NEW YORK (Rooters) - A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over key portions of a memorandum justifying the government's targeted killing of people linked to terrorism, including Americans.
In a case pitting executive power against the public's right to know what its government does, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling preserving the secrecy of the legal rationale for the killings, such as the death of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen.
Ruling for the New York Times, a unanimous three-judge panel said the government waived its right to secrecy by making repeated public statements justifying targeted killings.
These included a Justice Department "white paper," as well as speeches or statements by officials like Attorney General Eric Holder and former Obama administration counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, endorsing the practice.
The Times and two reporters, Charlie Savage and Scott Shane, sought the memorandum under the federal Freedom of Information Act, saying it authorized the targeting of al-Awlaki, a cleric who joined al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate and directed many attacks.
"Whatever protection the legal analysis might once have had has been lost by virtue of public statements of public officials at the highest levels and official disclosure of the DOJ White Paper," Circuit Judge Jon Newman wrote for the appeals court panel in New York.
He said it was no longer logical or plausible to argue that disclosing the legal analysis could jeopardize military plans, intelligence activities or foreign relations. Notice that the ruling applies only to "key portions" of the memorandum, not the entire memo. I remain curious as to the selection and timing of the al-Awlaki strke in relationship to Nadal Hasan, [with whom he was corresponding via e-mail] and the tragic events at Fort Hood, TX.
#1
He [Circuit Judge Jon Newman] said it was no longer logical or plausible to argue that disclosing the legal analysis could jeopardize military plans, intelligence activities or foreign relations.
So tell me then, why does the gov't continue to argue the issue? Perhaps we will soon find out.
[Tolo News] Former Taliban leader Mutasem Agha Jan who was reportedly brought to Kabul on Saturday after being detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under murky circumstances last week will be transferred to Turkmenistan, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council (AHPC) said. There is no official statement out yet detailing the transfer of Mutasem.
Mutasem is part of a last ditch effort by the Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... administration to get peace talks on track before Afghanistan's new president is elected.
Mutasem's disappearance was just one of a number of challenges that beset efforts at reconciliation with the Taliban. According to some reports, Mutasem has been excommunicated by the Taliban, who have shown little interest in negotiating with Karzai and the High Peace Council (HPC). A number of analysts have now suggested that Pak intelligence has actively tried to derail negotiations, by attacking and arresting Taliban leaders interested in talks.
"Most of the people who wanted to take part in the peace talks were killed by the intelligence agency of Pakistain," military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail said on Sunday.
Kabul has long implored Islamabad to help in efforts to negotiate with Taliban leaders, many of which are thought to reside in Pakistain, but little if any tangible aid has ever been given. Most in Afghanistan still see Pakistain as the Taliban's key patron.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] On Monday presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai held a presser and claimed the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) is confusing the public with announcements of partial results because invalid votes are included.
Ghani told his supporters that the results will change after valid votes have been separated from the fraudulent ones. He also denied reports of a possible coalition with leading presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun...
In reaction to the 50 percent partial results released on Sunday, Ghani questioned the results announced by the IEC, asking: when the exact number of votes have not been confirmed, how is it possible for the IEC to release the outcome of 50 percent of votes?
"We demand the election commission avoid announcing partial results without differentiating the votes," Ghani said. "Because this only confuses the public's perceptions and what we need to do now is move forward with trust because our duty is to stabilize the country. At this stage no one can say that the votes are clean because the results were partly clean and partly dirty."
In response to Ghani's statement, IEC Spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said that they have not hidden any information from the public.
"The constitution states that information cannot be withheld from the people," he said. "We have shared all information with the people round the clock."
He continued to criticize the IEC stating the term "clean vote" used by the commission is used loosely and that they did not consult with him prior to the release.
Into his speech Ghani called on the other presidential candidates and encouraged them to harmony in fighting against fraud together like good colleagues, not rivals.
The IEC announced partial results on Sunday with presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in the lead.
