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Obama National Security

Patriot Act: Congress Shouldn't Rush to Judgment (Again)

Sen. Ron Wyden | Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Patriot Act, Ron Wyden, Bush Administration Torture, Obama National Security, National Security, Dick Cheney, Politics News
Sen. Ron Wyden

Striking a balance between protecting Americans' security and protecting American rights and freedoms is not always easy, but members of Congress have an obligation to try -- as well as a new opportunity.

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Obama Executive Power Claims Put Him In Danger Of Covering Up Bush Abuses: NYT

New York Times | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Bush Cover Up, Obama Cover Up, Obama National Security, Bush Cover Up, Obama Executive Power, Obama Bush Executive Power, Politics News

The Obama administration has clung for so long to the Bush administration's expansive claims of national security and executive power that it is in da...

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White House Looking To Adjust War Strategy To Focus On Al Qaeda In Pakistan

New York Times | Peter Baker and Erik Schmitt | Posted 10.07.2009 | World

Read More: Obama Administration, Al Qaeda, Afghanistan, Obama National Security, Pakistan, World News

President Obama's national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing ...

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Obama Administration May Issue Historic Order On Declassification Of National Security Records

Posted 09.29.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama National Security, National Security, Declassification, National Security Secrets, Politics News

In what would be a significant break with precedent, the Obama administration may be about to issue an order ruling that national security information...

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Obama To Set Higher Bar For Keeping State Secrets

washingtonpost.com | Carrie Johnson | Posted 09.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, State Secrets Privilege, National Security, State Secrets, Obama State Secrets, Department of Justice, Holder Bush State Secrets, Obama National Security, Justice Department, Eric Holder, Rendition, Bush State Secrets, Politics News

The Obama administration will announce a new policy Wednesday making it much more difficult for the government to claim that it is protecting state se...

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CQ Columnist: Obama Should Ditch Intelligence Advisory Board

CQ Politics | Jeff Stein | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama National Security, Obama Intelligence Advisory Board, White House Intelligence Advisory Board, Cia, National Security, Cia Controversy, Armed Services Committees, Leon Panetta, Politics News

Nine months into his administration, President Obama has yet to fill any of the 16 seats on the White House Intelligence Advisory Board -- as far as I...

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The Discreet Charms of CIA Morale

Frank Naif | Posted 09.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dusty Foggo, James Woolsey, Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, Cia, Blackwater, George Tenet, Obama National Security, Obama National Security Team, Leon Panetta, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Frank Naif

Before Eric Holder announced his preliminary probe, and even before Barack Obama promised an end to torture and detention, morale at CIA was sagging.

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Eight Weeks of America's War, Not Eight Years of "Obama's War"

Jonathan Morgenstein | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, Obama Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Afghanistan Surge, War in Afghanistan, Afghan War, President Obama, George W. Bush, 9/11, Admiral Mike Mullen, Obama, Taliban, Obama National Security, Obama's War, September 11, Obama's Vietnam, National Security, Bush Legacy, 9-11, President Bush, September 11th, Us Troops Afghanistan, Bush, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, Al Qaeda, Bush Administration, Al Qaida, Admiral Mullen Joint Chiefs, Taliban Afghanistan, Surge in Afghanistan, Afghan Taliban, Politics News
Jonathan Morgenstein

The Obama administration is trying to salvage the situation in Afghanistan after the Bush Administration lost the war over eight years.

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Hagel Joining Intelligence Oversight Board Neglected by Bush, Obama

Frank Naif | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: John Brennan, Obama National Security, Central Intelligence Agency, Chuck Hagel, Intelligence Oversight Board, National Security, Piab, Politics News
Frank Naif

Chuck Hagel, former Republican Senator from Nebraska, Vietnam veteran, and short-lister for various Obama national security cabinet posts, is soon to be named to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

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Bush National Security Leaders Silent While Junior Spies Could Face Torture Charges

Frank Naif | Posted 09.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Nadler Torture, Special Prosecutor, Torture Investigation, Jerrold Nadler, CIA Torture, John Yoo, Obama National Security, Eric Holder, Torture, George Bush, Politics News
Frank Naif

From the prosecution and investigatory perspective, torture prosecutions appear fraught from the beginning.

