Georgetown Security Law Brief

FISA Amendments Act on warrantless wiretapping renewed

12/28/12:  Wired's Threat Level reports the Senate on Friday reauthorized for five years broad electronic eavesdropping powers that legalized and expanded the President George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.  The FISA Amendments Act which was expiring Friday at midnight, allows the government to electronically eavesdrop on Americans’ phone calls and e-mails without a probable-cause warrant so long as one of the parties to the communication is believed outside the United States. The communications may be intercepted “to acquire foreign intelligence information.”  In the end, the identical package the House passed 301-118 swept through the Senate on a 73-23 vote.

Pakistan Taliban Chief will negotiate

12/28/12:  The New York Times reports the head of Pakistan's Taliban said his militia is willing to negotiate with the government but not disarm, a message delivered in a video given to Reuters on Friday. The release of the 40-minute video follows three high-profile Taliban attacks in the northern city of Peshawar this month: an attack by multiple suicide bombers on the airport, the killing of a senior politician and eight others in a bombing and the kidnap of 22 paramilitary forces on Thursday. The attacks underline the Taliban's ability to strike high-profile, well-protected targets even as the amount of territory it controls has shrunk and its leaders are picked off by U.S. drones.

Iran's slowing of enrichment efforts may show it wants a deal

12/28/12:  The New York Times reports by subtly putting its hands on the brakes of its uranium enrichment efforts, Iran may be signaling that it wants to avoid a direct confrontation over its nuclear program, at least in the near term, according to United States and other Western officials.  The action has also led some analysts to conclude that Iran’s leaders are showing signs that they may be more interested in a deal to end the nuclear standoff with the West. Evidence began emerging last summer that the Iranians were diverting a significant portion of their medium-enriched uranium for use in a small research reactor, converting it into a form that cannot easily be used in a weapon.

Iran starts navy drills in Strait of Hormuz

12/28/12:  Reuters reports Iran started on Friday six days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency reported, maneuvers aimed at showcasing its military capabilities in what is a vital oil and gas shipping route.  Naval commander Sayyari said the drills would last until Wednesday across an area of about 1 million square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The goal of the maneuvers are to show "the armed forces' military capabilities" in defending Iran's borders as well as sending a message of peace and friendship to neighboring countries.

China toughens its restrictions of the use of the internet

12/28/12:  The New York Times reports the Chinese government issued new rules on Friday requiring Internet users to provide their real names to service providers, while assigning Internet companies greater responsibility for deleting forbidden postings and reporting them to the authorities.  The decision came as government censors have sharply stepped up restrictions on China’s international Internet traffic in recent weeks.  The new regulations, issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, allow Internet users to continue to adopt pseudonyms for their online postings, but only if they first provide their real names to service providers.

North Korea likely deceived US, allies before launching rocket

12/28/12:  CNN reports North Korea likely engaged in a deliberate campaign of deception before a December 12 long-range missile launch, catching the United States and its Asian allies "off guard," according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of analysis of the incident conducted by U.S. military and intelligence agencies. The official told CNN that American and Japanese military ships and missile defenses were fully operational and protecting land, sea and airspace on December 12, but that the launch was a surprise when it actually happened.

Russia 'ready for Syria opposition talks'

12/28/12:  The BBC reports Russia has agreed to hold talks with Syria's opposition leaders, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.  He said contact with the opposition was made through diplomats in Egypt, and he urged President Bashar al-Assad to also open talks with the rebels.  Russia has previously criticised the US for recognising the opposition as a legitimate representative of Syrians.  However, Syria's opposition denied agreeing to the talks and said Russia should apologise for backing Mr Assad.

Iran media report new cyberattack by Stuxnet worm

12/27/12:  The Washington Times reports an Iranian semiofficial news agency says there has been another cyberattack by the sophisticated computer worm Stuxnet, this time on the industries in the country’s south. Tuesday’s report by ISNA quotes provincial civil defense chief Akhavan as saying the virus targeted a power plant and some other industries in Hormozgan province in recent months.  Akhavan said Iranian computer experts were able to “successfully stop” the worm. Iran repeatedly has claimed having defused cyberworms and malware, including the Stuxnet and Flame viruses that targeted the vital oil sector, which provides 80 percent of the country’s foreign revenue.

