Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Let’s begin with the 100 pages of Benghazi emails released by the White House yesterday, as it went into full damage control mode. Reuters reports that the talking points on Benghazi were scrubbed of references to terrorist groups before Susan Rice’s fateful appearances on Sunday talk shows, and that the emails confirm much of what was already known. The Wall Street Journal has more on what the emails reveal about the Obama administration’s handling of the issue, as does the Washington Post. The DOJ seizure of Associated Press phone records continues to spark controversy. The Post reports that some are questioning whether the leak about a foiled terrorist plot actually endangered U.S. national security. Spencer Ackerman of Wired’s Danger Room has the latest on the bizarre story of Ryan Christopher Fogle, the American “spy” who was ousted from Russia. Here is Fogle's (translated) letter, with which he allegedly sought to recruit a Russian agent to spy for the United States.  Found in Fogle's backpack, the letter instructed the Russian to communicate through this email address: unbacggdA@gmail.com (email at your own risk). Paul’s thoughts on Gmail and the CIA are here. The New York Times reports that both countries say this will all blow over, and CNN’s Jill Dougherty speculates that Russia could be retaliating: recall that critics claimed that the country had not told U.S. authorities everything it knew about Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Speaking of Tsarnaev, the Washington Post editorial board praises the decision to finally bury him and to end a media circus that was doing a disservice to the bombings' victims. NYU Law’s Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress have released a report, entitled Foreign Law Bans: Legal Uncertainties and Practical Problems and written by Faiza Patel, Amos Toh, and Matthew Duss. The group overviews (among other things) the unintended consequences of foreign law bans in states in America.  A short summary is below:

Over the last two years, lawmakers in 32 states have introduced and debated bills seeking to ban foreign, international, and religious laws in state courts. Five states—Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arizona—have already enacted foreign law bans and many more are picking up speed. Fueled by a growing tide of anti-Muslim sentiment, these bans create a host of unintended consequences ranging from confusion over how courts should treat marriages, divorces and premarital agreements with religious or foreign origins to uncertainty over how international businesses conduct commercial transactions in the United States.

Take heart, Obama administration: it turns out terrorists may employ less than effective public relations strategies.  In the Atlantic, Tony Busch, an Arabic social media analyst, argues that Twitter and similar networks can undermine Al Qaeda’s messaging and outreach.  The idea is dilution: Social media provide a platform for affiliates to promote their sometimes conflicting views, which precludes Al Qaeda from broadcasting a cohesive message. Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald puts the number of detainees being tube-fed at thirty. Reuters reports that the European Union, in a show of confidence for Somalia’s stability, will now train Somali troops in Mogadishu instead of Uganda.  The Somali troops are being trained to oust Al Shabaab militants from the country; African Union's Amisom peacekeeping troops have been doing this for several years. The New York Times editorial board argues that Pakistan’s elections were “a welcome repudiation of militants who are trying to overthrow the state.” The Times tells us that a powerful car bomb killed six American military advisors and scores of other people in Kabul today. Hezb-i-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack. The Hill also has the story. The blast comes two days after one that killed at least three soldiers in Kandahar, according to this Times piece. In a gesture of goodwill towards Turkey, the Afghan Taliban released four Turkish citizens who had been kidnapped last month, according to Reuters.  This marks something of a trend: four others were released earlier this week. Senators are seething about the CIA's handing bags of cash to President Karzai, reports Julian Pecquet of the Hill. Javid Ahmad of the German Marshall Fund of the United States discusses in the Times whether India should provide direct military assistance to Afghanistan. And, yesterday's House Judiciary Committee hearing at which Attorney General Eric Holder testified, generated this wonderful clip from Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas (who readers will remember was awarded a similar recognition after Ben, Bobby, John, and Steve testified in front of the same committee last month): it's Today's Moment of Asparagus Zen. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter and check out the Lawfare News Feed, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief,  Syracuse’s Institute for National Security & Counterterrorism’s newsroll, and Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief and Cyber Brief. Email Raffaela Wakeman and Ritika Singh noteworthy articles to include, visit the Lawfare Events Calendar for upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings at the Lawfare Job Board.