Georgetown Security Law Brief

US plans to provide Iraq with wiretapping system

07/30/11: The Washington Post reports that the United States is planning to provide the Iraqi government with a wiretapping system to eavesdrop on cellular calls and messages “to assist in combating criminal organizations and insurgencies,” according to a US Air Force contract solicitation. The proposed system would allow Iraqi officials to monitor and store voice calls, data transmissions and text messages and would be installed with the acquiescence of the three current cellular communications providers in Iraq, according to documents accompanying the solicitation.

Judge characterizes government handling of Drake leak case as “unconscionable”

07/29/11: Secrecy News blog reports that Judge Richard D. Bennett characterized the government’s treatment of former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake as abusive and akin to acts of British tyranny in pre-Revolutionary War days. Judge Bennett further rebuked the government for its handling of the case.  From the time when Drake’s home was searched in 2007, it took two and a half years before Drake was indicted, “and then over a year later, on the eve of trial, in June of 2011, the government says, whoops, we dropped the whole case.”

US accuses Iran of aiding al-Qaeda

07/29/11: The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration said Thursday that Iran is helping al-Qaeda funnel cash and recruits into Pakistan for its international operations, the most serious US allegation to date of Iranian aid to the terrorist group. Documents filed by the Treasury Department accuse Iran of facilitating an al-Qaeda-run support network that transfers large amounts of cash from Middle East donors to al-Qaeda’s top leadership in Pakistan’s tribal region.

Pentagon rejects call to halt spy flights near China

07/28/11: The Washington Times reports that the Pentagon on Wednesday rejected China’s demand that all US surveillance flights near China be halted after two Chinese fighter jets recently intercepted an American U-2 spy plane over the Taiwan Strait. “We will continue to fly these missions in international airspace as a matter of freedom of navigation,” said Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman.

Administration rebuffs Wyden, Udall on surveillance query

07/27/11: The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration has continued to resist the efforts of two Democratic senators to learn more about the government’s interpretation of domestic surveillance law, stating that “it is not reasonably possible” to identify the number of Americans whose communications may have been monitored under the statute. In a letter to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Kathleen Turner, director of legislative affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, also said that a joint oversight team “has not found indications of any intentional or willful attempts to violate or circumvent” the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA, which was amended in 2008.

FBI intentionally withheld info from bomb suspect

07/27/11: The Miami Herald reports that FBI agents did not initially tell a man suspected of planting a bomb along the route of a Martin Luther King. Jr. Day parade why he was arrested because they wanted to gain his trust, newly released documents state. The court records released Tuesday addressed concerns voiced by US District Judge Justin Quackenbush about a delay of several hours in telling suspect Kevin Harpham the reason for his arrest and to immediately provide his Miranda rights.

Obama signs 2-year extension to Mueller's FBI tenure

07/27/11: CNN reports that President Barack Obama has signed into law Tuesday legislation creating a new two-year term for FBI Director Robert Mueller beginning on August 3. The House late Monday approved the legislation allowing a special term designed to keep Mueller in his post until 2013. His 10-year term expires August 2, but Obama asked Mueller to stay on to provide continuity for the White House national security team.

Administration defends terror prosecution decision

07/26/11: The Sacramento Bee reports that Prosecuting a suspected Somali terrorist in a US civilian court is in the best interest of the country's national security, the Obama administration said Tuesday, pushing back against Republicans who have challenged the government's decision to use civilian courts to try terrorists. In a letter to more than 40 Republican senators, officials said they reviewed the case and came to a unanimous decision to try Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame in a federal court. He was captured by US military officials in April and questioned by intelligence officials for two months aboard a Navy warship. He was later indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York, in lieu of a military trial.

Guns at Mexican crime scenes linked to US sting

07/26/11: The New York Times reports that Congressional investigators examining a gun-trafficking sting investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious have identified 122 weapons linked to the operation that have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico, according to a report they are expected to release Tuesday.