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California Dreaming: Driving on Sunshine

Kevin George | Posted 09.14.2009 | Green

Read More: Co2 Emissions, Obama Environment, Energy Grid, Tesla Roadster, Plug-in Cars, Solar Panels, Environmentalism, Sustainability, Electric Vehicles, Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, Solar Power, Climate Bill, Gas Prices, Tesla Motors, Chrysler, Toyota Sales, Gas/Electric Hybrid, Obama National Security, Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan, General Motors, National Security, Hyundai, Toyota Prius, Electric Cars, California-Electricity, Us-Electricity-Grid, Battery Life, Gasoline, Clean Coal, Coal Industry, Incentives, Chevy Volt Battery, Bmw, Battery-Powered Car, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Gas Guzzlers, Green News
Kevin George

Bottom line, if your enthusiastic about EVs, this may be your time to plug-in and get involved. Find out for yourself why there's electricity in the air around EVs.

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On Patriotism and Principle: An Open Letter to the President (aka "The GOP's Bridge to Anywhere But Here")

Cynthia Boaz | Posted 08.22.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Patriotism, Rush Limbaugh, Empowerment, Framing, Obama Press Conference, President Obama, Democracy, Obama National Security, Power, Barack Obama, World News, Dick Cheney, Foreign Policy, Torture-Apologist, Patriotism, National Security, Sarah Palin, People-Power, Glenn Beck, Global-Relations, Republican Party, Torture, Political Strategy, Republicans, Media, Gop, Politics News
Cynthia Boaz

Mr. President, talk to us directly. Tell us again why your election was only the first step, not the culmination, of a genuine movement to change the way we understand power, democracy, and our own roles in those phenomena.

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Obama Faces First National Security Failure as Sotomayor and Health Care Hang in the Balance

Kimberly Krautter | Posted 08.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court, Gop, Senator Jeff Sessions, President Barack Obama, Cyber Security, Judge-Sonia-Sotomayor, Democrat, Jeff Sessions, Congress, Obama-Political-Capital, Obama Healthcare Reform, Obama National Security, Republican, Healthcare Reform, National Security, Sonia Sotomayor, Political Capital, Orrin Hatch, Obama-Congress, Surgeon General, Senator Orrin Hatch, Politics News
Kimberly Krautter

Last week's sustained cyber-attacks on some of our country's most sensitive government networks exposed how a country that lives by the technology can also perish by the technology.

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Drones, Torture, Detention Show What US Intelligence Isn't Doing

Frank Naif | Posted 08.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: House Intelligence Committee, US Drone Missiles, Stephen Kappes, Central Intelligence Agency, Cia, Pakistan Drone Attacks, Gang of Eight, Congressional Oversight, Oversight, CIA Torture, Obama National Security, Drones, Obama Detention Policy, Torture, Politics News
Frank Naif

Repeating past glories and thinking inside the bureaucratic box explain how CIA chiefs chose to keep the focus on drones and detentions.

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Obama Going Ahead With Bush-Era Plan To Screen Computer Networks

Washington Post | Ellen Nakashima | Posted 08.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Administration Bush, Obama Nsa, Obama National Security, Obama Computer Networks, Obama Bush, Obama Nsa Screening, Obama Computer Monitoring, Politics News

The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on priv...

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Despite Reform Pledges, Panetta Enables CIA's Bad Old Habits

Frank Naif | Posted 07.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Cabinet, Dni, Cia, National Security, Congressional Oversight, Obama National Security Team, Obama National Security, Leon Panetta, Leon Panetta CIA, Extraordinary Rendition, Politics News
Frank Naif

The Obama team portrayed Leon Panetta as a no-nonsense Beltway veteran who would 'fix' the CIA. Over the past few weeks, however, he has emerged as an obstacle to real reform and accountability at the CIA.

