Georgetown Security Law Brief

Egypt's ex-jihadists back moderate for presidency

04/30/12: UT-San Diego reports that a former jihadist group said today it will back a moderate Islamist candidate in Egypt's presidential elections next month, dealing a blow to the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.  The announcement from Gamaa Islamiya provides a boost to Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh's chances in the May 23-24 vote. He received a similar endorsement from an influential ultraconservative Salafi group last week. Senior Gamaa official Assem Abdel-Maged said an internal poll showed that a majority in the group supported Abolfotoh.

'We're on a path to al Qaeda's destruction,' US counterterorrism adviser says

04/30/12: CNN reports that nearly a year after commandos killed Osama bin Laden at a compound northern Pakistan, US officials "still have work to do" in order to defeat al Qaeda, a top counterterrorism official said Sunday. "We're on a path to al Qaeda's destruction, and the president has committed that we're not going to rest until al Qaeda is destroyed as an organization in the Afghan-Pak area, as well as in other regions of the world," John Brennan, US President Barack Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, told CNN.

Pakistanis dead; got 'blood money' in CIA killing

04/30/12: The Denver Post reports that the widow and mother-in-law of a Pakistani man killed by a CIA contractor last year were murdered Monday, allegedly by the widow's father who may have feared she would remarry and take the "blood money" she received with her, police said. The families of the two men killed by Raymond Davis last January received hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for pardoning the killer, a common legal practice in Pakistan. The money normally goes to the wife if her husband was killed.

NATO confident about missile shield

04/20/12: CBS News reports that NATO's top official on Monday defended the alliance's plan for a shield against ballistic missiles in Europe, insisting the system is on track despite two US reports that describe it as over budget, delayed, and plagued by technical problems. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen claims that tests of the missile defense system show it is working. However, Reports by the Defense Science Board, an advisory group to the US Defense Department, and the US Congress' Government Accountability Office, say missile interceptors are running into production glitches, radars are underpowered and sensors cannot distinguish between warheads and other objects.

Uganda suggests Joseph Kony getting Sudan support

04/30/12: ABC News reports that Ugandan officials are renewing a claim made with some frequency over the years: That rebel leader Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army are receiving backing from the government of Sudan. Ugandan forces commander General Aronda Nyakairima said Monday he found credible a recent report from a captured LRA fighter saying that Kony was recently in the southern region of Sudan. Colonel Felix Kulayigye, the military's spokesman, said some of the LRA rebels captured by the Ugandan military wore "new uniforms" supplied by Sudan, though Nyakairima said military officials have not found LRA fighters with weapons supplied by Sudan.

US drone strikes resume in Pakistan, complicating vital negotiations

04/30/12: The Washington Post reports that CIA drone missiles hit militant targets in Pakistan on Sunday for the first time in a month, as the United States ignored the Pakistani government’s insistence that such attacks end as a condition for normalized relations between the two perpetually uneasy allies. The drone strikes, which have long infuriated the Pakistani public, killed four al-Qaeda-linked fighters in a girls’ school they had taken over in the North Waziristan tribal area, security officials there said. Warning of diplomatic consequences, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attacks. 

Opinion: The CIA’s misuse of secrecy

04/30/12: The New York Times features an opinion piece by Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director at the ACLU, and Nathan Freed Wessler, a National Securtiy Project fellow. Jaffer and Wessler describe how government officials have aggressively defended the controversial targeted killing program. But in court, the CIA refuses even to acknowledge that it exists, invoking a 35-year-old judicial doctrine called Glomar. Jaffer and Wessler argue that Glomar is misused, which undermines public confidence, distorts public debate, and enables an agency with sweeping authority -- including the authority to kill -- to operate without proper oversight. 

Obama seeks balance in China dissident lawyer case

04/30/12: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a senior White House official said Sunday that President Obama wants to strike an "appropriate balance" in dealing with a Chinese dissident who fled house arrest and reportedly is under the protection of the US Embassy in Beijing. Comments by John Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, were the closest the administration has come to confirming the whereabouts of dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng. The president tries to "balance our commitment to human rights" with continuing "to carry out our relationships with key countries overseas," Brennan said. 

