Tag Archives: foreign

The Entire World Is Adapting to Having an Idiot in the White House

by NoreenChapa Posted on May 15, 2017

Mother Jones

Over at the Washington Post, Greg Miller and Greg Jaffe report that President Trump is an idiot:

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said that Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State….The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said that Trump’s decision to do so risks cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State.

….“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

Meanwhile, over at Foreign Policy, Robbie Gramer reports that our allies think Trump is an idiot too:

NATO is scrambling to tailor its upcoming meeting to avoid taxing President Donald Trump’s notoriously short attention span. The alliance is telling heads of state to limit talks to two to four minutes at a time during the discussion, several sources inside NATO and former senior U.S. officials tell Foreign Policy. And the alliance scrapped plans to publish the traditional full post-meeting statement meant to crystallize NATO’s latest strategic stance.

….“It’s kind of ridiculous how they are preparing to deal with Trump,” said one source briefed extensively on the meeting’s preparations. “It’s like they’re preparing to deal with a child — someone with a short attention span and mood who has no knowledge of NATO, no interest in in-depth policy issues, nothing,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They’re freaking out.”

The Republican Party has a lot to answer for. When that day comes, it’s going to come hard.

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The Entire World Is Adapting to Having an Idiot in the White House

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This Is What Osama bin Laden Liked to Read

by ArlethaUmberger Posted on May 20, 2015

Mother Jones

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Today, the Director of National Intelligence released a bunch of the documents US forces recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound during the raid in Abbottabad. The inventory of the declassified materials provides a glimpse into what were OBL’s reading habits. Were there novels of Nick Hornby and Ian McEwan? Maybe a dog-eared copy of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History? Or a marked up first edition of Julia Phillip’s infamous Hollywood tell-all You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again?

No, you will be unsurprised to learn, there were not.

SPOILER ALERT: Bin Laden liked to read things about al-Qaeda. Things with such sexy sundry titles as “Prospects for al-Qaeda” and “Al-Qaeda and the Internet: The Dangers of ‘Cyberplanning’.”

Two fun ones though: Popular Science‘s “Best Innovations of the Year” and an article in TIME about AOL’s troubles, both of which sort of seem like the reading materials one might find in the waiting room to hell.

In the section titled “Documents probably used by other compound residents” we find some of the bin Laden children’s periodicals: art stuff, Guinness Book of World Records, video game instruction manuals, a sports nutrition guide, and a suicide prevention manual entitled “Is It the Heart You Are Asking? by Dr. Islam Sobhi al-Mazeny.

Pretty bleak!

Here’s the full list of “media articles” from Bin Laden’s bookshelf, courtesy of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. You should probably commit the names of some of them to memory so you’ll have something interesting to talk about at parties.

Business Week (19 Feb 2007 issue)

Doctrine: Journal of General Military Review, Issue 3

Foreign Policy in Focus, “Prospects for al-Qaeda” (24 Jan 2003)

Foreign Policy (Jan-Feb 2008)

Foreign Policy (March-Apr 2008)

Foreign Policy (May-June 2008)

Foreign Policy (Nov-Dec 2008)

Foreign Policy (Sept-Oct 2008)

Heft, “The Taliban, al-Qaeda, and the Determination of Illegal Combatants,” Issue 4 (2002)

“The Impact of the War in Iraq on Islamist Groups and the Culture of Global Jihad,” by Reuven Paz, Project for the Research of Islamist Movements (2004)

International News, “Governments’ Successful Measures against Terrorism” (21 Aug 2009)

Journal of International Security Affairs, “Future Terrorism, Mutant Jihads” by Walid Phares

Los Angeles Times, “Is al-Qaeda Just Bush’s Boogeyman? (11 Jan 2005)

Middle East Policy, “Terrorist Recruitment and Radicalization in Saudi Arabia” (Winter 2006)

Military Review, “Changing the Army for Counterinsurgency Operations” (Nov-Dec 2005)

Newsweek, part of an article on an attack within Israel

Newsweek, part of an article on President Bush’s business practices prior to his terms as President

Newsweek, part of an article on hawks and doves on Iraq within the Bush Administration

Newsweek, quotes column (unknown issue, but apparently from the years of the Bush Administration)

Osprey corporate advertisement featuring U.S. military troops rappelling from a helicopter

Parameters, “Al-Qaeda and the Internet: The Dangers of ‘Cyberplanning’,” Timothy L. Thomas (Spring 2003)

Parameters, “The Origins of al-Qaeda’s Ideology and Implications for U.S. Strategy,” by Christopher Henzel (Spring 2005)

Popular Science, “Best Innovations of the Year Issue” (Dec 2010)

“Pushing the Prize Up , A Few Notes on Al-Qaeda’s Reward Structure and the Choice of Casualties,” by Raul Caruso and Andrea Locatelli

“Studi Politico-Strategici: An Introduction to Unconventional Warfare,” by Joseph Gagliano

Time, part of an article on a dive of America Online’s stock

Tulsa World article on criminal charges against David Coleman Headley

U.S. News and World Report (fragment, issue unknown)

