Georgetown Security Law Brief

Senator seeks opinion used in al-Awlaki killing

02/09/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that he, like the public, is being kept in the dark about Justice Department legal advice on when the US may kill American citizens abroad who are suspected terrorists. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon says he's been trying for more than a year to get the legal analysis from the intelligence community without success. He is renewing his request four months after American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and a second American, Samir Khan, were killed by a CIA air strike in Yemen.

Obama tightens Iran sanctions over bank deception

02/07/12: The Chicago Tribune reports that President Obama tightened sanctions on Iran another notch, the White House said on Monday, targeting its central bank and giving US banks new powers to freeze assets linked to the government. Obama's move, in an executive order he signed on Sunday, was the latest action in an escalating campaign to target the Central Bank of Iran, and was intended to close loopholes in existing sanctions Tehran has exploited. In a letter to Congress, Obama said Iranian banks were hiding transactions to undercut the financial sanctions the US and other powers have imposed in response to Iran's nuclear program.

Afghan Taliban deny Mullah Omar wrote to White House

02/04/12: Reuters reports that the Afghan Taliban denied on Saturday that the group's leader Mullah Omar wrote to the White House last year. The White House received a letter in 2011 which purported to come directly from Mullah Omar, asking the United States to deliver prisoners whose transfer is now central to American efforts to broker peace in Afghanistan, an Obama administration official said Friday. "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan rejects this baseless rumor with the strongest of words," a statement on the Islamist group's website said, using the name by which the Taliban often calls itself.

US reassures Europe on defense cuts

02/04/12: The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration sought to reassure anxious European allies Saturday that budget cuts won't undercut the US's commitment to their security. "We made this decision only after ensuring that our force posture adjustments will not weaken our ability to meet our commitment to the security of Europe," US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told a security conference in Munich, Germany. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a rare joint appearance in Europe with Mr. Panetta, brushed aside "some of the doubts" expressed in European capitals about Washington's continued commitment to the continent, saying the US still sees Europe as its "partner of first resort."

Holder says CIA interrogation probe nearing end

02/03/12: POLITICO reports that the Justice Department's investigation into the deaths of two detainees in CIA custody should conclude soon, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday. Holder made no mention of proceeding with prosecutions in the cases and suggested they would be closed. "There were ....things that were done during the course of those interrogations that are antithetical to American values, that resulted in the deaths of certain people," Holder said during testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "That investigation has run its course. We are at a point where we are about to close those investigations."

ACLU sues to force release of drone attack records

02/01/12: The Washington Post reports that the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal court Wednesday to force the Obama administration to release legal and intelligence records related to the killing of three US citizens in drone attacks in Yemen last year. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, charged the Justice and Defense departments and the CIA with illegally failing to respond to requests made in October under the Freedom of Information Act.

After Obama’s remarks on drones, White House rebuffs security questions

02/01/12: The Washington Post reports that White House spokesman Jay Carney rebuffed questions Tuesday about whether President Obama had violated intelligence restrictions on the secret US drone program in Pakistan when he openly discussed the subject the day before. He suggested that nothing Obama had said could be a security violation: “He’s the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States. He’s the president of the United States.”

Obama opens up about drone strikes in Pakistan

01/31/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that President Obama offered a vigorous defense of using unmanned aircraft to kill Al Qaeda operatives and other militants in Pakistan's tribal areas and, in the process, officially acknowledged the highly classified CIA drone program that US officials had refused to discuss in public until now. "I think that we have to be judicious in how we use drones," Obama said, adding that they have been used for "very precise, precision strikes against Al Qaeda and their affiliates."

FDA surveillance lawsuit raises complex issues

01/30/12: The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit that six Food and Drug Administration employees filed last week alleging improper monitoring of their personal e-mail is the latest in a series of efforts to test the scope of the government’s authority to track the digital activity of its employees. Privacy experts say the courts can expect a surge of similar cases as the lines between home and work increasingly blur in the federal workplace and beyond. Many say court guidance is needed to help federal agencies and employees navigate a complex area of the law.

Slow FOIA request responses cloud a window into Washington

01/29/12: The New York Times reports that the intent of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was to provide citizens, scholars and journalists a window into the workings of their government, but sometimes it seems as though the shades are drawn. According to the act, federal agencies are supposed to promptly release documents requested by the public. In the dialect of Washington, it can be a noun or a verb. But the FOIA process is seldom prompt. The courts have ruled that government agencies must respond to FOIA requests in 20 days. But some requests are approaching 20 years old.