US says chance of conflict over Iranian nuclear program receding

04/30/12: The San Antonio Express reports that after a winter of alarm because of the possibility of a military conflict over the Iranian nuclear program, US officials and outside analysts now believe that the chances of war in the near future have significantly decreased. They cite a series of factors that, for now, argue against a conflict. The threat of tighter economic sanctions has prompted the Iranians to try more flexible tactics in their dealings with the US and other powers, while the revival of direct negotiations has muted the most inflammatory talk on all sides. “I do think the temperature has cooled,” an Obama administration official said.

9/11 judge has handled tough cases before

04/30/12: The Miami Herald reports that when President Bush proposed razing Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004, this American Army Judge Col. James L. Pohl declared it a crime scene and forbade its demolition. When five years later President Obama asked the Guantánamo war court to freeze all proceedings, the same judge refused. Now, at a moment when most 60-year-old colonels are retiring from service, Pohl is chief military commissions judge, and has chosen to take on two of the most high-profile trials of his career: the 9/11 trial, and the trial of a man who allegedly engineered al Qaeda’s 2000 USS Cole bombing.

Ex-Libyan oil minister found dead in the Danube

04/30/12: CBS News reports that Shukri Ghanem, a former Libyan prime minister and oil minister who last year announced he was abandoning Muammar Qaddafi's regime to support the rebels, was found dead Sunday in the Danube river flowing through Vienna, Austrian police said. Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said the 69-year-old's corpse showed no external signs of violence, but the cause of death was not immediately clear and an autopsy will be carried out. "There would be no signs of violence if someone pushed him in," Hahslinger said. "But it's also possible that he became ill and fell into the water."

US lends support in hunt for notorious African warlord

04/30/12: CNN reports that though officials don't know exactly where Joseph Kony is, US troops have been sent to the area to help find and defeat the LRA leader. They have made progress. But as CNN has learned, much work remains to be done -- both to locate Kony and to restore a sense of stability and safety to the region. "Kony is definitely still a threat. He's been on the run. He's on the decline, and in survival mode, but he is still dangerous and he's going to be dangerous until the LRA are eliminated," said a captain with US Special Forces. The LRA has been on the run since a botched US-backed attack on Kony in 2008.

Senate probe finds little evidence of effective torture

04/30/12: Reuters reports that a nearly three-year-long investigation by Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats is expected to find there is little evidence the harsh "enhanced interrogation techniques" the CIA used on high-value prisoners produced counter-terrorism breakthroughs. Committee investigators, who have been poring over records from the administration of President George W. Bush, believe they do not substantiate claims by some that the harsh interrogations led to counter-terrorism coups. The backers of such techniques maintain they have led to the disruption of major terror plots. HT to Neal R. Sonnett.

Defense bill in for smoother ride this time around

04/29/12: The Hill reports that the partisan battles that nearly derailed two Defense authorization bills appear to have subsided as lawmakers get down to work on this year’s version. In 2010 and 2011, passage of the Defense bill came down to the wire amid bitter fights over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the DREAM Act and terror detainees. This time around, the biggest defense fight of the year in Congress is looming after the Defense authorization bill is complete: the sequestered spending cuts set to hit the Pentagon in 2013. Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said he’s optimistic the bill can get passed before the November recess.

In Tunisia Islamists’ new freedoms create new Muslim divide

04/29/12: The Washington Post reports that one year after the uprising that sent autocratic leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali packing to exile in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia stands divided between two visions of its future. Last year’s street clashes in this sun-spangled city by the sea have morphed into a different kind of battle — more intimate confrontations in which many families struggle with essential questions of identity. In a country that is nearly 100 percent Muslim, a growing rift over religion threatens — in the view of the secular president of the new parliament — to throw Tunisia into “chaos.”

Is the International Criminal Court the best way to stop war crimes?

04/29/12: The Miami Herald reports that even with Thursday's judgment against Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, after a five-year trial, the question can be asked whether the ICC is the most effective way to deter the world's most serious crimes. Might political initiatives launched in sub-Saharan Africa, where so many war crimes have occurred, or at UN headquarters eventually render the ICC superfluous? To date, the only suspects the ICC has indicted are government and militia leaders from Africa. The next big case involves Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast, who will be tried on charges of crimes against humanity. 