Washington Quarterly, “Counterterrorism after al-Qaeda” by Paul Pillar (Summer 2004)

Washington Quarterly, “The Post-Madrid Face of al-Qaeda,” by Rohan Gunaratna (Summer 2004)

Washingtonian Magazine profile of John Esposito (Jan 2005)

“Documents probably used by other compound residents”:

Art Education: The Journal of National Art Education Association, “Islamic Art as an Educational Tool about the Teaching of Islam” by Fayeq S. Oweiss (March 2002)

Arabic Calligraphy Workshop by Fayeq S. Oweiss

Published Work Sample from Fayeq S. Oweiss (2004)

Resume for Fayeq S. Oweiss, Ph.D. (2006)

Delta Force Extreme 2 Videogame Guide

Game Spot Videogame Guide

Grappler’s Guide to Sports Nutrition by John Berardi and Michael Fry

Guinness Book of World Records Children’s Edition 2008 (scans of several pages from)

Is It the Heart You Are Asking? by Dr. Islam Sobhi al-Mazeny (suicide prevention guide)

Silkscreening Instructions

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This Is What Osama bin Laden Liked to Read

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Watch Siskel and Ebert Defend the Original Star Wars Films

by KennethDetwiler Posted on April 16, 2015

Mother Jones

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The latest trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakening was released Thursday. It is good. It is reallllllllllyyyyyy good. There may have been audible yelps of excitement in the Mother Jones office upon first, second, and third viewings.

There are people living and breathing in this world who are Star Wars haters. They dismiss Star Wars as drivel intended for children, meaningless entertainment that should be discarded in favor of Intellectual Foreign Language Films. These people are wrong, cold-hearted individuals who should be shunned from civil society. “But but but,” one might argue, “Episodes I, II, and III were utter garbage, truly horrible, horrible films.” This is true. Just erase them from your memory, as I have done. The original three films (Ewoks and all) are masterpieces that should be enjoyed by those of all ages.

Need further proof? Watch Ted Koppel interview Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in 1983. The pair eviscerate a snooty film critic who thinks the movies make children stupid.

You are missed, Siskel and Ebert. You are missed.

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Watch Siskel and Ebert Defend the Original Star Wars Films

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Unredacted Court Docs Reveal Yahoo’s Name and Other Top-Secret Stuff

by Jeff Howard Posted on September 12, 2014

Mother Jones

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Yahoo has just released 1,500 pages of previously classified documents relating to its legal challenge to the government’s warrantless wiretapping program. Yahoo lost the case in 2008 and was ordered to cooperate with National Security Agency or face a $250,000 fine for every day that it withheld its customers’ data. The ruling in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which was released to the public only in heavily redacted form, became a legal precedent for the warrantless wiretapping program that was later revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Today, based on a successful appeal by Yahoo, a slightly less redacted version of that court ruling finally became public.

Below, I’ve posted the more lightly redacted version released today as well as the redacted version of the ruling released in 2008. A side-by-side reading of the two documents may offer some insight into how the government has sought to cover up the true nature of its surveillance activities, or it might just be an example of how little has changed.

The new version of the ruling is notable for what it doesn’t disclose: Key evidence presented by the government. A block of text that had previously been removed from the ruling still does not fully explain why warrantless searches are necessary to thwart terrorists:

Scanning the 1,500 pages of newly unsealed documents will take a while. Here are few examples of new information contained in the partially unredacted ruling:

The name of the plaintiff (Yahoo) and its law firm
A footnote defining the term “surveillance” to mean “acquisitions of foreign intelligence information.” But part of the definition of the term still remains redacted.
The date when the government moved to force Yahoo to comply with the order (November 21, 2007)
A mention of “linking procedures” (defined as “procedures that link redacted targets.”) as a one of the safeguards against unreasonable searches

You can help us out by pointing out any other interesting tidbits in the comments; we’ll note additional highlights here if we find anything worth noting.

The slightly less redacted ruling released today:

DV.load(“//www.documentcloud.org/documents/1301184-11-yahoo702-fisc-merits-opinion-1.js”,
width: 630,
height: 800,
sidebar: false,
text: false,
pdf: false,
container: “#DV-viewer-1301184-11-yahoo702-fisc-merits-opinion-1”
);

The original redacted court ruling:

DV.load(“//www.documentcloud.org/documents/1300547-fiscr082208-2.js”,
width: 630,
height: 800,
sidebar: false,
text: false,
pdf: false,
container: “#DV-viewer-1300547-fiscr082208-2”
);

Jump to original:

Unredacted Court Docs Reveal Yahoo’s Name and Other Top-Secret Stuff

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Powerful Reporting From Steven Sotloff, the Journalist ISIS Claims to Have Executed

by ErnestoCTL Posted on September 2, 2014

Mother Jones

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Steven Sotloff (center with black helmet) talks to Libyan rebels on the Al Dafniya front line near in Misrata, Libya in 2011.