US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns

01/27/12: The Washington Times reports that the federal government’s plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans’ civil liberties. In a report for release Friday, The Constitution Project warns that as the Obama administration partners more with the energy, financial, communications and health care industries to monitor and protect networks, sensitive personal information of people who work for or communicate with those companies could be improperly or inadvertently disclosed.

Defense budget plan would cut spending by half a trillion

01/27/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Pentagon has released a budget blueprint that cuts projected military spending by nearly half a trillion dollars, yet still calls for increasing the base defense budget in all but one of the next five years. The proposal meets both goals because spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is dropping sharply, allowing the base budget — the annual cost of paying troops and buying planes, ships and tanks — to increase modestly, even while complying with last year's bipartisan deal in Congress to reduce the deficit.

Search for nuclear waste dump could last up to 20 years

01/27/12: CNN reports that three years after the Obama administration killed controversial plans to store the nation's nuclear waste permanently at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a presidential commission has declared that the nation needs to adopt a "consent-based approach" to position disposal facilities, gaining the approval of any community before moving forward with future sites. Such an approach -- which may include "substantial incentives" for a community, if necessary -- would be frustratingly slow, the commission conceded, suggesting it could take five to 10 years to find a temporary nuclear storage site and 15 to 20 years to identify a permanent one.

Shot-up image of president draws a Secret Service inquiry

01/27/12: The New York Times reports that the Secret Service says it is looking into a photograph posted on the Internet that showed a group of young Arizona men posing in the desert with guns while holding up what appeared to be a bullet-riddled image of President Obama’s face. The photograph showed seven casually dressed young men, four of whom clutched weapons and one of whom held up a T-shirt covered with small holes and gashes and bearing a likeness of Mr. Obama above the word “HOPE.” The weapons held aloft appeared to be a revolver, a bolt-action rifle and two assault rifles.

DOJ defends keeping Bin Laden death photos secret

01/27/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports that the US Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States. The department filed court papers this week in a FOIA suit in Washington asking US District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain. The DOJ asserts the photos reveal specific military and intelligence activities, methods and techniques.

Commentary: The innate tension between efficiency and resilience in supply chains

01/27/12: Homeland Security Watch features commentary by Philip J. Palin concerning the administration’s new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security. Palin contends this is an easy issue to underestimate. Like the plumbing in your house, it tends not to be at the forefront until something goes wrong: leaking, freezing, breaking, bursting, or when the well goes dry. He shares his brief quick take on context and potential implications of the new strategy.

The Philippines negotiates broader military ties with the US

01/26/12: The New York Times reports that Philippine foreign affairs and defense officials are visiting Washington to negotiate an expansion of the American military presence in the country, a senior defense official in Manila said Thursday. “They are thrashing out the details,” the official, Peter Galvez, acting chief of staff to the secretary of national defense, said by telephone. The discussions will be followed by higher-level discussions in March, Mr. Galvez said.

Administration looking into repatriating non-Afghan detainees at US-run prison

01/25/12: The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is considering the repatriation of most, if not all, of the non-Afghan detainees held at the main American-run prison in Afghanistan, an effort to oversee their transfer before US officials relinquish control of the facility, according to administration officials. The foreign prisoners, who number close to 50, were in some cases picked up on the battlefield in Afghanistan and in others detained in third countries and taken to the prison by the CIA, according to US and foreign officials.

US military raid in Somalia frees American, Dane

01/25/12: CBS reports that US Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed. President Barack Obama himself authorized the mission two days earlier, and minutes after he gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe.

Commentary: Did international law motivate the “capture-if-feasible” element of the Awlaki legal opinion?

01/23/12: Opinio Juris features a piece by John C. Dehn concerning Newsweek’s report that the Obama administration is finally going to reveal a bit more about its legal authority to target and kill US citizens (in armed conflict or national self-defense) without a prior judicial adjudication. After a prolonged internal debate, reportedly pitting the State and Defense Departments’ head lawyers against others on the President’s national security team, the Attorney General may soon provide details in a public statement. The time and place of that statement is still unclear or undetermined.

Pakistan rejects US self-defense claim on strikes

01/23/12: The Washington Times reports that Pakistan's army on Monday formally rejected a US claim that American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops last year were justified as self-defense, a stance that could complicate efforts to repair the troubled but vital relationship between the two countries. In a detailed report, the army said that Pakistani troops did not trigger the November 26 incident at two posts along the Afghan border by firing at American and Afghan forces, as the US has alleged. Pakistan's army said its troops shot at suspected militants who were nowhere near coalition troops.