Saleh to leave Yemen temporarily to ease tensions

04/29/12: Reuters reports that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave Yemen temporarily after Gulf states leaned on him to get out of the way of his successor to ease tension complicating efforts to stabilize the country, a diplomatic source said on Sunday. The diplomat said he expected Saleh to travel next week, probably to the United Arab Emirates, to allow recently elected President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to rule unhindered by his predecessor. Russia has said it is willing to take in Saleh. The former long-ruling autocrat also agreed to relinquish his position as head of the General People's Congress party. 

Predator drones have yet to prove their worth on border

04/29/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that the nine Predators that help police America's borders have yet to prove very useful in stopping contraband or illegal immigrants, highlighting a glaring problem for Homeland Security officials who have spent six years and more than $250 million building the nation's largest fleet of domestic surveillance drones. The border drones require an hour of maintenance for every hour they fly, cost more to operate than anticipated, and are frequently grounded by rain or other bad weather. Last year, the unmanned fleet flew barely half the number of scheduled flight hours on the northern or southern borders.

Chen Guangcheng's escape sparks China round-up

04/29/12: BBC News reports that Chinese authorities have begun to round up relatives and associates of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled from house arrest last week. Several people involved in Mr Chen's escape have been detained or have disappeared in recent days, and fellow activist Hu Jia was questioned. Mr Chen is believed to be sheltering at the US embassy in Beijing. US and international human rights groups have expressed alarm over his treatment. Secretary Clinton, who has also demanded his release, is due in China this week for a previously arranged meeting which is now likely to be overshadowed by Mr Chen's case.

US looks to South America for security partners

04/29/12: The Washington Times reports that in these days of shrinking defense budgets, the US is looking to its southern neighbors to help monitor and protect the Asia Pacific region in the years ahead. Traveling to Colombia, Brazil, and Chile this week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta underscored the importance of those nations as military partners in a region where the US influence in a number of countries is being challenged by China. And as the military relationships grow, defense officials say it can only help US economic and political ties across the continent. 

Scandal highlights lack of women in Secret Service

04/29/12: The Boston Globe reports that Secret Service agents are often portrayed in popular culture as disciplined, unflappable, loyal -- and male. A spiraling prostitution scandal that has highlighted the dearth of women in the agency that protects the president and dignitaries has many wondering: Would more females in the ranks prevent future dishonor? Only about a tenth of field agents and uniformed officers are women, a shortage some attribute to travel demands that can be especially taxing on women balancing families and careers. The recent scandal could set back efforts to close the gender gap.

United States talks fail as Pakistanis seek apology

04/28/12: The New York Times reports that the latest high-level talks on ending a diplomatic deadlock between the US and Pakistan ended in failure on Friday over Pakistani demands for an unconditional apology from the Obama administration for an airstrike. The White House, angered by the recent spectacular Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, refuses to apologize. The Obama administration’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan left the Pakistani capital Friday night with no agreement after two days of discussions aimed at patching up the damage caused by the American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

ElBaradei returns to Egypt politics with new party

04/28/12: The Boston Globe reports that reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei launched a new political party Saturday that he said aims to unite Egyptians and save the country's revolution from a messy democratic transition. The Constitution Party marks a return to public life for ElBaradei, who declared in January that he would not run for president and that a fair vote would be impossible during a muddled transition period. His pullout four months before the start of the presidential vote dealt a blow to the liberal and leftist groups who were behind the January 25 uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office last year. 

UN nuclear watchdog to resume Iran talks in mid-May

04/28/12: Reuters reports that the United Nations nuclear watchdog confirmed on Saturday it will resume talks with Iran in mid-May, more than two months after the last meeting over concerns about the Islamic state's atomic activities ended in failure. Gill Tudor, spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the meeting would take place on May 14-15 at the Iranian diplomatic mission in Vienna. "The purpose is to continue the negotiations started early this year," Tudor said. Tehran continues to insist its activities have only civilian aims and has refused to stop enriching uranium, despite a slew of sanctions. 

Blind Chinese activist under US protection leading up to Clinton visit

04/28/12: The Miami Herald reports that a blind legal activist who fled house arrest in his Chinese village is under the protection of American officials, overseas activists said Saturday, putting the US in a difficult position days ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Chen Guangcheng, who has exposed forced abortions and sterilizations in villages as a result of China's one-child policy, escaped a week ago from his guarded home in Shandong province in eastern China. Chinese-based activists say he was driven away by supporters and then handed over to others who brought him to Beijing.

