James Clapper warns of sequester’s impact on spy agencies
With a March 1 deadline for sequestration legislation approaching, it’s the season for scare talk about the effects of budget cuts. But even discounting for this, the warning Thursday from Director of...
View ArticleHow do we keep from torturing again?
As Andrew Sullivan says: “Yes, of course it was torture.” That’s the conclusion of a new, bipartisan commission report (full report here) on U.S. detention policies and practices in the aftermath of...
View ArticleThe Insiders: Susan Rice’s payday
The Susan Rice appointment, taken alongside other recent White House maneuvers, outbursts and clumsy antics, shows that President Obama is more interested in showcasing his grievances than he is in...
View ArticleThe Insiders: Republicans need clear response to NSA programs
Based on what we have learned in the last week, I think it is safe to assume that even as I type these words they are flashing up in real time on some federal bureaucrat’s computer screen, deep in a …...
View ArticleEdward Snowden isn’t exactly a hero
A sidewalk encounter with a friend drove home my conflicted feelings about Edward Snowden. The national-security leaker was surely a “narcissist,” he said, but Snowden was definitely “a hero.” And the...
View ArticleSnowden failed to follow Ellsberg’s example
Enough with the breathless comparisons. Edward Snowden is no Daniel Ellsberg. I know the latter has heaped praise on the former. But the high-mindedness of our present-day national-security leaker is...
View ArticleFBI leak arrest exposes GOP bunk
Everyone was so certain, and they were certain who was responsible for it. Let me be more specific. A cadre of boisterous Republicans were convinced last year that, to boost his reelection prospects,...
View ArticleThe Insiders: The joke of Obamacare data security
Past is prologue. And in case you need a refresher, these are just some of the headlines we’ve seen recently: “IRS Screw-Up Leaks Thousands of Social Security Numbers.” “Obamacare exchange leaks data...
View ArticleThe Insiders: Feinstein and Rogers say the U.S. is less safe. Why isn’t...
In case you missed it, there was an important bipartisan declaration over the weekend. On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), and...
View ArticleThe Insiders: The politics of the president’s new NSA policies
Did the president do himself and the Democrats any good today in his speech on his new National Security Agency policies? National security issues generally don’t drive votes at the ballot box, but...
View ArticleThe Insiders: It’s still about the economy
During President Obama’s televised weekly address on Saturday, he doubled down on the rhetoric from his speech on the Islamic State last week. The post-speech analysis is in, and the general reaction...
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Transparency goes on holiday in Afghanistan
“U.S. suddenly goes quiet on effort to bolster Afghan forces” was the headline in the New York Times that caught my attention. How, pray tell, does a nation go quiet on a $65 billion endeavor? It...
View ArticleThe Insiders: Rand Paul’s Patriot Act gamble — gadfly or leader?
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has forced the expiration of key provisions of the USA Patriot Act. In doing so, he unleashed criticism from his Senate colleagues and a consensus of national security experts,...
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The Insiders: Why not a new White House national security czar?
Incredibly, less than 24 hours before Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, President Obama said he didn’t think the Islamic State was “gaining strength,” adding that, “What is true is that from the...
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What we can learn from the Mormons; and what Obama’s trip to Cuba reveals
What is it that Mormons understand about Donald Trump that so many others don’t appear to get? I’m no Frank Luntz, but it seems the Utah caucus results serve as something of a good focus group for the...
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It’s important the president says ‘radical Islam.’ Here’s why.
Tuesday, in a remarkable display of arrogance and tone-deaf rhetoric, President Obama, in an angry rant about why he doesn’t use the phrase “radical Islam,” asked the question, “What exactly would...
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Trump called Russia’s nukes ‘tippy-top.’ Here’s why it matters.
In an era in which campaign rhetoric can become government policy, it’s worth considering something Donald Trump said the other day at a campaign event. Specifically, he talked about the relative...
View ArticleTrump and Putin as partners: The surreal prospects
Donald Trump has asked a foreign power, in this case Russia, to help him out by hacking his opponent’s emails in order to discredit her and help his campaign. As I have said before, should Donald Trump...
View ArticleTrump needs to take ‘The Letter From 50′ to heart
Fifty of the best and brightest in the GOP have come together and declared the Trump candidacy to be a clear and present danger. In a remarkable letter, 50 of the United States’ most well-known...
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Free advice for the Trump campaign
Donald Trump gave a mostly credible speech Monday on his anti-terrorism plan. What should he do next? Honestly, he should be quiet — like, go-on-vacation, turn-off-the-phone quiet. Setting aside...
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