Jewish paper's column catches Secret Service's eye

01/23/12: CNN reports that the US Secret Service is looking into a controversial column by an Atlanta Jewish newspaper publisher that mulled the assassination of an American president. Andrew Adler, owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, wrote a January 13 column about the threat of Iran to Israel. He posed three options for the Jewish state to counter the Iranian regime. One of them called for a "hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence."

Police chiefs to discuss terrorism at White House

01/18/12: The Seattle Times reports that the Obama administration is providing senior state and local police officials with its analysis of homegrown terrorism incidents, including common signs law enforcement can use to identify violent extremists. The warning signs identified for police include someone joining a group advocating violence, receiving support from a network that plans attacks or seeking out charismatic leaders who encourage violence. The analysis was conducted by the Homeland Security Department, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center. An overview of the findings was shared with The Associated Press.

Obama attempts to outflank Congress in creating new defense strategy

01/08/12: The Washington Post reports that as President Obama stood on the podium in the Pentagon briefing room Thursday to outline the nation’s defense priorities, the military stood with him. Their primary audience was a few miles across the Potomac River — in Congress. By enlisting the military’s help in defining its strategic priorities, Obama has sought to ensure that he has the military’s support when his defense budget goes before Congress, including the committees led by some of his toughest Republican critics. Military leaders, in turn, now have reason to believe that Obama will not agree to more cuts.

Obama follows in Rumsfeld's footprints

01/07/12: The Hill reports that an unexpected name started popping up after President Barack Obama laid out his new defense strategy: Donald Rumsfeld. Obama and Pentagon leaders used words like “leaner” and “agile” Thursday in describing the kind of military they intend to build. When George W. Bush appointed Rumsfeld to be defense secretary after the 2000 election, the two-time Pentagon chief set about his so-called “transformation agenda.” Rumsfeld, too, wanted a leaner, meaner military able to adapt quickly to various situations and deploy quickly. But the agenda was derailed by the 9/11 attacks and the two land wars that followed.

Obama signs new sanctions against Belarus into law

01/05/12: JURIST reports that US President Barack Obama signed the Belarus Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2011, which will impose new sanctions on Belarus. The law labels President Alexander Lukashenko a dictator and states that he "established himself in power by orchestrating an illegal and unconstitutional referendum that enabled him to impose a new constitution, abolishing the duly elected parliament." The new sanctions require the US to investigate Belarus' arms deals and its possible censorship of the Internet, as well as denying visas to a list of Belarusian officials.

Obama announces new defense strategy

01/05/12: The Financial Times reports that President Barack Obama has unveiled plans for a “smaller and leaner” military focused on potential threats from China and Iran, with a reduced presence in Europe. On a rare visit to the Pentagon, Mr Obama said the US needed to rethink its military strategy, placing a greater emphasis on naval and air power while reducing the size of the army, because of both the fiscal crisis and the drawdown of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. “We are now turning the page on a decade of war,” he said. “We have to renew our economic strength here at home, which is the foundation of our strength in the world.”

US adds Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions to list of terror groups

01/05/12: The Long War Journal reports that today under Executive Order 13224, the US State Department added al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions (AQKB) to the list of specially designated global terrorist entities. The designation allows the US to freeze any assets owned by AQKB and prohibits others from engaging in financial transactions with the terror group. Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions was "established in 2007 from the remnants of other Kurdish terrorist organizations," and "has sworn allegiance publicly to other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq," according to the State Department's press release.

Defense Secretary Panetta faces tough choices on national security in 2012

01/03/12: The Washington Post reports that when it comes to national security issues in 2012, the person who faces the toughest choices is Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta. Look at what’s on his plate: the Pentagon’s budget crunch, the war in Afghanistan, the postwar period in Iraq, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israeli issues, US-Pakistan relations, China’s growing military and the biggest challenge of all — Congress. Hovering over him like a cloud is the presidential campaign. While the economy will be central to the campaign debate, defense policies and spending will be a close second.

Commentary: End is nigh for Russia’s ‘reset’ with US

01/02/12: The Financial Times reports that almost as soon as Russia and the US declared a “reset” in their relations in 2009, there were warnings that the thaw was already over. This time, however, it seems the end really is nigh. With the almost assured return of Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency in March elections, and the outbreak of street protests against election fraud in Moscow and other Russian cities in December, US politicians are distancing themselves from the soft line on Russia peddled by the White House for two and a half years.

Somalis scramble for way to send relatives money

12/31/11: ABC News reports that Somalis caught off guard when more than a dozen Minnesota businesses stopped accepting wire transfers said Friday they were scrambling to find a way to get money to relatives in East Africa and options mentioned by the US Treasury weren't realistic. Somalis in the US use the businesses, known as hawalas, to send money to relatives in the famine-stricken nation and nearby refugee camps because Somalia hasn't had a functioning government since 1991 and has no banking system.

