Today's Headlines and Commentary

Switzerland happens to be the location of a lot of action---or inaction---in the world: As Clara noted, peace talks on Syria began in Montreux yesterday, and quickly spiraled into finger-pointing, accusations, and some downright weird rhetoric:

While the stark differences between the American and Russian positions were outlined in civil tones, that diplomatic restraint was abandoned when Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister who will lead the Syrian government’s face-to-face talks with the opposition, took the floor and accused Arab nations of financing terrorism and conspiring to destroy his country. Speaking for more than 30 minutes, Mr. Moallem also accused insurgents of “sexual jihad” by using brainwashed women as sex slaves and engaging in incest. When Mr. Ban asked that Mr. Moallem wind up his lengthy speech, the Syrian official shot back: “You live in New York, I live in Syria.”

The New York Times has more from the conference today, and a Room for Debate piece on how to combat extremism on a broader scale. Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch also tells us about the “harsh public exchanges between key leaders” at the talks. Ayman al-Zawahiri understands the importance of putting differences aside and working together, even if those at Montreux don’t. The leader of Al Qaeda encouraged the warring rebel groups in Syria to unite in a new audio message, says Reuters. In Davos, the Times reports on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s declaration that “nuclear weapons have no place” in Iran’s security strategy. But almost simultaneously, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted on CNN that "we did not agree to dismantle anything." Meanwhile, an all-star team of high level military and defense officials have sent a letter to President Obama urging him to use his diplomatic window with Iran to bring about the release of U.S. Marine, Amir Hekmati. Hekmati, who has been held in an Iranian prison without publicly disclosed charges, is one of at least two, and possibly three, Americans in Iranian custody. The Washington Post reports on an apparent al-Qaeda plot to bomb the American embassy in Tel Aviv. According to Israeli intelligence, the plot was discovered and foiled at an “advanced” stage. Adam Goldman has an expose in the Post about the history of the CIA's "black site" in Poland. In Egypt, the government arrested Emad Shahin, a well-respected political scientist and liberal activist, on espionage charges. And in Turkey, the Erdogan government has reassigned and fired hundreds of police officers as it seeks to head off a graft inquiry. In China, the country’s “great firewall” seems to have accidentally cut half a billion people off from the internet for about eight hours. As the days continue to pass without progress on the Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement, the West is exploring other options to keep NATO forces in the country after this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Obama administration is also figuring out ways to continue financial assistance for Afghanistan after Congress passed an omnibus bill that halved the current budget for development aid. On to domestic affairs: The big story is that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board released its 238-page report regarding the NSA's telephony metadata program this afternoon.  The Times and Post gave us a sneak peak.  The Board reportedly finds that the 215 program “lacks a viable legal foundation,” provides only “minimal” benefits, and should be should shut down. However, two Board members wrote separately, and seemed to dissent from that view. In Davos, the Journal reports that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer called for greater NSA transparency, and that Cisco’s and AT&T’s CEOs issued similar calls. (Interestingly, the Defense Science Board just released a report calling for a technological expansion of big data collection and analysis, in an effort to monitor and combat dangerous nuclear proliferation.) In the Times, Linda Greenhouse discusses two new Supreme Court cases that will address phone records and warrantless phone searches in connection with  arrests. She notes that the complexities of new technology, such as smartphones, give judges the opportunity to “legislate from the bench.” In Guantanamo news, the American Psychological Association has decided not to pursue disciplinary measures against Dr. John Leso, a retired US army reserve officer, for his alleged role in the brutal interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani, the suspected 20th 9/11 hijacker. Spencer Ackerman at the Guardian has the story. The Post reports that the military is deploying two new giant blimp-like “aerostats” on Army-owned land northeast of Washington D.C. Although their stated purpose is to create a radar net to detect cruise missiles or enemy aircraft, the aerostats are raising some privacy concerns as well. The Journal tells us about a civil complaint the Department of Justice has filed against USIS, the government's largest private security background check contractor. Allegedly, USIS mishandled hundreds of thousands of background checks. Incidentally, according to The Hill, this was the firm that vetted one Edward Snowden. After years of lobbying from religious groups, the Department of Defense is adopting a program that will allow soldiers to obtain waivers to wear religious clothing, seek prayer time, or engage in religious practices. Waivers will be offered on a case-by-case basis. And is 2014 the year of the personal drone? It’s Today’s Moment of Zen. Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.