Trump’s “Betrayal of Country”, or “Treason” (Updated November 16, 2020)
Updated November 16, 2020 Update See Norm Ornstein, Tweet, November 16, 2020: I have searched for the best word to describe the moral cowardice of…
John Brennan
Former CIA chief John Brennan testifies he warned Russians about intervention
Developing In testimony on Capitol Hill today, former CIA Director John Brennan statd that, in a telephone call on August 4, 2016,…
The stakes in the presidential election dispute — whether Hamid Karzai will continue to call the shots in Afghanistan
Developing An old adage is, “Don’t change horses when you are crossing a stream.” There is an important gloss on that adage, however. The fuller…
Obama: “We tortured some folks…It’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had. And a lot of those folks (our law enforcement and our national security teams) were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.” (full transcript)
Developing Excerpt from President Barack Obama’s press conference today, Fiday, August 1, 2014: Q What about John Brennan? … THE PRESIDENT: On Brennan and the…
The qualities that are needed in a new CIA Director, Part I (with video links to Feinstein Senate speech and Brennan rebuttal)
(Developing story–check back for updates over the next few days) John Brennan’s battle with the Senate Intelligence Committee over the Torture Report Given his past…
On floor of Senate, Senator Feinstein speaks of grave constitutional violations by CIA (with video link)
(Developing) See: Corine Lesnes (Washington), “Menacée par un rapport sur la torture, la CIA soupçonnée de piratage du Sénat américain, Le Monde, 12 mars 2012…
Torture and torture memos pose serious obstacle to confirmation of Carolyn Krass as CIA General Counsel
The Trenchant Observer noted, quite some time ago, that torture will not be done with Obama, or with us, until we are all done with…
The Carolyn Krass nomination to be General Counsel at the CIA, secret legal justifications and memos, and democratic government under the rule of law
Should the President of the United States be able to conduct secret operations and activities without revealing to Congressional oversight committes the legal memoranda on…
The real problem with U.S. policy toward Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai and the CIA
It is sometimes stunning to observe how journalists at leading U.S. newspapers can write about some recent action Hamid Karzai has taken against U.S. interests…
“The Disposition Matrix”: Is Obama laying the foundations of a future totalitarian state? (Updated July 27, 2013)
A recent article in The Guardian on Obama’s kill lists and the now highly bureacratized killing machine used to extirpate individuals on the lists, highlights…
UPDATE (MARCH 6) WITH LINKS TO SENATOR RAND PAUL FILIBUSTER; REPRISE: Secret Laws, the John Brennan vote, and the rule of law
SENATOR RAND PAUL FILIBUSTER UPDATE At 12:39 a.m. EST, Senator Rand Paul concluded a filibuster on the floor of the U.S. Senate that lasted more…
The vote on John Brennan’s confirmation to be CIA Director: Opinion and Commentary
Recent Commentary and Opinion “It is not going too far to say that American foreign policy has become completely subservient to tactical domestic political considerations.”…
What difference does it make if John Brennan is confirmed?
In the end, what difference does it make if John Brennan is confirmed as CIA Director by the Senate? 1. Well, for one thing, it may…
Brennan’s wristbands, McCain’s hold, and assertions of legality under international law based on secret operations and secret legal memoranda (with links to Brennan confirmation hearing video, transcript, and written questions and answers)
On Brennan’s May 23, 2016 testimony regarding Russian intervention in elections, and FBI investigation into intervention and possible collusion with Trump associates, see “Former CIA…
Secret Laws, the John Brennan vote, and the rule of law
Let us step back for a moment from the details of what John Brennan is saying now in order to get confirmed by the Senate as CIA Director….
Brennan unclear in confirmation hearing as to whether “waterboarding” constitutes “torture” (with transcript)—The John Brennan File #2
The transcript of John Brennan’s confirmation hearing, before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on February 7, 2012, deserves a very close examination by the Senators…
New York Times makes ad hominem attack against Senator Lindsey Graham (R–South Carolina)
The New York Times, in an Editorial published on February 11, 2013, wrote the following: Mr. (Lindsey) Graham is being even more petulant. With his…
Drone Killings, the Constitution, International Law, and the John Brennan File
Developing story Check back for updates Recent News Reports and Commentary Michael Isikoff (National Investigative Correspondent, NBC News), “Justice Department memo reveals legal case for…
Isolationism, with drones: Obama’s second-term foreign policy
Developing story The smartest man in the room is so intellectually insecure that he doesn’t like to be questioned, and insists that everyone recognize that…
Key CIA official involved in Bush torture program criticizes “Zero Dark Thirty” for inaccurate depiction of “enhanced interrogation techniques”
Developing story You can’t make this stuff up. Jose Rodriguez, a former CIA official deeply involved in the Bush torture program, published an opinion piece…