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NSA Ill-Suited for Domestic Cybersecurity Role

Frank Naif | Posted 07.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Nsa, Warrantless Wiretapping, Private Contractors, National Security, Domestic Surveillance, Defense Contractors, Cybersecurity, National Security Agency, Obama National Security, NSA Wiretapping, James Bamford, Domestic Spying, Cyber Czar, Politics News
Frank Naif

Does the federal government need to be involved in coordinating private sector cybersecurity? Perhaps, but only in a coordinating role.

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Mitt Romney's First Campaign Speech Against Obama

Jacob Heilbrunn | Posted 07.02.2009 | Politics

Read More: Mitt Romney, Gop, Obama National Security, Mitt Romney Speech, Romney National Security, National Security, Politics News
Jacob Heilbrunn

Romney's cynical speech today showed the extent to which the GOP sees America as the righteous redeemer, one that only needs to increase defense spending in order to save the rest of the globe.

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Jason Linkins

Obama Vs. Cheney: How The Pundits Called The Fight

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.21.2009 | Media

Read More: Obama Cheney, National Security, Media Criticism, Obama National Security, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Media News

Well, we hope everyone enjoyed today's foreign policy showdown! Because that's what it was, apparently! At least that's what the media's been saying...

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Obama Speech Will Defend Dismantling Bush-Era Detainee Policies

Washington Post | Karen DeYoung | Posted 06.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: President Obama Speech, Obama Detainees, Obama National Security, Obama Speech, Obama Detainees Speech, Obama Guantanamo, Obama National Security Speech, Politics News

President Obama will attempt today to answer critics of his dismantling of Bush-era policies on detention and interrogation, in a speech reminding Ame...

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Sam Stein

Obama Huddles With Human Rights Groups Before Security Speech

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 06.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Elisa Massimino, Obama Human Rights, Obama Detainees, Obama National Security, Barack Obama, Human Rights First, National Security, Obama Guantanamo, Obama White House, Obama Human Rights Groups, Obama Thursday Speech, Obama Gitmo, Elisa Massimino Obama, Obama Photos Detainees, Politics News

Under heavy criticism for a series of decisions on national security that resembled, for some, those of the Bush years, President Barack Obama hosted ...

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Who Do You Despise More, Dick or Liz?

Jacob Heilbrunn | Posted 06.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Meghan McCain, Conservatives, Liz Cheney, National Security, David Brooks, David Frum, CIA Torture, Neoconservatives, Cheney Torture, Liz Cheney Dick Cheney, Obama National Security, Obama Torture, Republican Party, Torture, Republicans, Dick Cheney, Politics News
Jacob Heilbrunn

The Cheneys are seeking to lay the groundwork for a "Who Lost America?" debate should there be another terrorist attack during the Obama presidency.

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GOP Pollster: Our National Security Attacks On Obama Make Us Look "Irrelevant"

The Plum Line | Posted 06.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Barack Obama National Security, GOP Polling, National Security, Obama National Security, Tony Fabrizio, Barack Obama, Gop Polls, Politics News

A high-profile and well-respected GOP pollster is strongly criticizing the new effort by the GOP Congressional leadership to revive the party's nation...

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Dirty Nuclear Business

Joe Cirincione | Posted 05.16.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Nuclear Proliferation, Obama National Security, Nuclear Weapons, Ukraine, Terrorism, Nuclear Policy, Iaea, World News
Joe Cirincione

A foiled plot in Ukraine shows the gaping holes in efforts to contain deadly radioactive materials that could be used in dirty bombs. It is time to crack down on this trade. Obama needs to push his plan now.

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Sam Stein

Cheney Vs. Obama: Americans Overwhelmingly Disagree With Former VP

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Afghanistan, Obama Cheney, Obama National Security, CNN Poll, Dick Cheney, Poll Obama, Cheney, Cheney vs Obama, Dick Cheney Is Wrong, Cheney on Obama, Politics News

Dick Cheney finds himself, once more, on the wrong side of polling data. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll asked respondents whether they agree...

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