Blackwater whistleblower lawsuit heads to trial

07/26/11: The Miami Herald reports that a whistleblower lawsuit against the security firm once known as Blackwater is heading to trial in Virginia. Jury selection starts Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria in a lawsuit brought by former Blackwater employees Brad and Melan Davis. They accuse the company of cheating the government in bills it submitted for protecting government employees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US trucking funds reach Taliban, military-led investigation concludes

07/25/11: The Washington Post reports that a year-long military-led investigation has concluded that US taxpayer money has been indirectly funneled to the Taliban under a $2.16 billion transportation contract that the United States has funded in part to promote Afghan businesses. The unreleased investigation provides seemingly definitive evidence that corruption puts US transportation money into enemy hands, a finding consistent with previous inquiries carried out by Congress, other federal agencies and the military. Yet US and Afghan efforts to address the problem have been slow and ineffective, and all eight of the trucking firms involved in the work remain on US payroll. In March, the Pentagon extended the contract for six months.

Philippine president warns China in major speech that Filipinos will defend Spratlys territory

07/25/11: The Washington Post reports that President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major national speech Monday that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and would elevate the territorial feuds to a UN tribunal. In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.

Ex-detainees have no legal claim

07/24/11: SCOTUSblog reports that in a decision that affects the global legal status of more than 100 former detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the DC Circuit Court ruled on Friday that they have no legal claim they can continue to pursue in US courts to challenge the military’s designation of them as enemies of the US — a label that may amount to identifying each of them as a terrorist.  The three-judge panel rejected the ex-detainees’ argument that the finding that they are an “enemy combatant” limits their freedom to pursue their lives in foreign lands or in the world community.

Pakistan spies on its diaspora, spreading fear

07/24/11: The New York Times reports that FBI agents hunting for Pakistani spies in the United States last year began tracking Mohammed Tasleem, an attaché in the Pakistani Consulate in New York and a clandestine operative of Pakistan’s military spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence. Mr. Tasleem, they discovered, had been posing as an FBI agent to extract information from Pakistanis living in the United States and was issuing threats to keep them from speaking openly about Pakistan’s government. His activities were part of what government officials in Washington, along with a range of Pakistani journalists and scholars, say is a systematic ISI campaign to keep tabs on the Pakistani diaspora inside the United States.

Amnesty says draft anti-terror law in Saudi Arabia could be used to silence political dissent

07/22/11: The Washington Post reports that Amnesty International says it has obtained a copy of a draft anti-terrorism law in Saudi Arabia that, if passed, would allow authorities in the ultraconservative Muslim nation to prosecute dissent as a terrorist act. The rights group says the draft labels as terrorist crimes such offenses as harming the reputation of the state and endangering national unity. Such language is typically used to prosecute political opponents of the Saudi monarchy, which does not tolerate dissent.

Russian agent linked to US Embassy blast

07/22/11: The Washington Times reports that a bomb blast near the US Embassy in Tblisi, Georgia, in September was traced to a plot run by a Russian military intelligence officer, according to an investigation by the Georgian Interior Ministry. Shota Utiashvili, the most senior official in charge of intelligence analysis for the ministry, said in an interview with The Washington Times that the recent spate of bombings and attempted bombings - including what he said was a blast targeting the US Embassy - was the work of Russian GRU officer Maj. Yevgeny Borisov.

CIA vaccine program used in bin Laden hunt in Pakistan sparks criticism

07/22/11: The Washington Post reports that news of a CIA sponsored anti-hepatitis vaccination campaign, which US officials said did not succeed in collecting bin Laden DNA, has stirred outrage among international public-health organizations, which say it could deal a stiff blow to efforts to stem polio and expand routine vaccinations in Pakistan and beyond. In a nation swirling with rumors of CIA plots, critics say, this real-life one could cement public suspicions, play to radical clerics’ anti-vaccine propaganda and endanger health workers.

