Today’s Headlines and Commentary

As Ben and Bobby and Jack have already noted, big news from the ACLU and the CCR today. Here are CNN’s Security Clearance blog as well as Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog to get you started. I’m sure there will be much more in time for Raffaela’s report tomorrow. In news about everyone’s second-favorite military commissions case (just in case Ben and Wells’ coverage yesterday and non-coverage today hasn’t sated you), here are the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. In more from the ACLU, the Blog of Legal Times reports that the ACLU and the DOJ are at odds about whether Justice can withhold “information about six failed criminal prosecutions that involved the use of warrantless tracking of cellphones.” The Wall Street Journal reports on the challenge to the FBI’s national security letter from a U.S. phone company. Steve Vladeck is quoted in the piece. Doyle McManus argues in the Los Angeles Times that the presidential candidates should be paying a lot more attention to national security and foreign policy issues than they are. Good luck convincing either of them of that. From the Department of Good Questions: The Associated Press tells us that the House of Representatives approved a bill yesterday asking Secretary Clinton to “report to Congress on whether the Haqqani network meets the criteria to be designated a foreign terrorist organization and if not, to explain why.” Oh, great. Yet another region to keep an eye on. According to CNN’s Security Clearance blog, Secretary Clinton says that the Sinai desert could become a breeding ground for jihadists. The Times reports that President Obama has nominated James B. Cunningham to be the new ambassador to Afghanistan and Richard G. Olson to be the new ambassador to Pakistan. Godspeed, gentlemen. The Hill informs us that the head honcho of Pakistan’s intelligence service will be in Washington next week to to discuss drone strikes with the CIA’s head honcho, David Petraeus. Godspeed, gentlemen. And, from The Onion, comes this piece about General John Allen’s views on the situation in Afghanistan—today’s Moment of Zen. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief, Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief, and Fordham Law’s Cyber Brief. Email us noteworthy articles we may have missed at wakeman.lawfare@gmail.com and  singh.lawfare@gmail.com.