IEC Chief Mohammad Yousuf Nuristani announced that Abdullah is in the lead with 44.4 percent, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai trails with 33.2 percent, and Zalmai Rassoul ... former foreign minister and a very close confidant of Hamid Karzai. Before serving as foreign minister Rassoul also spent seven years laboring as a national security adviser to the president. An ethnic Pashtun born in Kabul, Rassoul was the valedictorian of his class at the illustrious Franco-American school in Kabul, Lycee Istiqal. He has an MD from the Paris Medical School in France..... is in third with 10.4 percent.
"Today's announcement is not final," Nuristani emphasized. "There will be changes in the results as counting continues."
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[ALLAFRICA] The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Mission in South Sudan on Monday accused opposition forces in Bentiu of carrying out assassinations, including of children, and committing "vengeful sexual violence" against women after they captured the town last week from government troops.
"UNMISS Human Rights Sherlocks have confirmed that when SPLA in Opposition forces captured Bentiu on 15 and 16 April, they searched a number of places where hundreds of South Sudanese and foreign civilians had taken refuge and killed hundreds of the civilians after determining their ethnicity or nationality," the U.N. Mission said in a statement.
Several Nuer men, women and kiddies who were hiding at Bentiu hospital during the fighting were killed because they failed to join other Nuers who had gone out to cheer as the opposition forces entered the town.
UNMISS said members of other South Sudanese communities and Darfuris were also targeted and killed at the hospital.
People were also singled out and killed.for their ethnicity and nationality at a mosque, a Roman Catholic church and the World Food Program compound in Bentiu, UNMISS said.
"These atrocities must be fully investigated and the perpetrators and their commanders shall be held accountable", said the Officer in Charge of UNMISS, Raisedon Zenenga.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Libya's General National Congress (GNC) on Sunday (April 20th) began meeting with candidates to replace former premier Abdullah al-Thani, AFP reported.
Al-Thani stepped down on April 13th, hours after an armed attack on his family.
Members of the GNC will hear seven candidates present their programmes for the government.
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[An Nahar] Bahrain's interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, ordered Monday the dismissal of the country's prisons chief after two inmates beat feet from a main jail, his office said.
Sheikh Rashid formed a committee to investigate the jailbreak from the Jau prison, in southeastern Bahrain, to assess shortfalls in security measures, the ministry said.
He ordered the demotion of the official to the general security department, and appointed another officer as a caretaker under the ministry's supervision.
The interior ministry did not disclose details about the prison escapees.
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[DAWN] The Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) has called for the announcement of a permanent ceasefire by the Taliban and urged the government to make every effort to continue peace talks.
"We want permanent ceasefire from Taliban and are in favour of continuation of the peace talks. The government should also respond positively. Logical arguments should be exchanged instead of bullets," JI chief Sirajul Haq said while addressing a public meeting at Liaquat Bagh on Sunday.
He said the real problem facing the country was political and economic terrorism. "To get rid of the political and economic terrorism, there is a dire need to eliminate corruption and dictatorship," he said.
The JI leader said merit was not enforced and the rich were getting protection, while the poor had been left at the mercy of thieves and dacoits.
He said a handful of people had ruled the country after serving the imperial forces during the British rule.
"The JI is struggling to enforce Islamic laws. It is an Islamic country and Shariah should be imposed. Some people are living in a fool's paradise and want to make the country a secular state, but it will not be possible. The Mohammedans sacrificed their lives and property for an Islamic state, not for a secular state," he said.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Chief Justice of Pakistain Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani on Monday approved three names of Supreme Court judges for the judicial commission to probe the attack on senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir who was injured in a gun attack in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... on Saturday.
The judges who will be on the commission are Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Ejaz Afzal and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman.
Prime Minister Sharif also visited Mir earlier today at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi where the senior journalist is undergoing treatment.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Sharif had decided to constitute a three-member judicial commission to probe into the attack.
A formal request in this regard was later sent to Chief Justice Jillani to nominate three members for the commission.
The government has also announced a reward of Rs10 million for any information leading to the arrest of culprits.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... of Kashmire has categorically denied the claims of prominent separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani that one of the leaders of Jamaat met a representative of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
BJP too has denied having sent any emissaries to Geelani or any other separatist leader for arranging a meeting with Modi or to get a commitment for resolution of Kashmire issue.
