BattlelandLeon Panetta
The Wall Street Journal today has a detailed piece on the planning of the raid to kill or capture Osama bin Laden.
Perhaps more importantly, the article uses the planning process as a vehicle to explore the increasingly close relationship between the CIA and the Pentagon’s secretive Joint Special Operations Command, a …
BattlelandNational Security
It’s long been predicted that if Sudan were to degenerate into another bloody civil war it would begin with the hotly contested, oil-rich town of Abeyi, which straddles the border between norther and southern Sudan. Southern Sudan voted for independence from the North early this year, a split that is supposed to take place next month. …
BattlelandNational Security
Six GOP senators have written President Obama asking if he “intends to comply” with the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which requires the withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat operations within 60 days if Congress has not approved a fight. The war in Libya hits the 60-day mark today.
The letter was signed by Sens. Rand Paul, John Cornyn, …
BattlelandMiddle East
It is no surprise that both President Bush and now President Obama support the spread of democracy in the Middle East. Still, some sections of Obama’s Middle East speech yesterday and President Bush’s second inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2005 are striking.
Here is President Bush:
BattlelandNational Security
The Washington Post argues in an editorial this morning that the White House should follow the law. Specifically, today marks the 60th day of war with Libya. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, Obama must begin withdrawing from combat operations today or obtain congressional approval for further military operations.
As I noted …
BattlelandNational Security
President Obama Wednesday signed off on new sanctions against Syrian leaders including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the first time the White House has taken any substantive action against Assad himself, though his forces have likely killed at least 1,000 pro-democracy demonstrators. The new sanction come two days after the …
BattlelandLibya
President Obama on March 21 formally alerted Congress about the U.S. military engagement in Libya. Unless they were living under a rock, every member of Congress was well aware by that time of the air attacks against Libya’s Col. Moammar Gadhafi, which had been underway for two days by that date. But by law, Obama had to alert Congress …
BattlelandTerrorism
CNN is reporting that the interim leader of Al-Qaeda is Egyptian-born Saif al-Adel. The FBI says Adel is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. He is also worth $5 million bucks to you if you know where he is hiding.
BattlelandNational Security
This is one of several videos appearing on YouTube of atrocities in Syria. This one is allegedly a mass grave full of victims of government violence, which has reportedly resulted in 1,000 civilian deaths. Reports say the grave was near the southern Syrian city of Deraa and contained at least 13 bodies which were were discovered on …
BattlelandLibya
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo yesterday asked that court judges issue arrest warrants for Col. Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, and the head of intelligence, Abdullah Al Sanousi, for crimes against humanity committed against Libyan citizens since February.
Here are some scary excerpts from …
BattlelandNational Security
Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, who is traveling in Pakistan, says the Pakistanis will return the tail section of the secret stealth helicopter that Navy SEAL Team Six left in Osama bin Laden’s yard.
BattlelandTerrorism
The Obama administration has quietly deployed a small group of specialized intelligence officials to assist in the interrogation of terror suspects captured at home and abroad. The so-called High Value Interrogation Group, housed at the FBI and reporting to the National Security Council, has been repeatedly dispatched to assist in the …
BattlelandNational Security
The Army on Friday reported a sharp spike in suicides during April among active-duty troops. The Army says the deaths of 16 active-duty soldiers during April are being investigated as possible suicides. That number was seven in March and eight in February.
The Army release did not include any possible explanation for the scary …