Senior leader of Yemeni Qaeda branch is said to be dead

07/21/11: The New York TImes reports that a senior leader of Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch has been killed in fighting in the nearly lawless south of the country, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. A ministry statement said that the leader, Ayed al-Shabwani, was killed in fighting on Tuesday near the town of Zinjibar, a provincial capital that has been held by Islamist militants since May.

Pakistan protests arrest of alleged agent in US

07/21/11: The Miami Herald reports that a federal court hearing for a Kashmiri-born man charged with working for Pakistan's spy agency to influence Washington policymakers was postponed Thursday, while Pakistan condemned the arrest. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, the director of the Kashmiri American Council, is charged with working to influence Congress, the White House and State Department under the direction of a senior member of Pakistan's spy agency. Prosecutors say Fai, who was arrested Tuesday by the FBI, donated money to political campaigns, wrote newspaper op-eds and met with government leaders as part of a secret lobbying plot to influence US policy on disputed Kashmir.

Inside Darpa's secret Afghan spy machine

07/21/11: Wired.com reports that the Pentagon’s top researchers have rushed a classified and controversial intelligence program into Afghanistan. Known as “Nexus 7,” and previously undisclosed as a war-zone surveillance effort, it ties together everything from spy radars to fruit prices in order to glean clues about Afghan instability. The program has been pushed hard by the leadership of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They see Nexus 7 as both a breakthrough data-analysis tool and an opportunity to move beyond its traditional, long-range research role and into a more active wartime mission.

Iraqi refugees in US rechecked for terrorism links

07/19/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that in a far-reaching inquiry, authorities are rescreening more than 58,000 Iraqi refugees living in the United States amid concerns that lapses in immigration security may have allowed former insurgents and potential terrorists to enter the country, US officials said. The investigation was given added urgency after US intelligence agencies warned that Al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and Yemen had tried to target the US refugee stream, or exploit other immigration loopholes, in an attempt to infiltrate the country with operatives.

Iranian hardliner urges attacks against US, European airline offices

07/19/11: The Washington Post reports that a prominent Iranian hardliner has called for attacks against US and European airline offices over their refusal to supply fuel to Iranian aircraft. Hossein Shariatmadari, a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says in an editorial in his Kayhan daily Tuesday that American and European airlines should be “taught an unforgettable lesson.”

Petraeus, headed for CIA, leaves revamped Afghan warzone

07/19/11: The Washington Times reports that as Gen. David H. Petraeus shifts from the Afghan battlefield to the CIA, he leaves behind a legacy of tactical and spycraft changes that spurred more killings and captures of Afghan militants while reducing insurgent attacks to their lowest level in years, senior US officials in Afghanistan said. From April to July this year, officials said, 2,832 special operations raids led to the capture of 2,941 insurgents and the killing of 834. That’s twice the number captured or killed during a similar period a year ago, when special operations forces captured more than 1,350 insurgents and killed 1,031 in roughly the same number of raids, according to figures shared with the Associated Press by NATO headquarters.

Al Qaeda's Yemen branch has aided Somalia militants, US says

07/17/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that Al Qaeda's powerful branch in Yemen has provided weapons, fighters and training with explosives over the last year to a militant Islamic group battling for power in Somalia, according to newly developed American intelligence, raising concerns of a widening alliance of terrorist groups. Leaders of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen also have urged members of the hard-line Shabab militia to attack targets outside Africa for the first time, said US officials who were briefed on the intelligence.

Court rejects challenge to airport body scanners

07/16/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a constitutional challenge to the government's use of body-imaging scanners at the nation's airports, ruling that the need to detect hidden explosives outweighs the privacy rights of travelers. The 3-0 decision announced Friday noted that passengers may avoid the scans by opting to undergo a pat-down by a screening agent. The ruling was a not a total win for the government. The judges said the TSA had not given the public the required opportunity to comment on the screening program before it was put into effect. The court ruled that the agency must do so now, but the use of body scanners could continue "without interruption," Ginsburg wrote.