BJP said the claim is "mischievous" and without any basis, PTI reported.
The statement said, the BJP's stand that Jammu and Kashmire was an integral part of India was very clear and there was no room for deliberations on this.
Syed Geelani, who is chairman of a faction of the Hurriyat conference, had on Friday claimed that BJP prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi had sent two of his emissaries to him (Geelani) on March 22 to get a commitment for resolution of the Kashmire issue. Geelani has said he rejected the proposal.
Geelani claimed Modi had sent his representatives to other separatist groups as well.
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Bayit Yehudi leader and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett played down Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas's threats that he would dissolve the Palestinian Authority if peace talks with Israel broke down, saying Tuesday that this was the seventh time that the Palestinian leader had made these threats.
"We hear again and again the recycling of the same threat , that if we don't advance (with the peace process) and if we don't give him everything that he wants he will Ov vey for us! dissolve the PA," Bennett said at The Ramle Conference.
#4
Every time he goes on the road he runs up a tab. Keep him in Nantucket...
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04/22/2014 7:41 Comments ||
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The former Vietnam vet is saving his strength for the coming showdown with Putin. When they get through laughing at VP Biden SecState Kerry is ready to jump into the fray.
[An Nahar] A senior Cairo-based Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, official crossed Monday from Egypt into the Gazoo Strip ahead of a new attempt to reconcile the turban Islamist movement and its Paleostine Liberation Organisation rivals.
Mussa Abu Marzuq, head of external affairs in the movement's political office, was seen entering the Hamas-ruled coastal strip through the Rafah frontier crossing.
A delegation of the Paleostine Liberation Organisation, which is headed by Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... and dominated by his Fatah movement, is to go to Gazoo from the West Bank on Tuesday for talks with Hamas, members said.
Independent Paleostinian MP Mustafa Barghuti told Agence La Belle France Presse that his fellow delegates were Fatah's Azzam al-Ahmad, Bassam al-Salhi of the socialist Paleostine People's Party, businessman Munib al-Masri and Arab Paleostinian Front leader Jamil Shehadeh.
Barghuti said the sides would discuss "forming a national consensus government and holding elections," among other issues.
Hamas's Gazoo interior ministry said 10 Fatah members imprisoned for "breaches of public order" were freed on Monday "as a goodwill gesture to support national reconciliation efforts".
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[An Nahar] Syria's opposition condemned Monday's announcement of a June 3 presidential election expected to keep Bashir al-Assad in power despite tens of thousands of deaths in an anti-regime revolt since 2011.
"The Assad regime's announcement today that a 'presidential election' would be held in June should be treated as a farce and be rejected by the international community," said the office of opposition National Coalition leader Ahmad Jarba.
"With vast parts of Syria completely destroyed by Assad's air force, army and militias over the last three years, and with a third of Syria's population displaced internally or in refugee camps in the region, there is no electorate in Syria in a condition to exercise its right to vote," it said.
Parliament speaker Mohammed al-Lahham earlier announced the election will be held on June 3, while Syrians living outside the country would vote on May 28.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The United States said Monday that chemical attacks were likely launched in Syria this month, possibly by the regime, weeks before an announced presidential election set for June 3.
"We have indications of the use of a toxic industrial chemical, probably chlorine, in Syria this month, in the opposition-dominated village of Kafr Zita," White House front man Jay Carney said.
"We are examining allegations that the government was responsible."
The revelation follows Sunday's announcement by French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... that his country had "information" but no proof that Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... 's regime was still using chemical weapons.
There are conflicting accounts about one attack that happened in Kafr Zita in the central Hama province in April, with both the government and the opposition accusing each other.
The State Department also pointed to indications of a chemical attack.
"Obviously there needs to be an investigation of what's happened here. We're working with our partners to determine what the facts are on the ground," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
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04/22/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[MAGHAREBIA] In a result that surprised no one, 77-year-old Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was re-elected with 81.53% of the vote.
[An Nahar] Bahrain's interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, ordered Monday the dismissal of the country's prisons chief after two inmates 
broke down, saying Tuesday that this was the seventh time that the Palestinian leader had made these threats.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
