans and a Turk -- were arrested in September 2007. Authorities said they had begun mixing a huge amount of explosive material that could have resulted in a strong blast, bigger than the attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.  The fourth person, identified in German media reports as Attila Selek, is a German citizen of Turkish descent.

DOJ prosecuted Texas sheriff in 1983 for waterboarding prisoners

04/22/09:  The Public Record reports that in 1983, the Justice Department prosecuted a Texas sheriff and three of his deputies for waterboarding prisoners to get them to confess to crimes.  The deputies were sentenced to four years in prison and Parker pleaded guilty to extortion and federal civil rights violations and received a 10-year sentence. Parker admitted that he had operated a “marijuana trap” on U.S. Highway 59, arrested suspects, and, according to court documents, subjected "prisoners to a suffocating water torture ordeal in order to coerce confessions."

Hackers stole data on Pentagon's newest fighter jet

04/22/09:  CNN reports that thousands of confidential files on the U.S. military's most technologically advanced fighter aircraft have been compromised by unknown computer hackers over the past two years, according to senior defense officials.  The Internet intruders were able to gain access to data related to the design and electronics systems of the Joint Strike Fighter through computers of Pentagon contractors in charge of designing and building the aircraft.

Event: Nuclear Terrorism Webinar: Assessing the Threat, Developing Response

04/22/09:  The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is hosting a webinar event from 9:30 am to 10:30 am today, Wedesday, April 22.  The event is for the release of the report, "Nuclear Terrorism: Assessing the Threat, Developing Response."  Registration is required,

Judge to review records of FBI inquiries into Muslim groups

04/21/09:  The Los Angeles Times reports that a federal judge in Santa Ana said Monday that he will review records of FBI inquiries into several Muslim groups and activists who claim they have been unfairly spied on and questioned.  U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney ordered the FBI to turn over more than 100 pages of documents the agency holds on 11 Muslim activists and organizations, to determine whether the information should be released to the public or protected under federal law.

EDF accused of spying on anti-nuclear groups

04/21/09:  The Financial Times reports that France’s nuclear energy operator paid investigators to infiltrate the anti-nuclear movement around Europe, according to testimony given in a French judicial investigation.  The investigation is looking into whether the state-controlled group condoned illegal practices as part of a surveillance operation.

Events upcoming this week

Below the jump is a list of events for this week from our calendar.

Opinion: Haitians worthy of temporary protected status

04/20/09:  The San Francisco Chronicle features an editorial which argues that offering Temporary Protected Status to undocumented Haitians would be a protective measure for both countries.  For Haiti, it would ensure that the country continues to have access to those crucial remittances. For the United States, we are helping to prevent not just abject suffering but also the grave possibility of a failed, chaotic state close to our borders.

Croats accused of 'breaking up Bolivia'

04/20/09:  BalkanInsight reports that Croatian officials are assessing reports of Croats living in Bolivia being accused of being "extremists" and trying to break up Bolivia after a failed attempt to kill Bolivian President Evo Morales. Last week, an elite Bolivian police squad killed three members of an alleged terrorist group suspected of planning attacks on Morales. One of those killed was a Hungarian nationalist who had fought as a mercenary for the Croats in the 1992-1995 war in the then Yugoslavia.

Homeland Security leaders defend memo on veterans

04/20/09:  The Miami Herald reports that top Department of Homeland Security officials on Sunday defended an agency intelligence assessment warning that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could be susceptible to recruitment by right-wing extremists, though one said it should have been "more tightly written and presented."

Venezuela may seek to reinstall US envoy

04/19/09: CNN reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced his country's interest in exploring means by which they may restore their Ambassador to the US, and accept a US Ambassador to Venezuela. Chavez had expelled the US Ambassador to Venezuela in September.

UK government surveillance powers for minor infractions will be curbed

04/17/09: Jurist reports that UK councils' broad surveillance power under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) will be curtailed with respect to monitoring minor infractions by citizens, such as littering or illegal trash-dumping.