US, Saudi Arabia strike $30 billion arms deal

12/29/11: The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration on Thursday announced an arms deal with Saudi Arabia valued at nearly $30 billion, an agreement that will send 84 F-15 fighter jets and assorted weaponry to the kingdom. The administration notified Congress last year of its intent to sell the advanced jets to Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East and a strategic bulwark against Iran. The final agreement — which also includes the modernization of 70 existing aircraft as well as munitions, spare parts, training and maintenance — comes at a time of increased tensions in the Persian Gulf.

Obama signs NDAA and issues signing statement

12/24/11: The New York Times reports that President Obama signed the defense authorization bill on Friday.  When doing so, he also issued a signing statement claiming a right to bypass dozens of provisions that placed requirements or restrictions on the executive branch, saying he had “well-founded constitutional objections” to the new statutes. Among them, he singled out two sections barring the use of money to transfer prisoners from the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States and limiting the ability of the government to transfer them to the custody or control of foreign countries.

Commentary: British Court of Appeal decision implicitly repudiates Goldsmith memo

12/20/11: Opinio Juris features commentary by Kevin Jon Heller concerning the Court of Appeal judgment ordering the UK government to seek the release of Yunus Rahmatullah, an alleged member of Lashkar-e-Taiba who has been detained at Bagram since 2004, from US custody.  What is particularly interesting about the decision is that it directly — though implicitly — rejects a little-known memo written by Jack Goldsmith while he was at the Office of Legal Counsel, in which he argued that “operatives of international terrorist organizations” were not “protected persons” for purposes of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which provides that “[i]ndividual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of motive.”

Secrecy defines Obama’s drone war

12/20/11: The Washington Post reports that since September, at least 60 people have died in 14 reported CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal regions. The Obama administration has named only one of the dead, hailing the elimination of Janbaz Zadran, a top official in the Haqqani insurgent network, as a counterterrorism victory. The identities of the rest remain classified, as does the existence of the drone program itself. Because the names of the dead and the threat they were believed to pose are secret, it is impossible for anyone without access to US intelligence to assess whether the deaths were justified.

Iraq shaped Obama administration’s foreign policy

12/18/11: The New York Times reports that President Obama has made good on his campaign pledge to end the Iraq war, portraying the departure of the last troops as a chance to turn to nation-building at home. But from Afghanistan to the Arab Spring, from China to counterterrorism, the lessons of that war still hang over the administration’s foreign policy — shaping, and sometimes limiting, how the president projects American power in the world. The war that Mr. Obama never wanted to fight has weighed on internal debates, dictated priorities and often narrowed options for the United States, according to current and former administration officials.

US hands over alleged terrorist Daqduq to Iraq

12/17/11: Politico reports that The US handed over to the Iraqi government on Friday a Lebanese man accused of killing American soldiers in Iraq, Ali Musa Daqduq. The move by President Barack Obama helps ease the US effort to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year, but the decision to turn Daqduq immediately drew harsh criticism from lawmakers who want the alleged Hezbollah operative to stand trial before a military commission. A White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said President Barack Obama agreed that Daqduq should be tried by a military tribunal.

FBI contacted phone monitoring firm about software

12/16/11: The Houston Chronicle reports that a senior executive at a technology company that makes monitoring software secretly installed on 141 million cellphones said Thursday that the FBI approached the company about using its technology but was rebuffed. The disclosure came one day after FBI Director Robert Mueller assured Congress that agents "neither sought nor obtained any information" from the company, Carrier IQ. The company's statement will likely inflame suspicion about the monitoring tool and its usefulness to the US government.

US war in Iraq declared officially over

12/15/11: The New York Times reports that the United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as violence continues to plague the country and the Muslim world remains distrustful of American power.  Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta thanked the more than one million American service members who have served in Iraq for “the remarkable progress” made over the past nine years but acknowledged the severe challenges that face the struggling democracy.

Obama administration to reduce the number of National Guard troops deployed to Mexican border

12/14/11: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Obama administration is planning to reduce the number of National Guard troops deployed at the US border with Mexico, the spokesman for a Texas congressman said Tuesday. The force will be reduced from 1,200 troops starting next year, said Mike Rosen, spokesman for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The exact number of National Guard personnel that will stay on the border is unclear, Rosen said. The remaining troops are expected to be in place until the end of 2012 and will focus on intelligence operations, Rosen said.