China's Beidou GPS-substitute opens to public in Asia

12/27/12:  The BBC reports  China has opened up its domestic sat-nav network to commercial use across the Asia-Pacific region. Beidou - named after the Chinese word for the Big Dipper constellation - offers an alternative to the US's global positioning system (GPS). It had previously been restricted to the Chinese military and government. A spokesman said that Beidou is targeting a 70-80% share of the Chinese market in related location services by 2020. The China Satellite Navigation Office added that by that time it also intended the service to be available across the globe.

UN and US raise alerts in Central African Republic

12/27/12:  The New York Times reports the United Nations is evacuating staff from the Central African Republic, and the United States has warned its citizens to leave, as rebel fighters close in on the tense capital, Bangui. France deployed troops to protect its embassy after it was attacked by demonstrators calling for the former colonial power to help push back the rebels, who have already seized several towns in the north of the resource-rich but poverty-stricken nation. The United Nations on Wednesday ordered more than 200 nonessential staff members and families of other workers to leave.

FBI considered Occupy movement potential threat, documents say

12/27/12:  CNN reports the FBI extensively monitored the Occupy Wall Street movement around the United States, using counterterrorism agents and other resources, according to recently released FBI internal documents. The heavily redacted documents indicate that FBI counterterrorism agents were in close communication with law enforcement agencies, businesses, universities and other organizations across the country about the Occupy Wall Street movement, even before Occupy Wall Street set up a camp in New York's Zuccotti Park in September 2011.

Israel approves another 1,200 settlement units around Jerusalem

12/27/12:  The Guardian reports Israel has given the green light for the fast-track development of a further 1,200 settlement units around Jerusalem. It brings the total number of new approvals to 5,500 in just over a week, the largest wave of proposed expansion in recent memory. The latest plan, which would see almost 1,000 new apartments built over Jerusalem's green line in Gilo, comes as the Israeli media is reporting mounting pressure on the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to drop his commitment to a two-state solution from his platform for re-election in January.

US moves to sell advanced spy drones to South Korea

12/27/12:  Reuters reports the Obama administration formally proposed a controversial sale of advanced spy drones to help South Korea bear more of its defense from any attack by the heavily armed North. Seoul has requested a possible $1.2 billion sale of four Northrop Grumman Corp RQ-4 "Global Hawk" remotely piloted aircraft with enhanced surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement dated on Monday and distributed on Tuesday. South Korea needs such systems to assume top responsibility for intelligence-gathering from the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command as scheduled in 2015.

Weekly Tech Updates 12/22/12

12/22/12:  Here are this week's technology updates related to national security:

• DARPA funding research to make deployable radio frequency backbone to match fiber optic capacity
• Better mind control allows for better robotic arm
• Arming US troops with insect protective gear
• Canadian firm claims to have created an invisibility cloak
• Superconductors that work by themselves: new possibilities in chryoelectronics
• Wires that stretch up to eight times their length
• Pocket test measure 50 things with drop of blood
• DARPA's legged squad support system learns voice commands and new tricks
• DARPA challenge is looking for adaptive, software-based radio communications

 

Philippines passes law on forced disappearances

12/22/12:  The New York Times reports Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law imposing up to life imprisonment for state agents convicted of being involved in enforced disappearances, the first major human rights legislation under his nearly 3-year-old government.  The human rights group Karapatan says more than 1,000 political activists and suspected supporters have disappeared since the 1972-1986 Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, including more than 200 under Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It has documented 12 cases of enforced disappearance since 2010 under Aquino. US-based Human Rights Watch said the new law is the first to criminalize enforced disappearances in Asia and challenged Aquino to "move quickly to enforce" it.

Syria acting to safeguard chemical weapons, says Russia

12/22/12:  The BBC reports Syria has acted to consolidate its chemical weapons into "one or two" places to prevent rebels capturing them, Russia's foreign minister says. Sergei Lavrov said the weapons had previously been "scattered" across the country and they were "under control" for the time being.

