U.S. and the World

Federal Court Rules Bagram Prisoners have Fewer Rights than those at Guantánamo

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said Guantánamo resides outside “a theater of war,” which allows detainees there to enjoy certain legal rights in the U.S. judicial system. But with Bagram being part of the U.S. “war with a determined enemy,” prisoners at the base are considered enemy combatants, placing them in a different legal category. Not all of the appellants were captured in Afghanistan, however. Some were seized in Thailand, Iraq and Pakistan. read more

American Sentenced to Prison in UAE for Parody Video

The video, a type of mock documentary, was intended to make fun of youth culture in Dubai. It portrayed a fictional training facility, the Satwa Combat School, which taught students how to use sandals as weapons. The filmmakers said they wanted to satirize mild-mannered teenagers in Dubai who enjoy acting like “gangstas.” UAE officials didn’t think the video was funny. read more

Majority of Americans Believe that U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan was a Mistake

The Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 66% of respondents said the war has not been worth fighting. That view is held by 67% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans, and 71% of independents. During the 13-year conflict in Afghanistan, 2,289 U.S. troops have died and more than 19,000 have been wounded. read more

New York Arrest and Strip-Search of Female Indian Diplomat Triggers Outrage in India

Khobragade was dropping one of her daughters off at school when U.S. Diplomatic Security agents apprehended her in the street, handcuffed her and took her away. But what really created a furor was Khobragade being strip-searched and allegedly subjected to multiple cavity searches by U.S. marshals. She was also placed in a cell with drug addicts before being released on $250,000 bail. read more

Few Consequences for Border Patrol Agents Using Deadly Force

Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have killed at least 42 people, including at least 13 Americans, since 2005. In none of these instances was the officer publicly known to have faced consequences from any government agency or court. Of the 24 people killed by Border Patrol agents in the last four years, eight were shot for throwing rocks, which the agency considers grounds for using lethal force. read more

Yemen Parliament Demands an End to U.S. Drone Strikes

Most of the 36 casualties were members of a wedding party. It has variously been reported that between 14 and 17 of them died, while the rest were wounded, many critically. Only two of the dead—Saleh al-Tays and Abdullah al-Tays—had at one time been identified as al-Qaeda suspects by the Yemeni government, according to AFP. read more

American Missing in Iran was on CIA Mission

Levinson himself doubted the wisdom of his final mission. “I guess as I approach my fifty-ninth birthday on the 10th of March, and after having done quite a few other crazy things in my life,” he wrote to a friend, “I am questioning just why, at this point, with seven kids and a great wife, why would I put myself in such jeopardy,” adding presciently that he wanted some assurance that “I’m not going to wind up someplace where I really don’t want to be at this stage of my life.” read more

Apple Deletes App that Helped Chinese Citizens Avoid Government Censorship

From October 4 to November 28, a “Free Weibo” app was available on the Chinese version of Apple’s online “App store,” allowing users to access the uncensored, but government-blocked “Free Weibo” website, which for about a year has been documenting the messages censored from Sina Weibo. read more

Planned Texas Execution of Mexican Cop Killer May Have International Repercussions

The focus of the legal and diplomatic controversy is Edgar Tamayo Arias, 46, who shot and killed 24-year-old officer Guy Gaddis on January 31, 1994, while being escorted to jail following a robbery. Tamayo was in the U.S. illegally, but still had the right to contact the Mexican Consulate after being arrested. But Texas never informed him of this right, which put the U.S. in violation of an international agreement: the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. read more

U.S. to Destroy a Half-Billion Dollars’ Worth of Unused Aircraft in Afghanistan

The Obama administration spent $486 million to purchase the aircraft, which were supposed to comprise 15% of the Afghan Air Force. A key problem was that the planes couldn’t handle the heat and dust of Afghanistan’s environment, which caused numerous maintenance troubles and prevented them from flying. Davis said the Air Force tried to sell the aircraft to another country, but couldn’t locate any buyers. So now they will be dismantled for parts. read more

Swiss Underground Data Bunker May Be Antidote for NSA-Inspired Paranoia

Christoph Oschwald, co-director of the data center Mount10, told AFP that people used to ask why they should pay for data storage when Google, Apple and other tech firms offer it at no cost. But since the revelations about NSA’s access to user data within those services, no one asks any longer. Demand for his company’s services has been “fantastic,” having “tripled within a very short time.” read more

Obama Administration Accused of Cherry-Picking Intelligence on Syrian Chemical Weapons

Hersh says the government’s own intelligence reports showed one rebel group, the al-Nusra Front, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, had the knowledge and capability to make sarin. “When the attack occurred al-Nusra should have been a suspect, but the administration cherry-picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad,” Hersh wrote. read more

Japanese Government Shoves through U.S.-Friendly Secrecy Law

The U.S. government believes the law will strengthen Japan, thereby countering the military rise of China, according to the Associated Press. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “We welcome progress on strengthening policies, practices and procedures related to the protection of classified information.” It will ultimately make Japan a “more effective alliance partner,” U.S. chargé d’affaires Kurt Tong said in a recent speech. read more

New York’s Russian Diplomats Used Medicaid to Pay for Dozens of Childbirths

The federal complaint says that families of the 58 out of 63 babies born to the diplomats and their spouses between 2004 and 2013 received the benefits. While the Russian diplomats and their spouses were defrauding Medicaid, they were spending tens of thousands of dollars on luxury goods and vacations, including jewelry, watches, clothes and shoes, at Jimmy Choo, Tiffany & Company and Bloomingdale’s.” read more

Poland Accused in Europe Human Rights Court of Aiding CIA Kidnapping and Torture

Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri claim they were brought to a Central Intelligence Agency “black site” in Poland in December 2002, where they were detained and tortured until June 2003, at which point they were transferred to other interrogation sites before being shipped to Guantánamo. Zubaydah was accused by the George W. Bush administration of helping mastermind the September 11, 2001, attacks. But he has never been charged with a crime. read more

For the First Time in 40 Years, Most Americans Believe U.S. Declining as Global Power

For the first time in 40 years of the quadrennial “America’s Place in the World” survey, 53% of respondents said the U.S. plays a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade ago. An even larger majority (70%) said their country is losing respect internationally—the highest since May 2008. read more