Beirut bank seen as a hub of Hezbollah’s financing

12/14/11: The New York Times reports that last February, the Obama administration accused one of Lebanon’s famously secretive banks of laundering money for an international cocaine ring with ties to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Now, in the wake of the bank’s exposure and arranged sale, its ledgers have been opened to reveal deeper secrets: a glimpse at the clandestine methods that Hezbollah — a terrorist organization in American eyes that has evolved into Lebanon’s pre-eminent military and political power — uses to finance its operations.

Panetta in Kabul to review progress in Afghan war as relations with Pakistan hit new lows

12/13/11: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Afghanistan Tuesday to meet with commanders, as the US grapples with an eroding relationship with Pakistan that has complicated supply routes and helped fuel insurgents in the east. While he was upbeat about security progress in Afghanistan, Panetta was also likely to hear some somber news from commanders as they wrestle with the withdrawal of 23,000 more troops in the coming year, the transition of security to Afghan forces and the near collapse of coordination with Islamabad along critical portions of the border.

As last US troops leave Iraq, Obama and al-Maliki chart next steps in relationship

12/12/11: The Washington Post reports that with the US troop withdrawal from Iraq in its final days, President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet at the White House Monday to discuss the next phase of the relationship between their countries. While Obama and al-Maliki have pledged to maintain strong ties, the contours of the partnership between Washington and Baghdad remain murky, especially with Iran eager to assert influence over neighboring Iraq. And serious questions remain about Iraq’s capacity to stabilize both its politics and security. Iraqi leaders have said they want US military training help for their security forces but have been unable to agree on what type of help they’d like or what protections they would be willing to give American trainers.

US ambassador asserts Afghan attacks will not spur sectarian violence

12/11/11: The Voice of America reports that US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said Saturday it was unlikely that this week's deadly attacks on Shi'ites in Afghanistan would spark a cycle of sectarian violence in the country. The veteran diplomat said that, based on the reaction of the Shi'ite leaders who have called for calm, he did not see the attacks turning into a sectarian conflict. Two blasts, one in Kabul and another in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killed at least 59 people Tuesday on Ashura, the holiest day of the Shi'ite Muslim calendar.

White House outlines plan against ‘homegrown’ extremist threats

12/09/11: The Voice of America reports that the Obama administration has released an implementation plan for intensified efforts to counter so-called "homegrown" violent extremism in the United States. The 20-page report is called the Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.  It describes specific steps to strengthen and expand cooperation with officials in communities across the country that might be targeted by violent extremists. President Barack Obama signed off on the overall national strategy to fight violent extremism last August.

Government to overhaul anti-terror training by spring

12/09/11: Wired.com reports that by the spring, the entire federal government will have new standards for counterterrorism training, the result of a White House push to scrap instructions that called mainstream Muslims violent and likened Islam to the Death Star. A White House plan for counteracting homegrown terrorism released on Thursday said the new training will purge “offensive and inaccurate information” and disseminate new standards for training down to local law enforcement and even community groups. The White House has tasked the Department of Homeland Security to provide a curriculum for what it calls “Countering Violent Extremism,” or CVE, “to be integrated into existing training programs for Federal law enforcement.”

To State Department, WikiLeaks or not, secrets are secrets

12/08/11: The New York Times reports that the quarter-million confidential State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks last year have been public on the Web for months. But don’t tell the government. It is pretending otherwise. Asked in April by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act for copies of 23 cables on Guantánamo, rendition and other matters, the State Department responded as if the confidential documents were still confidential.

Department of Justice’s updated FOIA policy emphasizes customer service

12/08/11: Federal News Radio reports that the Department of Justice is putting greater emphasis on customer service in its updated policy for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Most requests at DoJ are referred to another agency, based on where the documents originate. The updated FOIA policy states the department must advise the FOIA requester that their request has been referred and provide the name of the agency to the requester with that agency's FOIA contact.

US to slap new sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry

11/21/11: CNN reports that the Obama administration plans to impose fresh sanctions against Iran on Monday. US sanctions already prohibit American companies from doing business with Iran. The goal of the new measures is to bar foreign companies from doing business with Iran's petrochemical industry by threatening to ban them from US markets, sources said.

Obama gets little pushback on Asia trip

11/19/11: The Albany Democrat Herald reports that an assertive President Barack Obama got much of what he wanted during his Asia-Pacific trip because the results didn't depend on negotiating with the world. He mostly just announced them. Obama expanded the US military presence in southeast Asia, sent tough signals to China in its backyard, ordered his top diplomat on a breakthrough mission to Myanmar and presided over the jobs-creating sale of Boeing planes to an Indonesian airline company.