Today's Headlines and Commentary

Lots of developments in the case of the rogue soldier who massacred 24 Afghan civilians. Leon Panetta arrived in Afghanistan today to quell tensions--and was met with an Afghan national trying to crash a car into his plane on the runway, according to the New York Times. CNN and the Washington Post have more on Panetta's visit. The Post tells us that President Obama "promised a thorough and unstinting Pentagon investigation." And the Los Angeles Times says the U.S. Army staff sergeant in question could face the death penalty. On the tech side, Wired magazine's Danger Room blog announces that "a spy blimp captured video of the perpetrator of Sunday’s massacre surrendering to base forces." The Post's editorial board disapproves of President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan in the wake of this mess. And David Ignatius ponders the diplomatic options for responsibly ending the war. Jose Pimentel pled not guilty to state terrorism charges of plotting to attack police and soliders with homemade pipe bombs in NYC, reports the AP. In more terrorist trial news, the AP also informs us that "a lawyer for an Algerian native accused of planning to blow up synagogues said Tuesday that her client was a mentally unstable man targeted by the New York Police Department as part of its 'unconstitutional and illegal' surveillance of Muslims." Fox News reports that two detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been on a hunger strike since January. The Politico reports that "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and ranking Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa went on the warpath after the head of a federal office involved with FOIA said her proposals for legislative changes went to OMB more than a year ago, but have yet to be formally adopted or submitted to Congress by the administration." If you thought that Australia's foreign policy footprint was light, consider this story from The Age: "A secret squadron of Australian SAS soldiers has been operating at large in Africa, performing work normally done by spies, in an unannounced and possibly dangerous expansion of Australia's foreign military engagement." And, from a Lawfare reader, comes this Moment of Rebutted Zen in response to my Moment of Zen last week on "Saddamorabilia." Turns out someone really does have Saddam Hussein's sword, after all. Cool. 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.