14 suspected al-Qaida militants charged for allegedly planning to attack US embassy in Turkey

07/16/11: The Washington Post reports that a court has charged 14 suspected al-Qaida militants for allegedly planning to attack the US Embassy in the Turkish capital. The charges — which were filed by an Ankara court late Friday — come as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Turkey’s cultural capital of Istanbul for a meeting on religious tolerance.

Blast hits mosque during service for Afghan President’s relative

07/14/11: The New York Times reports that an explosion ripped through one of the largest mosques in Khandahar on Thursday as hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects to President Hamid Karzai's half brother, who was assassinated earlier this week. The attack raised fears that the city was entering a cycle of violence in the wake of Ahmed Wali Karzai's death. The attack came as the United Nations announced a sharp increase in civilian deaths in the first six months of the year. The UN report said the Taliban and anti-government groups were responsible for 80 percent of the fatal attacks, an increase of 28 percent in civilian deaths caused by insurgents over the same period last year.

World sea attacks rise as pirates become bolder

07/14/11: The Miami Herald reports that sea piracy worldwide surged to 266 attacks in the first half this year, up 36 percent from a year ago, as Somali pirates became bolder and raided more vessels, a global maritime watchdog said Thursday. Sixty-one percent, or 163 of the attacks globally, were carried out by Somali pirates largely in the Arabian Sea frequented by crude oil tankers, the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement. This was up from 100 attacks by Somali pirates in the same period last year. "In the last six months, Somali pirates attacked more vessels than ever before and they're taking higher risks," said the maritime bureau's director Pottengal Mukundan.

Mumbai blasts kill 17 in apparent terrorist attack

07/13/11: The Washington Post reports that three blasts ripped through Mumbai during rush hour Wednesday evening, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 80, Indian officials said. The explosions, which officials described as a terrorist attack, occurred within the space of a few minutes. The blasts targeted crowded areas of India’s financial capital, including a street lined with jewelry shops. At one site, a bomb was placed in power meter box atop a billboard, police said.

Blogger sues to see if government kept a file on him

07/13/11: Wired.com reports that lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union will file a lawsuit Wednesday morning in a federal court in Michigan to compel the government to release any information it collected on Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor who blogs on Mideast issues at Informed Comment. The suit seeks disclosure of “federal government discussions of, correspondence regarding, inquiries about, and investigations of Professor Cole,” the ACLU’s filing says. That disclosure is ”urgently needed to inform the national debate about US accountability with respect to the unlawful investigation and surveillance of its citizens.”

CIA interrogating terror suspects in Somalia

07/13/11: CNN reports that CIA operatives have secretly traveled to Mogadishu, Somalia, to help interrogate terrorism suspects about operations in East Africa and Yemen, a senior US official told CNN Tuesday. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, stressed any suspects were under the control of Somali forces and the CIA was present only in "support" of interrogations in recent months. He described the number of times the CIA was present as "very small," adding that he would only say it was "one or two times."

Panetta signals a new tone on US-led wars

07/12/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta carried an unmistakable message on his first overseas trip since taking office this month: One way or another, the two wars that have consumed the Pentagon for much of the last decade are nearing an end.
Panetta declared after departing Washington on Friday that Al Qaeda appeared on the verge of defeat. In Afghanistan, he stressed that the US military must transfer security responsibility to the Afghan army. And in Iraq he emphasized that most, if not all, US troops would pull out by year's end.

Bumps remain as military leaders of US and China meet

07/11/11: The New York Times reports that the leaders of China's and America’s militaries sought on Monday to cast aside decades of hostility between the two establishments, pledging at a joint news conference here to pursue what they separately called a “great opportunity” to create a “shared vision” of cooperation. But neither indicated that his government was willing to alter positions on issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea that have long hamstrung better relations. And the Chinese leader, Gen. Chen Bingde, quickly voiced a string of complaints about American military policies that suggested their shared vision remained a distant dream.

