Today's Headlines and Commentary

A Chicagoan by the name of Shaker Masri has agreed to plead guilty, reports the Associated Press, although the charges haven't been confirmed yet. The 29 year old gentleman was arrested in August 2010 and accused of plotting a suicide bombing for Al Qaeda and Al Shabab. Cheery news for your weekend--or the next two years! Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, says that Iran is two years away from complete nuclear weapons capability. The New York Times has the story. In truly cheery news, Wired's Danger Room reports that Iran's nuclear weapons are no cause for worry. Money quote:

[T]he Pentagon no longer believes a future Iranian missile will be able to strike America. And another reason not to worry: Even if Iran does develop one, it’ll probably suck.

Read the Pentagon's actual report entitled "Annual Report on Military Power of Iran." According to the AP, the Pentagon denies that mind-altering drugs were used during the interrogations of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Meanwhile, Peter Bergen and Jennifer Rowland write in CNN about the civilian casualty rate of drone strikes. According to them, "[t]oday, for the first time, the estimated civilian death rate is at or close to zero"--the result of improved targeting and greater oversight, among other things. Robert Bales, the Army Staff Sergeant who killed 16 Afghan civilians in the early morning hours of March 2012 will face a military hearing in September, says the AP. Also from the AP, we learn that Afghan militants crossed the border into Pakistan yesterday and took Pakistani villagers hostage. Officials say they have escaped back across the border after deadly clashes with the Pakistani army. The Hill states that the House Judiciary Committee wants to interview seven top White House officials on the national security leaks including National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. And, from America's Finest News Source, comes this piece on what average Americans on Main Street think about Ibrahim al-Qosi's repatriation from Gitmo this week--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.