Today's Headlines and Commentary

A flurry of coverage on the new Senate NDAA language regarding the handling of terror suspects and detainees. Bobby discusses the development here, and here are the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Hill, and the Politico stories on the matter. The Post reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai said at yesterday's loya jirga (grand assembly) that Afghanistan's partnership with the United States would continue "as long as American troops stop conducting operations at night, searching homes and detaining Afghans." The Associated Press says that 16 suspected militants were killed in Pakistan late Tuesday. In Europe news, the saga of the neo-Nazi terror cell in Germany continues; the AP reports that officials are searching for the network of supporters who provided the group with housing, money, and papers. Meanwhile, the three Norwegian men accused of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad have pled not guilty, according to the AP. The Washington Post editorial board discusses the challenges of Daqduq and argues that the case brings to light the need to rewrite the AUMF. A Lawfare post of Bobby's is quoted in the piece. And just as we thought no one was going to speak out defending the Republican candidates' enthusiasm for coercive interrogation, Marc A. Thiessen comes to the rescue in this op-ed in the Post. The Times interviews a 26-year old Austrian by the name of Mohamed Mahmoud, who spent four years in an Austrian prison for joining and actively supporting Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. He describes his passion for jihad, suicide bombing, and other fun stuff. My question is: how did he get out in only four years? Money quote from this guy:

I want to send the message that I am ready to die for my religion any time. . .I have nothing to lose in life. Today I know that demonstrations and protests don’t help, and today I know that the West is lying about its freedom of speech and human rights.

Kids twelve and younger rejoice! You don't have to take off your shoes at security checkpoints this Thanksgiving. Fox News describes the TSA's changes to airport screening measures ahead of the busy holiday travel season. And military personnel (can soon) rejoice! CNN reports that TSA is also testing expedited screening procedures for U.S. armed forces. And Ayman al-Zawahiri's gross characterization of his former boss in a new video entitled "Days with the Imam: Part One," provides today's Moment of Zen Disgust. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter and visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief. Feel free to email me noteworthy articles I may have missed at singh.lawfare@gmail.com.