US deploys stealth jets to air base in Southwest Asia

04/28/12: The Washington Post reports that the United States has deployed a number of stealth jets, its most modern, fifth-generation fighter bomber, to an air base in Southwest Asia, according to the Air Force. The service would not say where the F-22 Raptors would be based, but the US military has recently moved other assets into the Persian Gulf amid concerns about a confrontation with Iran. An Air Force spokesman, Capt. Phil Ventura, described the deployment as “regularly scheduled” activity being undertaken to strengthen military-to-military relationships, regional security and work on “tactical interoperability.”

A year after bin Laden's death core al Qaeda essentially gone

04/28/12: Fox News reports that a year after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda that carried out the September 11 attacks is essentially gone, but its affiliates remain a threat to America, according to senior US counterterrorist officials. Core al Qaeda's new leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, still aspires to attack the US, but his Pakistan-based group is scrambling to survive, under fire from CIA drone strikes and lying low for fear of another US raid. During a brieifing on Friday, the senior officials described how al Qaeda's loyal offshoots are still dangerous, especially Yemen's Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP.

Cybersecurity legislation faces hurdles despite passage in the House

04/28/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that despite passage in the House, it's far from clear that CISPA will become law, or that Congress will approve any cyber-security legislation, particularly in light of the recent White House veto threat. The leading Republicans and Democrats who have been working on a separate cyber-security bill in the Senate issued a statement criticizing the House bill because it doesn't propose standards for protecting crucial infrastructure, such as power grids and water systems. Those systems are vulnerable to cyber-attack, and there is nothing requiring their owners to shore up computer defenses. 

DOJ wants cell phone tracking records kept secret

04/28/12: The BLT reports that DOJ said Friday that the government should not be forced to publicly disclose information about criminal cases involving mobile phone tracking in which the defendant was acquitted or the case was dismissed. The government's position was outlined this afternoon in a public records suit the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation filed in a Washington, DC district court. A federal appeals court ruling last year compelled DOJ to provide 214 names and docket numbers of cases that resulted in a public conviction or guilty plea. But the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit called for further proceedings.

Legislator says Secret Service to change its rules

04/27/12: CNN reports that Secret Service agents on the job will no longer be allowed to go to places of "bad acts" or bring foreigners to their hotel rooms. The new rules come in response to the scandal over alleged hiring of prostitutes in Colombia, a legislator said after speaking to agency Director Mark Sullivan. "If this is the culture, then they want to immediately put it to rest," Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said Thursday after meeting with Sullivan about the controversy that has embarrassed the 147-year-old agency and raised questions about possible security breaches. 

Federal judge denies FOIA request for bin Laden photos

04/27/12: JURIST reports that a judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia has denied a request to release photos of Osama bin Laden taken shortly after his death last year. Nonprofit organization Justice Watch filed a complaint against the Obama administration in May, claiming that the government violated the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to release photographs of bin Laden's body. Obama announced in May, and again in September, that the US government would not release the photographs, arguing that publicizing the graphic images would encourage violence and jeopardize classified information. 

US jury begins deliberations in Somali piracy case

04/27/12: The Kansas City Star reports that a federal jury began deliberations on Friday in the trial a Somali man accused of being a pirate negotiator involved in an attack on a US yacht in which all four Americans on board were eventually shot and killed. Mohammad Saaili Shibin faces piracy, kidnapping and hostage-taking charges in connection with the 2011 hijacking of the Quest off the coast of Africa. The yacht owners, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California, along with two friends, were the first US citizens killed in a wave of pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean despite patrols by warships. 

Wrangling hampers Libyan drive to try Gaddafi son

04/27/12: Reuters reports that putting the son of fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi on trial on their own soil is a matter of national pride for Libya's leaders, but the lack of a properly functioning state is making it hard for them to convince the outside world they are up to the task. Libya is standing firm on trying Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. But so is the ICC at The Hague, which indicted him in June for crimes against humanity. On Monday Libya will outline to ICC judges how it intends to try Saif al-Islam. The court will also have the option to refer Tripoli to the UN Security Council if it doesn't think Libya is able to conduct the trial.