Penalties on Iran sanction strengthened by US and Europe

12/22/12:  The New York Times reports the United States and Europe announced strengthened sanctions against Iran on Friday, increasing the number of blacklisted companies and individuals linked to the Iranian nuclear program, in coordinated actions that underscored the failure to resolve one of the most intractable international disputes.   Under the expanded sanctions, the Treasury Department blacklisted fourc ompanies and one person, and the Eurpean Union blacklisted 18 companies and one person.  The Treasury said one of the four companies was also involved in supplying weapons to the military of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s Middle East ally, who has been fighting an insurgency for nearly two years.

Russia demands action over UN helicopter downed in South Sudan

12/22/12:  The BBC reports Russia has urged South Sudan to identify and punish those responsible for shooting down a UN helicopter and killing its four Russian crew. The helicopter was apparently shot down on Friday while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state. The UN strongly condemned the "shooting down... of a clearly marked UN helicopter" by South Sudanese forces. South Sudanese officials have given conflicting accounts of why the helicopter may have been downed.

Syria unleashes cluster bombs on town

12/21/12:  The New York Times reports many forms of violence and hardship have befallen Syria’s people as the country’s civil war has escalated this year. But the Syrian governmnet's attack on Dec. 12 pointed to one of the war’s irrefutable patterns: the deliberate targeting of civilians, in this case with a weapon that is impossible to use precisely. The munitions in question — Soviet-era PTAB-2.5Ms — were designed to destroy battlefield formations of Western armored vehicles and tanks. They are ejected in dense bunches from free-falling dispensers dropped from aircraft. The bomblets then scatter and descend nose-down to land and explode almost at once over a wide area, often hundreds of yards across. The use of cluster munitions is banned by much of the world, although Syria, like the United States, is not party to that international convention.

How China's military is catching up to the United States

12/21/12:  Foreign Policy's John Reed published an article on how China's military is catching up to the United States.  Meanwhile, Senior Brookings Fellow Peter W. Singer published an article in Popular Science about China's increasingly sophisticated military technology.

Army rolls out brass to defend anti-IED software

12/21/12:  The Washington Times reports the Army presented two two-star generals and three intelligence specialists Thursday to defend its $2.5 billion battlefield intelligence processor, which has failed operational tests and has been criticized by soldiers as being too slow to analyze the enemy and help find buried bombs in Afghanistan.  In a news conference at the Pentagon, the Army specialists lauded the Defense Common Ground System, an array of computers, servers and programs that is the Army's principal processor of huge amounts of battlefield data.  Commanders and intelligence officers in Afghanistan complained about the Defense Common Ground System. Some asked for permission to buy Palantir, an off-the-shelf software platform that specializes in linking disparate bits of information to form a clear picture of the battlefield.

High Court blocks US drone intelligence case

12/21/12:  The BBC reports the High Court has rejected an attempt by a Pakistani man to force the UK government to reveal if it is providing intelligence for US drone strikes. Noor Khan, whose father died in a drone strike in Pakistan, said the UK could be committing a war crime by helping the CIA to identify targets. The government neither confirms nor denies any role in assisting with operations against al-Qaeda. The court said it could not force the government to reveal its policy. Lord Justice Moses said that oversight of intelligence arrangements in this case was for Parliament, not the court. The UK operates its own unmanned drones in Afghanistan, but these operations were not part of this case.

North Korea says it has detained an American citizen

12/21/12:  The New York Times reports North Korea said on Friday that it had detained an American citizen on charges of committing “hostile acts against the republic,” a crime punishable by years in prison in the isolated country. The Korean Central News Agency said the American, Bae Jun-ho, had entered the country on Nov. 3 through a port city near the Russian border. Human rights activists said they believed Mr. Bae to be Kenneth Bae, who they said had been detained in the North. The North Korean report said that an investigation had established Mr. Bae’s guilt and that he had confessed. It said he had been allowed to meet with officials from the Swedish Embassy. The Swedish Embassy intervenes on Washington’s behalf on issues involving American citizens in North Korea. Washington has no diplomatic relations with the North.