A video released today appeared to confirm the worst fears for the fate of captured American journalist Steven Sotloff: a beheading at the hands of Islamic State extremists. The video’s authenticity has not yet been confirmed by US officials, but the New York Times reports that Sotloff’s family believes he has been killed. If so, that means the 31-year-old Sotloff—who went missing a year ago while reporting in Syria—becomes the second American journalist executed by the Islamic State.

Last month, a video surfaced showing ISIS fighters executing American journalist James Foley. Many on the Internet seethed that the gruesome circumstances of his death appeared to overshadow his important work. The same shouldn’t happen to Sotloff. Ignore the sensational headlines and instead explore some of the brave, intelligent journalism he devoted his life to producing:

“Syrian Purgatory”: In this 2013 piece for Foreign Policy, Sotloff traveled to a Syrian refugee camp to report on the hundreds of thousands displaced by the civil war there. His chilling opening sets the tone for a story about the plight of refugees and the pitfalls of humanitarian aid: “It was less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the winter wind cut to the bone. When I asked why she didn’t have a blanket like everyone else at the Atmeh refugee camp, Um Ibrahim shrugged and looked down. ‘I sold it to buy bread for my children.'”

“From Bread Lines to Front Lines:” Again in Foreign Policy, Sotloff went to Aleppo—one of the most devastated cities in Syria—to show how traumatic the daily lives of ordinary Syrians had become by late 2012. “The 21-month long Syrian revolution is taking its toll on residents of the country’s largest city,” he wrote. “With everything from medicine to firewood in scarce supply, and with winter bringing temperatures down to near freezing, people here are struggling to cope with a war they just hope will end.”

“The Other 9/11: Libyan Guards Recount What Happened in Benghazi:” For this TIME article, Sotloff—who covered Libya extensively for the magazine—interviewed Libyan security guards present when the US consulate in Benghazi was attacked. The result is a vivid, meticulous timeline of the events of September 11, 2012. One example: “Abdullah ran towards the cantina east of C villa where a grenade exploded nearby. ‘I remember the shrapnel that landed in my leg was very hot and I was shaken, a bit dizzy,’ he recalled. A group of attackers then passed him on the way to encircling the cantina. They shot him twice in the leg. Others beat him so hard he lost consciousness.”

“Libya’s New Crisis: A Wave of Assassinations Targeting Its Top Cops:” Here, Sotloff reported on the deadly aftershocks of the Benghazi attacks. In explaining the rash of killings of major Libyan security officials, Sotloff paints a compelling picture of the deterioration of post-Qaddafi Libya. “But the biggest loser today is a Libyan state stumbling from one crisis to the next,” he writes. “The government has not investigated the bombings and no one has been prosecuted.”

“The Alawite Towns That Support Syria’s Assad—in Turkey:” TIME featured some of Sotloff’s early reporting on the war in Syria. In 2012, he traveled to Turkey to report on Turkish Alawites’ support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In doing so, he put himself in the thick of anti-American protests. “When an American journalist stops to ask about the group’s activities, though, a burly man in his 30s hisses him away, shouting, “America is funding terrorists in Syria!'”

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Powerful Reporting From Steven Sotloff, the Journalist ISIS Claims to Have Executed

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About Those New DOJ Guideline on Reporters’ Records: There’s Less Here Than Meets the Eye

by sepjod5 Posted on February 24, 2014

Mother Jones

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On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a new set of guidelines designed to make it harder for law enforcement officials to seize the records of journalists:

Among other things, the rules create a presumption that prosecutors generally will provide advance notice to the news media when seeking to obtain their communications records….The rules also address a law forbidding search warrants for journalists’ work materials, except when the reporter is a criminal suspect. It says that the exception cannot be invoked for conduct based on “ordinary news-gathering activities.”

….The rules cover grand jury subpoenas used in criminal investigations. They exempt wiretap and search warrants obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and “national security letters,” a kind of administrative subpoena used to obtain records about communications in terrorism and counterespionage investigations.

But Marcy Wheeler points out that most of the DOJ leak investigations that prompted media outrage last year and led to these new rules are, in fact, related to national security. And NSLs have the least oversight of any form of subpoena: they can be issued by just about anyone, and require no approval from a court.

Does this mean, as Wheeler pungently puts it, that these new guidelines are “worth approximately shit” in any leak investigation that’s actually likely to take place? I’m not sure about that. You can’t get a wiretap with an NSL, for example. Still, it certainly seems to be a Mack-truck-sized loophole in these new rules. There’s less here than meets the eye.

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About Those New DOJ Guideline on Reporters’ Records: There’s Less Here Than Meets the Eye

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People With Cushy Jobs Don’t Care Much About People Who Don’t Have Cushy Jobs

by qdyedut Posted on December 4, 2013

Mother Jones

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Dan Drezner points out today that in the latest poll from the Council on Foreign Relations, the opinions of foreign policy elites have converged quite a bit with the opinions of the general public. But among the top five items in the poll, there’s still one big difference that sticks out like a fire alarm: ordinary people care about American jobs and elites don’t. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

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People With Cushy Jobs Don’t Care Much About People Who Don’t Have Cushy Jobs

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