Hydrablog

Obama Lifts Moratorium on Transfer of Detainees

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:47:45 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/us/politics/obama-lifts-moratorium-on-transfer-of-some-detainees.html
May 23, 2013
Obama Lifts Moratorium on Transfer of Detainees
By CHARLIE SAVAGE [Obama White House] [113th congress, 1st session] [U.S counterterrorism strategy that was published in June 2011] [both NSC principals (special subgroup for covert action) and bureaucracy] [GSAVE] [LWOT] [some changes in the policy—in effect since Bush and 2006—with respect to POWs from GSAVE] [use psci 355-455, 463] [followup] [this “shift” was presaged in Scott Wilson’s piece yesterday on an ongoing debate inside the administration] [*]
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday lifted a moratorium on repatriating low-level inmates from the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Yemen and, in a surprise move, announced the creation of a new Pentagon position to spearhead the transfer of detainees.
While it was far from clear that Mr. Obama’s aim to shutter the prison — which he tried but failed to close in his first term — would be achieved anytime soon, he also began a renewed push to winnow down the 166-inmate population.
Transfers of low-level detainees dried up after Congress imposed steep restrictions in January 2011, and the administration has to date not used its ability to issue case-by-case waivers to those restrictions. That has stranded 86 detainees who have been approved for transfer if security conditions could be met.
Of those, 56 are from Yemen, where Mr. Obama had forbidden transfers after a branch of Al Qaeda based in Yemen tried to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Dec. 25, 2009. In his national security address, Mr. Obama said it was now time to allow transfers to Yemen on a case-by-case basis.

C.I.A. to Focus More on Spying, a Difficult Shift

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:46:57 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/us/politics/plan-would-orient-cia-back-toward-spying.html
May 23, 2013
C.I.A. to Focus More on Spying, a Difficult Shift
By MARK MAZZETTI [Obama White House] [113th congress, 1st session] [U.S counterterrorism strategy that was published in June 2011] [both NSC principals (special subgroup for covert action) and bureaucracy] [GSAVE] [LWOT] [considerable continuity between W. Bush and Obama] [followup] [first in Obama’s State of the Union Speech (or 2nd Inaugural) and in National Defense University (tomorrow but already widely reported)speech the administration has signaled that they are rethinking the UAVs, which have escalated considerably and caused some grumbling from various corners of American politics] [use psci 355-455, 463] [followup] [more on the new policy] [*]
WASHINGTON — For more than seven years, Mike — a lean, chain-smoking officer at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Virginia — has managed the agency’s deadly campaign of armed drone strikes. As the head of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, Mike wielded tremendous power in hundreds of decisions over who lived and died in far-off lands.
But under a new plan outlined by the Obama administration on Thursday, the Counterterrorism Center over time would cease to be the hub of America’s targeted killing operations in Pakistan, Yemen and other places where presidents might choose to wage war in the future. Already, the C.I.A.’s director, John O. Brennan, has passed over Mike, an undercover officer whose full name is being withheld, for a promotion to run the agency’s

Britain Knew of 2 Suspects in the Killing of a Soldier

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:45:19 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/europe/london-attack.html
May 23, 2013
Britain Knew of 2 Suspects in the Killing of a Soldier
By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL [UK] [London] [EU3] [it’s back?] [more 3rd-generation jihadis possibly] [I only caught 1 minute of this last night on CNN and it looked off to me—that is, it look more like mental illness than true jihadism but it’s hard to tell] [just before Olympics in 2012 some arrests made] [the peak years were 2004-2008] [in past few years quieted down somewhat, at least seemingly] [if this proves to have any connection with the Tribal areas back in Pakistan, than I’d consider reclassifying?] [England has large South Asia émigré populations] [followup, yesterday] [use psci 355-455, 463] [the plot thickens?] [*]
LONDON — British security officials confirmed Thursday that both suspects in the hacking death of an off-duty British soldier were known to MI5, the domestic security agency, in the years before the attack, in which men drove their car into the soldier on a busy London street and then chopped at him with cleavers as he lay prone on the sidewalk.
Twenty-four hours after the attack, with Britain still reeling with shock at its sheer brutality, the victim was identified as a 25-year-old army bandsman and machine-gunner, Lee Rigby, who had served in Afghanistan and was the father of a 2-year-old boy. He had left his barracks in plainclothes to visit his mother, the authorities said.
Security officials said the suspects were radicalized British Muslim men with family origins in Nigeria. One was named by the BBC as Michael Adebolajo, 28, who it said had been raised in a Christian family in Romford, east of London. He converted to Islam in about 2001, and joined a radical Muslim group, Al Muhajiroun, that was banned in Britain in 2010