UN backs Mali intervention force to oust rebels

12/21/12:  The BBC reports the UN Security Council has authorised an African-led military force to try to oust Islamists from northern Mali. The council unanimously voted to give the force an initial one-year mandate. The resolution also sets "benchmarks" for Mali, including political reconciliation and improved training for the military. Armed groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, took control of northern Mali after a military coup in March and established a harsh form of Islamic law.

Court clears way for spy lawsuit against Army workers

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports Several activists from Washington State can continue with a lawsuit accusing two civilian employees of the United States Army of spying on organizers of protests against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday. The ruling, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, appears to clear the way for a trial involving assertions that the Army was involved in the surveillance of civilian groups, which several statutes forbid.

Congressional negotiators drop ban on indefinite detention for citizens, Aids say

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports lawmakers charged with merging the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act decided on Tuesday to drop a provision that would have explicitly barred the military from holding American citizens and permanent residents in indefinite detention without trial as terrorism suspects, according to Congressional staff members familiar with the negotiations. The Senate approved that amendment in a surprise vote last month. While it appeared to be a rare step to bolster protections for domestic civil liberties, rights groups opposed it because it did not cover other categories of people so they feared that it would implicitly open the door to using the military for domestic police purposes.

Yemen's president restructures armed forces

12/20/12: CNN reports Yemen's armed forces have a new look after President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ordered major changes to both the military's leadership and structure on Wednesday. The expansive reshuffle appears to have removed those loyal to Yemen's previous President Ali Abdullah Saleh from their powerful positions within the military, with several other generals attaining appointments to new positions. As part of the restructuring, the elite republican guard and the first armored division will be absorbed into the country's Defense Ministry. The republican guard has been led by Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, and Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who defected during the 2011 Yemeni uprising, has commanded the first armored division.

Army seeking death penalty in massacre of 16 Afghans

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports rhe United States Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.  Sergeant Bales’s court-martial will consider 16 counts of premeditated murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of assault, among other charges, but no trial date was set.

Israel settlements: UN steps up pressure

12/20/12: The BBC reports the UN is stepping up pressure on Israel over its settlement building on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The secretary general and all Security Council members except the US demanded an immediate halt to new construction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would press ahead with settlement expansion. The US protects Israel at the UN but the state department accused Israel of "a pattern of provocative action".

War in Syria is becomign Sectarian, UN panel says

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports Syria’s civil war has evolved from a battle over political change into a conflict that is “overtly sectarian,” pulling fighters from across the Middle East and North Africa into the fray, United Nations investigators said on Thursday.  The risk of political confrontation erupting into ethnic and religious strife had always been present but “as battles between government forces and anti-government armed groups approach the end of their second year, the conflict has become overtly sectarian in nature,” said the investigators, who are members of a panel appointed by the United Nations and led by Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil.

Zero Dark Thirty

12/20/12:  Opinion Juris posted the contents of an open letter from three Senators concerning the content of the movie Zero Dark Thirty.  The letter makes an interesting read and confirms that the relevant information was not obtained through torture.

Iraq's president rushed to hospital

12/18/12:  CNN reports Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has suffered a stroke and was rushed to a hospital in Baghdad on Monday night, Iraqi officials said. Talabani was in intensive care after the stroke, said Kurdish Lawmaker Mahmoud Othman, who said he was headed to the hospital to visit the ailing leader.

In sign of normalization, Pentagon to reimburse Pakistan $688 million

12/18/12: The New York Times reports the Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalize support for the Pakistani military after nearly two years of crises and mutual retaliation.The biggest proponent of putting foreign aid and military reimbursements to Pakistan on a steady footing is the man President Barack Obama is leaning toward naming as secretary of state: Senator John Kerry.

NATO: Somali pirates seized no ships for 6 months

12/18/12:  The Miami Herald reports NATO officials say no ships have been hijacked off the Somali coast in the second half of this year, reflecting a sharp decrease in piracy along one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Commodore Ben Bekkering attributed the success to the continuing efforts of an international fleet along the coastline, combined with better security measures by merchant ships and increased pressure on the pirates within Somalia itself. About 20 vessels from NATO, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and other countries regularly patrol Somalia's 1,900-mile-long (3,100-kilometer) coastline.