Event: Reestablishing US leadership on human rights and national security

04/17/09: On Tuesday April 21, 2009 at the Newseum Freedom Forum in Washington, DC, Human Rights First presents a conference entitled "Reestablishing US leadership on human rights and national security: Accomplishments of the First 100 Days and Next Steps for the Obama Administration." Please see our calendar for details.

DNI Director's response to alleged NSA spying missteps misses the point

04/16/09: The Atlantic reports on the response of Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis Blair to allegations the National Security Agency mis-collected intelligence from domestic communications between Americans. Though Blair says the ratio of error is low, he does not address the possibility that a low ratio of error may still be large in absolute terms.

04/16/09: The New York Times reports that Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will hold a hearing on the National Security Agency's surveillance program, after it was revealed the Agency's wiretapping program exceeded the scope of authority Congress granted.

FBI interpreter claims interrogators beat terror suspect

04/16/09: The New York Times reports that an FBI interpreter present at the interrogation of 1998 US Embassy Kenya bombing suspect Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali now claims that FBI interrogators beat al'Owhali, according to recently filed court documents. Al-'Owhali was sentenced in 2001 to life in prison for his role in the bombing.

Secretary of State Clinton announces new diplomatic initiatives to combat piracy

04/15/09: The Miami Herald reports that Secretary of State Clinton said Wednesday that the Obama administration will seize pirates' assets and work with shippers to arm their boats against pirate attacks, both of which will be considered diplomatic initiatives to combat piracy.

04/15/09: The Times of London, Financial Times, Miami Herald, and New York Times, report on the unsuccessful efforts of Somali pirates to capture the US cargo ship MV Liberty Sun off the coast of Somalia. Navy ship the USS Bainbridge, which earlier this week had rescued US Captain Richard Phillips, was diverted to answer the Liberty Sun's distress call. The pirates fled before the Bainbridge arrived on the scene.

04/15/09: CNN reports that two Somali pirates speaking to a reporter vowed revenge for recent US and French raids that resulted in the deaths of five of their fellow pirates.

04/15/09: The Miami Herald reports that Secretary of Defense Bob Gates has said he does not perceive any immediate need for the US military to bulk up its presence near the Horn of Africa to combat piracy there, but he added that the Department will "make those decisions as they come along."

Malaysian Premier says government will review draconian security law

04/15/09: Indopia.in reports that new Malaysian Premier Najib Tun Razzak has announced his government will review the country's Internal Security Act, which permits Malaysian authorities to detain an individual indefinitely without trial. Indian and Chinese minorities had protested the law, and the government more than 40 Hindu activists in November 2007 for organizing a rally attended by 20,000 people that was considered "illegal" under the Act.

European parliament releases overview of European and international terrorist financing legislation

04/15/09: The European Parliament released an overview of European and international terrorist financing legislation which examines the different uses and operations of the laws, their differing and similar stipulations, and the processes by which they were adopted. HT to The Lift.

Foiled nuclear material sale underscores threat of loose fissile material

04/14/09: The New York Times reports that the arrests last week in Ukraine of three Ukrainian men who allegedly attempted to sell eight pounds of plutonium 239, a highly radioactive substance that could be used in a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb, underscores the enduring threats posed by loose fissile material from the former Soviet Union for sale on the black market.

Event: Keynote address of NCTC director Michael Leiter to ABA standing committee on national security

04/14/09: On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, from 8 am to 9 am at the University Club in Washington DC, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter will deliver a keynote address to the American Bar Association standing committee on law and national security. Details are available on the Georgetown Security Law Brief calendar.

Event: The way ahead for WMD Policy

04/14/09: On Thursday, April 16th from 830 am to 4 pm on its campus, the George Mason School of Public Policy will host a one-day conference entitled, "What is Needed? The Way Ahead for WMD Policy." Details are available on the Georgetown Security Law Brief calendar.

Call for Papers: National security law and constitutional law

04/14/09: The editors of Pace Law Review invite proposals from scholars, researchers, practitioners, and professionals for contributions to a special issue on the relationship between national security and constitutional law to be published in Winter 2010. Submissions are due May 15, 2009. Further details are available here.