Kerry Meets With Israelis and Palestinians to Revive Peace Process

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:44:31 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/middleeast/kerry-holds-talks-in-bid-to-revive-mideast-peace-process.html
May 23, 2013
Kerry Meets With Israelis and Palestinians to Revive Peace Process
By ISABEL KERSHNER and MICHAEL R. GORDON [Israel] [domestic politics which has the potential to affect foreign policy down the road] [Israeli-Arab conflicts, from the past wars (especially, 1967 and 1973) to today’s Arab Revolutions and repercussions to Israeli-Palestinian conflict] [Israel-Syria civil war] [Syria and Iran because Iran is understandably an obsession in Israel] [Israeli leaders and Israelis are becoming increasingly worried that Israel is being pulled into Syria’s malestrom] [amid all this tumult SecState Kerry is expected (if the PA can be believed) to make another attempt at kick starting the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process (such as anything remains of of it)] [followup, May 22] [cross in govt] [*]
JERUSALEM — Injecting a sense of urgency into his mission to revive the moribund peace process, Secretary of State John Kerry held a round of meetings Thursday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
“I am convinced, with great humility, that this moment is a critical one for the region and particularly for Israel, for Palestine and for Jordan,” Mr. Kerry said before meeting with President Shimon Peres of Israel.
Mr. Kerry has said that the next 18 to 24 months is a crucial period for achieving a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. And there may not even be that much time.
Palestinian officials say they have, at Mr. Kerry’s request, held off on seeking membership

North Korea Envoy Agrees to Dialogue, China Says, in Possible Sign for Nuclear Talks

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:43:41 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/asia/envoy-says-north-korea-open-to-dialogue.html
May 23, 2013
North Korea Envoy Agrees to Dialogue, China Says, in Possible Sign for Nuclear Talks
By JANE PERLEZ [China] [PRC] [NEAsia] [DPRK] [North Korea] [Sino-DPRK relationship dating back well into the Cold War] [months of tensions recently appeared to have run their course] [and China seemed to side against DPRK, something quite rare] [now this?] [use psci 350, 355-455] [followup] [having returned a fishing boat and crew seized by DPRK earlier this month, a high-level delgation from Pyongyang has now arrived in China] [as is often the case, China’s seemingly infinite patience has paid off again] [apparently DPRK has told China it’s ready to talk] [followup, May 22] [DPRK has done this numerous times so nobody ought to be euphoric over this] [*]
BEIJING — A North Korean envoy visiting China said his country would “accept the proposal” by Chinese officials to open up dialogue, the state-run China News Service reported Thursday, a possible signal that the North would agree to talks on its nuclear program.
The comments were reported after the envoy, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, met Liu Yunshan, who is a member of the Communist Party Standing Committee in China and the politician who heads ideological affairs for the party. Mr. Liu was quoted as repeating a frequent appeal by China for a resumption of talks that would result in the removal of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula “as soon as possible.”

Russia Says Syria Will Attend Geneva Peace Talks

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:42:55 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/world/middleeast/syria.html
May 24, 2013
Russia Says Syria Will Attend Geneva Peace Talks
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN [Russia] [Syria] [Syria’s civil war acting like magnate to foreign fighters from neighboring states and abroad] [no greater example of the Sunni-Shi’a sectarian faultline!] [the figure being bandied about now is 80,000 KIA] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [Hasan Nasrallah threatens Israel over the latter’s recent sorties into Syria] [followup, May 21] [after a couple days of SecState Kerry’s activities in Jordan, Israel, Oman, and wherever, Russia says al Assad regime is ready to attend Geneva talks] [we shall see?] [*]
MOSCOW — The Syrian government has agreed to participate in an international peace conference coordinated by Russia and the United States, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
“We note with satisfaction that Damascus has confirmed its readiness in principle to participate in an international conference in the interest of the Syrians themselves finding a political path to a settlement of the conflict that has been devastating for the country and the region,” the spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry had agreed during a meeting in Moscow earlier this month to pull together the peace conference, with Russia responsible for bringing the government of Bashar al-Assad to the table and the Americans focused on securing the participation of the Syrian opposition.