North Korean satellite most likely dead

12/18/12:  The New York Times reports the North Korean satellite launched into space last week appears to be tumbling in orbit and is most likely dead, astronomers are reporting. The evident failure will not cause the spacecraft to fall quickly back to earth but seems to represent a major blow to the North’s portrayal of the launching as a complete triumph.“It’s spinning or tumbling, and we haven’t picked up any transmissions,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity. “Those two things are most consistent with the satellite being entirely inactive at this point.”

ICC acquits Congo rebel leader of war crimes

12/18/12:  The New York Times reports the International Criminal Court acquitted a Congolese militia leader Tuesday of all charges of commanding fighters who destroyed a village in eastern Congo in 2003, raping and hacking to death some 200 people, including children.  The acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo on charges including rape, murder and pillage was only the second verdict in the court's 10-year history and the first time it had cleared a suspect. The only other ICC verdict, handed down earlier this year, convicted another Congolese rebel leader, Thomas Lubanga, of using child soldiers in battles in Ituri. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Mexico to create new police force in drugs policy shift

12/18/12:  The BBC reports Mexican President Pena Nieto, has announced the creation of a new national police force as part of efforts to tackle crime and violence. Mr Pena Nieto said the new militarised force would initially be 10,000 strong. Troops would continue to patrol until the new force was fully trained, he said, without elaborating. Some 60,000 people have died since 2006 when the previous government deployed the military against the drugs gangs. Mr Pena Nieto had campaigned on a promise to switch the focus of the drugs fight from tackling the gangs to reducing the crime and violence that blight the lives of ordinary Mexicans.

 

Weekly Tech Updates 12/15/12

12/15/12:  Here are this week's technology updates related to national security:

• X-47B next gen UCAS completes first tests aboard USS Truman
  
• Pharmaceutical company develops anti-radiation pills
• Northrop Grumman patents show potential next-gen bomber design
• IBM ushers in the age of silicon nanophotonics
• DARPA foam for stabilizing wounds
• Hacking the human brain, the next domain for warfighting
• Research project uses real-time data to predict path of wildfires
• Follow the eyes: Head-mounted cameras could help robots understand social interactions
• Robot mimics the muscles, skeleton of a real human
• Laser drills could open up cheap geothermal power

China’s Communist Party chief acts to bolster military

12/15/12:  The New York Times reports Xi Jinpin, the new Communist Party chief and civilian commander of the Chinese military, is moving quickly to make strengthening the country’s armed forces a centerpiece of what he calls the “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation. The nationalist message of building up the People’s Liberation Army has been broadcast loudly in the aftermath of Mr. Xi’s recent visit to south China. “We must insist on using battle-ready standards in undertaking combat preparations, constantly enhancing officers’ and troops’ thinking about serving in battle, and leading troops into battle and training troops for battle,” Mr. Xi said, according to a report on Wednesday by Xinhua, the state news agency, that was later published by prominent state-run newspapers. “And we must insist on rigorous military training based on the needs of actual combat.”

Egyptians vote in divisive referendum on constitution

12/15/12: The BBC reports people in Egypt have begun voting on a new constitution endorsed by the Islamist president, which has divided the country and sparked deadly unrest. President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have campaigned heavily in favour of the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come. Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists. The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote. However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week's time, appears to be going smoothly with indications of a high turnout.

Iran: Progress on nuclear talks

12/15/12:  The New York Times reports the leader of a United Nations nuclear inspection delegation reported progress on Friday in negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear energy work and said another meeting was planned for Jan. 16. But the leader, Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the Internaitonal Atomic Energy Agency, said the Iranians still had not allowed the inspectors to visit Parchin, the military site where, inspectors suspect, nuclear weapons trigger testing work may have been conducted.

Detention law challenge fails

12/14/12:  The SCOTUS blog reports Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday refused to block enforcement of a broad new grant of detention power for the government, indicating that she felt a need to be cautious about putting into effect a judge’s ruling that struck down that new law, at least while the issue was under review in a federal appeals court.  Ginsburg acted without seeking a response from the federal government to a plea by writers and political activists who fear they may be seized under that new law. The full text of Ginsburg’s order, as shown on the Court’s docket, reads: “Application (12A600) denied by Justice Ginsburg.  The application to vacate the order entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit staying a permanent injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is denied.  See Doe v. Gonzales, 546 U.S. 1301, 1308-1309 (2005) (GINSBURG, Circuit Justice).”

