A Washington Post article suggests that enhanced interrogation techniques caused 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed to divulge useful information regarding al-Qaeda. However, Mohammed claims the information he provided was false, and groups such as Amnesty International continue to denounce the interrogation techniques regardless of their outcome.
The New York Times ran an op-ed assailing Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to re-investigate claims that CIA officials illegally tortured terrorism suspects. At issue here is the fairness of re-investigating officials who have already been cleared by a Bush administration investigation even though no new evidence came to light.
Not only does the potential now exist that testimony and evidence from internal CIA disciplinary procedures can be used in the new criminal investigation (if the accused officials had known this information could be used against them in court, they could have plead the fifth), but this investigation will also create a chilling effect on CIA attempts to prevent terrorist attacks.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the United Arab Emirates seized North Korean weapons bound for Iran last month. The weapons include “detonators and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenade launchers,” and ship crew members appear to have concealed the weapons by labeling them “oil-boring machines” on the ship’s manifest. Because the ship was Australian and the shipping company was Italian, the UN Security Council noted that multiple countries will investigate the incident, which is now illegal under new UN sanctions imposed against North Korea in May for testing a nuclear device.
This is not related to my usual posts on foreign dictatorial regimes, but FOXNEWS.COM has developed a succinct H1N1 flu survival guide. Americans are right to be concerned about the spread of H1N1, but it appears authorities are working to prepare for any potential outbreak. A vaccine is currently being developed, and people are strongly encouraged to wash their hands and be as sanitary as possible.
National Review Online’s Mona Charen discusses Obama’s failed foreign policy initiatives in Latin America. She specifically focuses on Obama’s quick denunciation of the Honduran “coup” while leaving Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez free of criticism despite his antidemocratic agenda.
This is a quick read, but it encompasses not only the threats to democracy that Latin America faces on multiple fronts, but also Obama’s blind eye to them.
Scotland’s government defended the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a Libyan terrorist convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing that killed 270 people. The statement comes after FBI Director Robert Mueller denounced the release as an insult to the American victims and a comfort to terrorists worldwide. Scotland countered by insisting that public support for al-Megrahi’s release on compassionate grounds warranted such a move. Al-Megrahi is now in his native Libya to live out the last few months of his life ( Scotland released him due to a terminal illness).
Meanwhile, President Obama referred to the move as “highly objectionable.” Surely releasing a mass murderer after serving less than a decade in prison is more than “highly objectionable.”
It is unfortunate when labor unions and industrial sector lobbies threaten our national security. Richard Holbroke, the Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was touting a trade bill, currently in Congress, that would allow federally administered tribal areas (FATA) preferential access to U.S. markets. This would be momentous as the United States needs all the support it can get in Pakistan given their particular dislike for Americans.
However, domestic lobby’s hold on Congress will make the bill, if even passed, virtually meaningless as it would remove cotton tops and pants (as a concession to the faltering textile industry) from the list of products allowed in U.S. duty free.
Here is the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/world/asia/20holbrooke.html?_r=1&hpw
The Korean Central News Agency’s history lesson of the day: Japanese robbing Korean tombs 100 years ago.
“Hirobumi Ito, the Japanese imperialists’ first “resident-general” in Korea, issued a directive to rob royal mausoleums without discrimination by mobilizing gendarmes, policemen and hooligans of all sorts under the pretext of “survey”, “collection” and “preservation” of the Korean cultural relics.”
“The Japanese imperialists’ crimes of destroying and plundering cultural assets of Korea must be redeemed.”
Perhaps the author should have placed this piece in the KCNA’s “opinion” section.
The New York Times ran an interesting article about South Korean fishermen who were captured by North Korea in an attempt to convince them to defect to the communist country. While some fishermen ultimately stayed in North Korea, those who returned to the South were frequently interrogated, arrested, tortured, and sent to prison for bogus charges such as espionage.
While this commission suggests that South Korea is coming to terms with its past human rights abuses related to the South/North tensions, North Korea still shows no signs of becoming any less totalitarian than it was under founder Kim Il-Sung. While such information would be difficult to obtain, I wonder how North Korea is spinning the commission’s existence. The Korean Central News Agency is not much help, but it does cite an unrelated report calling the South “fascist dictatorial rule.”
Interesting article by the WSJ regarding the resurgence of the Taliban. According to General Stanley McChrystal, Taliban forces are moving from their traditional strongholds into the northern and western parts of the country previously deemed safe.
The enemy is effectively using a combination of roadside bombs and guerrilla attacks with small teams. This strategy has weakened the American and allied resolve and led to the highest number of casualties in past two years for the month of July. General McChrystal already has a pending request for 10,000 troops and he may ask for more if the security situation continues to deteriorate.
The question now before President Obama: if the current trend sustain, will the President augment American presence or will he pull out?
National Security News