Suicide Bombings in Niger Kill Dozens in Dual Strikes

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:42:13 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/africa/niger-hit-by-two-suicide-attacks.html
May 23, 2013
Suicide Bombings in Niger Kill Dozens in Dual Strikes
By ADAM NOSSITER [Nigeria] [Saharan, Western Africa] [MENA and beyond] [sectarian violence in Nigeria with its population of roughly half Christian and half Muslim] [most of this is tit-for-tat reactions so it’s difficult to trace the precise cause] [it seems to have begun to spread from the old Salafi groups in Algeria south and out in various directions] [followup, May 15, 17] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [since Niger began attacking this fairly aggressively, we now see the return salvo, perhaps?] [jihadis and insurgectionists attack back] [*]
DAKAR, Senegal — Two groups of suicide bombers rammed vehicles full of explosives into a military base and a French-owned uranium mine 150 miles away in the West African desert nation of Niger early Thursday, killing at least 26 people, including 21 soldiers and five bombers, Nigerien officials said. They said a sixth bomber appeared to be holding several Nigerien soldiers hostage inside the base.
They were the first terrorist attacks in Niger, a landlocked, impoverished nation of 17 million that has positioned itself in the front lines against jihadist penetration in West Africa. They were also the deadliest in the region since the French military, with the help of troops from Niger, pushed back an Islamist takeover in neighboring Mali this year. A regional offshoot of Al Qaeda, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or Mujao, claimed responsibility.

One Drone Victim’s Trail From Raleigh to Pakistan

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:34:41 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/us/one-drone-victims-trail-from-raleigh-to-pakistan.html
May 22, 2013
One Drone Victim’s Trail From Raleigh to Pakistan
By SCOTT SHANE and ERIC SCHMITT [Obama White House] [113th congress, 1st session] [U.S counterterrorism strategy that was published in June 2011] [both NSC principals (special subgroup for covert action) and bureaucracy] [GSAVE] [LWOT] [considerable continuity between W. Bush and Obama] [followup] [these are the kinds of concerns critics and even people inside government have raised: that the UAVs are making more enemies that solving] [use psci 355-455, 463] [cross in external] [*]
WASHINGTON — When Jude Kenan Mohammad was about 18 and living in Raleigh, N.C., according to people who knew him, he came under the influence of an older man, Daniel Patrick Boyd, who taught him a violent, radical version of Islam.
Mr. Boyd would be charged in 2009 and eventually imprisoned as the ringleader of a group of North Carolina residents who had vowed to carry out a violent jihad both in the United States and overseas. Mr. Mohammad was also charged, but by then, partly at the direction of Mr. Boyd, he had traveled to Pakistan, where he had joined a group of militants in that country’s tribal area.
On Wednesday, the United States government officially acknowledged for the first time what had long been rumored among his friends in Raleigh: that Mr. Mohammad was killed in a C.I.A. drone strike on a compound in South Waziristan, Pakistan, on Nov. 16, 2011. He was 23.

Obama, in a Shift, to Limit Targets of Drone Strikes

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:33:40 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/us/us-acknowledges-killing-4-americans-in-drone-strikes.html
May 22, 2013
Obama, in a Shift, to Limit Targets of Drone Strikes
By CHARLIE SAVAGE and PETER BAKER [Obama White House] [113th congress, 1st session] [U.S counterterrorism strategy that was published in June 2011] [both NSC principals (special subgroup for covert action) and bureaucracy] [GSAVE] [LWOT] [considerable continuity between W. Bush and Obama] [followup] [first in Obama’s State of the Union Speech (or 2nd Inaugural) and in National Defense University (tomorrow but already widely reported)speech the administration has signaled that they are rethinking the UAVs, which have escalated considerably and caused some grumbling from various corners of American politics] [use psci 355-455, 463] [followup] [this “shift” was presaged in Scott Wilson’s piece yesterday on an ongoing debate inside the administration] [*]
WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to open a new phase in the nation’s long struggle with terrorism on Thursday by restricting the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy and shifting control of them away from the C.I.A. to the military. [that’s a great idea] [I’m a little surprised given the gusto with which Brennan—now at CIA—has increased these kinds of attacks] [but I think it’s overdue] [*]
In his first major speech on counterterrorism of his second term, Mr. Obama hopes to refocus the epic conflict that has defined American priorities since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and even foresees an unspecified day when the so-called war on terror might all but end, according to people briefed on White House plans.
As part of the shift in approach, the administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged for the first time that it had killed four American citizens in drone strikes outside the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, arguing that its actions were justified by the danger to the United States. Mr. Obama approved providing new information to Congress and the public about the rules governing his attacks on Al Qaeda and its allies. [*]