China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN

12/14/12:  The BBC reports China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a disputed area of the East China Sea. It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out to a group of islands near Japan. A UN commission of geological experts will examine China's submission but does not have the authority to resolve conflicting claims. Beijing and Tokyo have long laid claim to the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

State secrets front and center in Dragnet case

12/14/12:  Wired's Threat Level reports a federal judge on Friday is to hold the first hearing following an appellate court’s decision reinstating allegations that the government is siphoning Americans’ communications from telecoms to the National Security Agency without warrants. The new judge on the case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco, notes a 2007 court case in which a federal judge declined the government’s privilege by ruling federal spy laws barred, or “preempted” the doctrine. White notes that an appellate court did not address the issue when that case was on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

US rejects telecommunications treaty

12/14/12:  The New York Times reports talks on a proposed treaty governing international telecommunications collapsed in acrimony on Thursday when the United States rejected the agreement on the eve of its scheduled signing, citing an inability to resolve an impasse over the Internet.  The United States announcement was seconded by Canada and several European countries after nearly two weeks of talks that had often pitted Western governments against Russia, China and developing countries. The East-West and North-South divisions harked back to the cold war, even though that conflict did not stop previous agreements to connect telephone calls across the Iron Curtain.

Senate panel approves findings critical of detainee interrogations

12/14/12:  The New York Times reports the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday approved a highly critical, classified report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program, the most comprehensive review of the brutal treatment of Qaeda prisoners in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The committee voted 9 to 6 in a closed meeting, mostly along party lines.  The long-awaited 6,000-page report contains 20 official conclusions and 35,000 footnotes.  The chairwoman stated the report, “includes details of each detainee in CIA custody, the conditions under which they were detained, how they were interrogated, the intelligence they actually provided and the accuracy — or inaccuracy — of CIA descriptions about the program to the White House, Department of Justice, Congress and others.”

Pentagon to send missiles, 400 troops to Turkey

12/14/12:  The Washington Times reports the US will send two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a NATO force meant to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attack, the Pentagon said Friday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order en route to Turkey from Afghanistan calling for 400 U.S. soldiers to operate two batteries of Patriots at undisclosed locations in Turkey. Germany and the Netherlands have already agreed to provide two batteries of the US-built defense systems and send up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them, bringing the total number of Patriot batteries slated for Turkey to six.

UN nuclear weapons inspectors visit Iran

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports nuclear inspectors visited Iran for their first meeting since August, but they appeared to be no closer to resolving a dispute over their repeated requests to examine Parchin, a military site that the inspectors suspect was used for atomic weapons trigger tests. The head of the inspector delegation, Herman Nackaerts, deputy director of the IAEA, told reporters as the group left for Tehran that the purpose of the visit was to devise a way to satisfy the agency’s concerns over the Iranian program’s “possible military dimensions.” He also said his delegation still hoped the Iranians would allow a visit to Parchin.  Iran has insisted that its uranium enrichment program is peaceful and has dismissed as Western propaganda commercial satellite imagery that has shown cleanup work at Parchin.

Japan scrambles jets in island dispute with China

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports a Chinese military surveillance plane entered what Japan considers its airspace on Thursday, and Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The episode threatened to escalate tensions over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which Japan controls and calls the Senkakus; the plane flew near the islands.  China claims them as well and calls them the Diaoyus. For months, patrol ships from the two countries have sporadically faced off in nearby waters, exchanging protests over loudspeakers and, on some occasions, sparring with water cannons.

Bosnian Serb intel chief sentenced for Srebrenica massacre

12/13/12:  CNN reports nearly two decades after the Srebrenica massacre left thousands of Muslim boys and men dead, a former Bosnian Serb intelligence chief was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in their slaughter. The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal found Zdravko Tolimir guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and other crimes committed in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which was overrun by Serb forces in 1995 in what later was described as the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War. The killings, part of the war's so-called "ethnic cleansing," were carried out by ultra-nationalist forces bent on carving up Bosnia based on religious and ethnic affiliations.