US halting millions in aid to Pakistan

07/10/11: CNN reports that the United States is holding back $800 million in aid to Pakistan, President Barack Obama's chief of staff said Sunday. Appearing on ABC's "This Week," White House Chief of Staff William Daley confirmed a report in The New York Times that the aid was being withheld. While Pakistan has "been an important ally in the fight on terrorism," Daley said, "now they've taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid which we're giving to the military, and we're trying to work through that."

US broke international law by executing Mexican national, says UN

07/08/11: CNN reports that the United States breached international law by executing a Mexican national without having granted him consular access, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday. Navi Pillay, in a statement, said she deeply regrets the execution of Humberto Leal Garcia, after a 5-4 decision by the US Supreme Court denied him a stay of execution Thursday night. "The execution of Mr. Leal Garcia places the US in breach of international law," said Pillay, who is on an official mission in Mexico. "What the state of Texas has done in this case is imputable in law to the US and engages the United States' international responsibility."

Events: "Careers in National Security Law"

07/05/11: "Careers In National Security Law" A panel discussion designed for law students, those considering law school and young lawyers to explore how to turn their interest in national security into actual practice. Panelists will include lawyers from the Legislative and Executive branches, the intelligence community, and the private sector.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Law Offices of WilmerHale 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

Mexican drug lord tied to death of ICE agent captured

07/04/11: CNN reports that Mexican authorities said Monday that they had arrested a Zetas drug cartel leader who was connected with the killing of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent this year. Federal police captured Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, known as "El Mamito," Sunday, a top official with the agency said. Rejon is suspected of being behind numerous deaths in northeastern Mexico, where the Zetas have been engaged in a turf battle with their former allies, the Gulf Cartel.

US turns to other routes to supply Afghan war as relations with Pakistan fray

07/03/11: The Washington Post reports that the US military is rapidly expanding its aerial and Central Asian supply routes to the war in Afghanistan, fearing that Pakistan could cut off the main means of providing American and NATO forces with fuel, food and equipment. Although Pakistan has not explicitly threatened to sever the supply lines, Pentagon officials said they are concerned the routes could be endangered by the deterioration of US-Pakistan relations, partly fed by ill will from the cross-border raid that killed Osama bin Laden. 

Al Qaeda-linked website threatens Monrovia drone maker's executives

07/01/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that federal authorities have warned corporate executives at a Monrovia-based military contractor that builds drone aircraft that they are among about 60 targets suggested by members of an Al Qaeda-connected website forum. In the wake of the warning, AeroVironment and authorities in Monrovia have stepped up security at the company’s corporate headquarters.

US Homeland Security chief says neighborhood policing effective in battling home-grown terror

07/01/11: The Washington Post reports that the head of America’s Homeland Security department says it is increasingly recruiting local police forces to help in tracking down US extremists planning terrorist acts. Janet Napolitano says the number of such “home-growns” — US citizens with terrorist intentions — is increasing and her department is reaching out more often to municipal and other local police departments.

Most CIA interrogation cases won't be pursued

07/01/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that The Justice Department has decided not to file criminal charges in the vast majority of cases involving the CIA's former interrogation, detention and kidnapping program. In a statement to CIA employees on his last day as director, Leon E. Panetta said Thursday that after an examination of more than 100 instances in which the agency allegedly had contact with terrorism detainees, Assistant US Attorney John Durham decided that further investigation was warranted in just two cases. Each of those cases resulted in a death.

Guantanamo detainees see legal progress reversed

07/01/11: The Washington Post reports that Guantanamo detainees have lost a series of court battles over the past 18 months as appellate judges in Washington have repeatedly sided with government lawyers and against suspected militants seeking to win their freedom. The US Court of Appeals has not affirmed a single decision ordering the release of a detainee, nor has it reversed any decision that favored government lawyers. The Justice Department even won a case this month in which it had little expectation of victory.