US sees positive signs from China on security issues

04/27/12: The New York Times reports that for years, China stymied efforts to pressure Iran. Now, in addition to  throwing its weight behind the sanctions effort, Beijing is also playing a more active role in the recently revived nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers — the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany. While in past negotiations, Beijing has followed in lockstep the positions taken by Russia, this time Chinese diplomats are offering their own proposals. “One of the key elements of making this work is unity among the major powers,” said a senior administration official. “The Chinese have been very good partners in this regard.”

US to screen 9/11 arraignment at 8 sites

04/27/12: The Miami Herald reports that the arraignment for the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11 attacks and four other Guantánamo Bay prisoners will be broadcast by closed-circuit television to eight sites in the eastern US, a military judge ruled Thursday. Army Col. James Pohl said in his ruling that remote viewing locations are necessary because of the significant public interest in the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four co-defendants. Dozens of journalists as well as relatives of the September 11 victims are expected to attend the hearing at the US base in Cuba on May 5.

Rwanda court rejects opposition leader's appeal

04/27/12: ABC News reports that Rwanda's highest court on Friday rejected an appeal by an opposition politician who was convicted for organizing an illegal gathering, inciting ethnic division and threatening state security. Bernard Ntaganda, a former leader of Rwanda's PS-Imberakuri party, was not in court when the ruling was made to uphold his four-year jail sentence. He was arrested in July 2010 and convicted in February 2011. Ntaganda, a Hutu, was accused of describing the government of President Paul Kagame as Tutsi-dominated and then calling for a power-sharing agreement between majority Hutus and minority Tutsis. 

House passes CISPA cybersecurity bill Obama opposes

04/27/12: The Chicago Tribune reports that, ignoring a White House veto threat, the House approved the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act–known as CISPA–which would encourage companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to help prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists. The vote Thursday was 248-168, with 42 Democrats joining 206 Republicans in backing the measure. The Obama administration wants a bill that would give the DHS the primary role in overseeing domestic cybersecurity and the authority to set security standards.

UN Chief says Syria in contravention of peace plan

04/27/12: BBC News reports that the Syrian government is "in contravention" of an internationally agreed peace plan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned. Mr. Ban "remains deeply troubled" by the continued presence of heavy weapons and troops in Syria's cities as reported by UN monitors. Mr. Ban demanded that Damascus comply with the peace plan without delay. The comments come as up to 70 people were killed in an attack on a house in Hama, according to Syrian activists. State media said 16 people died in an explosion at a house used by "armed terrorist groups" to make bombs.

US-Japan deal withdraws 9,000 Marines from Okinawa

04/27/12: CNN reports that roughly half the US Marines on Okinawa will be transferred under an agreement that will reduce the military footprint in Japan, easing local resentments over the amount of land being used by American forces. Some 9,000 Marines along with their family members will be transferred under the agreement, with about 5,000 being sent to Guam as part of a military buildup on the US territory in the Pacific, according to the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee. "I am very pleased that, after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of action," Secretary of Defense Panetta said.

Pakistan deports bin Laden family to Saudi Arabia

04/27/12: USA Today reports that Pakistani authorities deported Osama bin Laden's three widows and his children to Saudi Arabia early Friday, less than a week before the first anniversary of the unilateral American raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader in his hideout in a military town. The departure of the family closed another chapter in an affair that cemented Pakistan's reputation as a hub of Islamist extremism and cast doubt on its trustworthiness as a Western ally. Once outside Pakistan, the wives may be willing to share any information they have about how bin Laden managed to evade capture in the country for nearly a decade following 9/11.

Pentagon says women in combat units to begin May 14

04/27/12: The Washington Times reports that the Pentagon announced that a change in policy allowing female troops to serve in ground combat units below the brigade level will take effect May 14. The policy change, announced in February, allows 14,325 jobs to be open to women, including those at the battalion level with ground combat units. “The services will continuously assess their experience with these exceptions to policy to help determine future changes to the assignment rules,” the Pentagon said. Previously, women could serve at the brigade level. Women will now serve in smaller units closer to the battlefield.