Sweden: Riots Continue in Immigrant Neighborhoods

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:32:35 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/europe/sweden-riots-continue-in-immigrant-neighborhoods.html
May 22, 2013
Sweden: Riots Continue in Immigrant Neighborhoods
By REUTERS [Sweden] [Stockholm] [Europe] [anti Islam or anti Muslim sentiment, past few years here] [most jihadis stuff has been in England, France, some in Germany] [last couple years some smaller things in Nordic nations] [use psci 350, 463] [followup, Feb 26, 2011] [the only thing I’ll say about it is this: while I haven’t spent any great time in Sweeden, I have visited it and travelled through it and this sort of frustration morphing into violence strikes me as wholly out of character with most Swedes] [*]
Hundreds of young people burned cars and attacked police officers this week in three nights of riots in immigrant neighborhoods of Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. On Tuesday night, a police station in the Jakobsberg area in northwest Stockholm was attacked, two schools were damaged and an arts center was set ablaze, despite a call for calm from Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. The riots appear to have been started by the police killing of a 69-year-old man wielding a machete in Husby this month, which prompted accusations of police brutality. The riots spread from Husby to other poor parts of Stockholm suburbs.

Cameron Says Britain ‘Resolute’ After Attack

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:31:49 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/europe/london-attack.html
May 23, 2013
Cameron Says Britain ‘Resolute’ After Attack
By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL [UK] [London] [EU3] [it’s back?] [more 3rd-generation jihadis possibly] [I only caught 1 minute of this last night on CNN and it looked off to me—that is, it look more like mental illness than true jihadism but it’s hard to tell] [just before Olympics in 2012 some arrests made] [the peak years were 2004-2008] [in past few years quieted down somewhat, at least seemingly] [if this proves to have any connection with the Tribal areas back in Pakistan, than I’d consider reclassifying?] [England has large South Asia émigré populations] [followup] [use psci 355-455, 463] [followup, Mar 15, 2013] [whatever it was-is, the Brtish PM is maintaining his stiff upper lip!] [*]
LONDON — A day after an attack on an off-duty British soldier by two knife-wielding assailants, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday that Britain would be “absolutely resolute” in confronting terrorism and that extremist assaults would “only bring us together.”
Mr. Cameron was speaking after leading the emergency Cobra committee, a group of cabinet ministers and high-level security officials that oversees the operations of police and security agencies during high security alerts.
The attack raised new fears of terrorism when the soldier, walking near a military barracks in south London, was rammed by a car and then hacked to death. One of the men shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” during the attack, government officials said.

‘Barbaric Attack’ in London Prompts Meeting on Terror

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:57 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/europe/london-attacks.html
May 22, 2013
‘Barbaric Attack’ in London Prompts Meeting on Terror
By JOHN F. BURNS [UK] [London] [EU3] [it’s back?] [more 3rd-generation jihadis possibly] [I only caught 1 minute of this last night on CNN and it looked off to me—that is, it look more like mental illness than true jihadism but it’s hard to tell] [just before Olympics in 2012 some arrests made] [the peak years were 2004-2008] [in past few years quieted down somewhat, at least seemingly] [if this proves to have any connection with the Tribal areas back in Pakistan, than I’d consider reclassifying?] [England has large South Asia émigré populations] [followup] [use psci 355-455, 463] [followup, Mar 15, 2013] [*]
LONDON — In an attack that raised new fears of terrorism in Britain, a man walking near a military barracks in south London on Wednesday was rammed by a car and then hacked to death by two knife-wielding assailants, according to witness accounts carried by British news media. [this sounds more like Fort Hood?] [*]
British officials did not identify the victim, but the French president, François Hollande, referred to him as “a soldier” in expressing France’s sympathy to the visiting British prime minister, David Cameron. Mr. Cameron had been en route to Paris from Brussels when the attack took place.
Two suspects were shot and wounded by the police, officials said, and were in separate hospitals under police guard, one in serious condition. One of the men shouted “Allahu