European lawmakers visit alleged CIA prison in Lithuania

04/26/12: Fox News reports that five European Parliament members have visited an alleged CIA prison in Lithuania as part of an inquiry into possible torture of suspected terrorists. The lawmakers toured a facility in the Antaviliai forest outside the capital, Vilnius, on Thursday. Last year, human rights groups Amnesty International and Reprieve claimed al-Qaida suspect Abu Zubaydah was flown on a Boeing 737 from Morocco to Lithuania in 2005. But an investigation by Lithuanian lawmakers in 2009 said two facilities had been set up as CIA prisons but there was no evidence prisoners were held there.

US envoy in Pakistan to discuss supply routes

04/26/12: CBS News reports that a senior American envoy is meeting with officials in Islamabad in efforts to get Pakistan to reopen US and NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. Marc Grossman said on Thursday that he didn't expect to get an immediate commitment that the routes would reopen but that "the task now is to begin a conversation about how to move forward." Islamabad shut the supply lines in November in protest against an inadvertent US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

US needs top-level approval to launch cyberattacks

04/26/12: The Washington Times reports that the United States would use cyberweapons against an adversary’s computer networks only after those at the highest levels of government approved of the operation because of the risks of collateral damage, a senior US military official said this week. The director of intelligence at US Cyber Command, Navy Rear Admiral Samuel J. Cox, said cyberattacks can do significant harm to a country’s infrastructure and never should be carried out in a cavalier manner.

Opinion: It’s time for the US to finally sign the Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

04/26/12: Slate features an opinion piece by Lawrence Kraus contending that a recent report removes all of the legitimate scientific objections to ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. On March 30, the National Academy of Science presented a landmark report, based on a comprehensive study by the National Research Council and carried out at the request of the Office of the Vice President and the White House Office of Science and Technology.  The authors concluded that “ the United States has the technical capabilities to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable stockpile of nuclear weapons into the foreseeable future without nuclear-explosion testing.”

Philippines-China standoff could spin out of hand

04/26/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that it started like many other minor confrontations over the specks of isles dotting some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. But the risks in the latest flare-up over a South China Sea shoal are much bigger than the territory itself. Armed vessels from the Philippines and its much more powerful neighbor, China, have faced off for two weeks at the horseshoe-shaped Scarborough Shoal. Either side could miscalculate — and consequences could bear down on the whole region, and drag in the US too.

In US-Russia deal, nuclear communication system may be used for cybersecurity

04/26/12: The Washington Post reports that a secure communications channel set up to prevent misunderstandings that might lead to nuclear war is likely to expand to handle new kinds of conflict — in cyberspace. The Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, established in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan so that Washington and Moscow could alert each other to missile tests and space launches that could be mistaken as acts of aggression, would take a central role in an agreement nearing completion between US and Russian negotiators. The deal could be final in several weeks, but most key elements already are settled.

Iran readying hacker attacks on US infrastructure, specialists say

04/26/12: The Washington Times reports that Iran is recruiting a hacker army to target the US power grid, water systems and other vital infrastructure for cyberattack in a future confrontation with the United States, security specialists warn.  Lawmakers from two House Homeland Security subcommittees will hold a joint hearing Thursday about the cyberthreat posed by Iran, as tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program continue at a high level, and a possible Israeli strike looms.

ICC rejects Libya bid to try Gadhafi son

04/26/12: The Wall Street Journal reports that the International Criminal Court on Wednesday again rejected attempts by Libya to delay handing over one of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi's sons, who is wanted for trial. Judges unanimously dismissed Libya's latest appeal against the court's order to surrender Seif al-Islam Gadhafi for trial on charges of murdering and persecuting civilians in the early days of the uprising that toppled his father's regime last year. Libyan authorities are resisting surrendering him, saying they want to put him on trial at home.

Israel’s new ties to Azerbaijan worry neighboring Iran

04/26/12: The Kansas City Star reports that the burgeoning relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least of all because Azerbaijan is Iran’s neighbor to the north and shares close cultural and demographic ties with Iran. Trade between Israel and Azerbaijan now totals $4 billion annually, the highest figure for Israel’s business with any of the now-independent countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, and there’s a frequent exchange of officials, most recently Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who visited Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, this week. “Our relationship is very intense,” Lieberman said.