North Korean Envoy Visits Beijing Amid Concerns About U.S.-Chinese Relations

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:01 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/asia/north-korean-leader-sends-envoy-to-china.html
May 22, 2013
North Korean Envoy Visits Beijing Amid Concerns About U.S.-Chinese Relations
By JANE PERLEZ and CHOE SANG-HUN [China] [PRC] [NEAsia] [DPRK] [North Korea] [Sino-DPRK relationship dating back well into the Cold War] [months of tensions recently appeared to have run their course] [and China seemed to side against DPRK, something quite rare] [now this?] [use psci 350, 355-455] [followup] [having returned a fishing boat and crew seized by DPRK earlier this month, a high-level delgation from Pyongyang has now arrived in China] [as is often the case, China’s seemingly infinite patience has paid off again] [China willing lets DPRK huff and puff for it knows the pariah regime must sooner or later return to its benefactor asking for help] [*]
BEIJING — A senior North Korean military official’s visit here Wednesday appears to have been organized on short notice, and was probably prompted by North Korea’s concerns about a planned meeting between President Xi Jinping of China and President Obama, analysts said. [it looks as if the new leadership has played it well—President Xi demonstrated just enough pique to worry DPRK] [*]
Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, a member of the inner circle of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, arrived in Beijing two days after the United States and China announced that Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi would meet in California early next month.
Vice Marshal Choe, 63, who is the political overseer of the North Korean military, met with

Support for Kerry’s Mideast Peace Efforts on Eve of Visit

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:29:11 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/middleeast/kerry-may-make-bid-to-restart-mideast-peace-talks.html
May 22, 2013
Support for Kerry’s Mideast Peace Efforts on Eve of Visit
By ISABEL KERSHNER [Israeli media] [Israel] [domestic politics which has the potential to affect foreign policy down the road] [Israeli-Arab conflicts, from the past wars (especially, 1967 and 1973) to today’s Arab Revolutions and repercussions to Israeli-Palestinian conflict] [Israel-Syria civil war] [Syria and Iran because Iran is understandably an obsession in Israel] [Israeli leaders and Israelis are becoming increasingly worried that Israel is being pulled into Syria’s malestrom] [amid all this tumult SecState Kerry is expected (if the PA can be believed) to make another attempt at kick starting the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process (such as anything remains of of it)] [followup] [cross in govt] [*]
JERUSALEM — While Palestinian officials say they expect Secretary of State John Kerry to present a proposal for restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks by early June, they add that there appear to be few tangible signs of progress.
Still, with Mr. Kerry set to arrive here on Thursday — his fourth visit to Israel and the West Bank in eight weeks — Israeli and Palestinian officials were at least quick to express their mutual support for his efforts while maintaining discretion about the details of his talks. A senior Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the continuing diplomacy, said Mr. Kerry had gone beyond listening and was discussing specific ideas about how to get back to negotiations.

Israel Finding Itself Drawn Into Syria’s Turmoil

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:28:04 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/middleeast/israel-is-drawn-into-syrias-turmoil.html
May 22, 2013
Israel Finding Itself Drawn Into Syria’s Turmoil
By JODI RUDOREN [Israeli media] [Israel] [domestic politics which has the potential to affect foreign policy down the road] [Israeli-Arab conflicts, from the past wars (especially, 1967 and 1973) to today’s Arab Revolutions and repercussions to Israeli-Palestinian conflict] [Israel-Syria civil war] [Syria and Iran because Iran is understandably an obsession in Israel] [Israeli leaders and Israelis are becoming increasingly worried that Israel is being pulled into Syria’s malestrom] [I shouldn’t be surprised: Israel has bombed arms shipments moving inside of Syria—all reported to be headed to Hezbollah (Lebanon) at least three major times] [for Israel to do and not think it is being pulled in seems sort of naïve] [followup] [*]
JERUSALEM — For more than two years, Israeli leaders have insisted they had no intention of intervening in the civil war raging in neighboring Syria, but they vowed to stop sophisticated weapons from being transferred to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia group, and to respond to intentional fire into their territory.
Now, having followed through with a pair of airstrikes on weapons shipments this month and, on Tuesday, the destruction of a Syrian Army position, Israelis are asking what their options are, as if they feel it has become impossible to avoid deeper involvement. [I think you are supposed to ask that before you send the sorties into Syria!?] [*]