Anthony Clark Arend

In case you missed it, Michael A. Sheehan had an excellent op-ed in the New York Times earlier this week on the challenge of “home grown” and “lone wolf” terrorism. Ambassador Sheehan served as the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism during the Clinton Administration and was Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism with the New York City Police– and, I might add, a …

The New York Times has instructive profiles on the four other persons that have been designated for trial in Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York. Reporter Liz Robbins writes:

Walid Muhammad Salih bin Attash
Walid Muhammad Salih bin Attash, known as Khallad, has told investigators that he played many roles in Al Qaeda, from acting as a bodyguard …

The blog Main Justice reports:
Former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on Friday criticized the Obama administration’s decision to prosecute a group of terrorism suspects accused in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in federal court, warning of safety risks to Americans and the possibility that national security information could be aired in civilian proceedings.
His speech to the conservative Federalist Society — …

Here is the Press Release:
Departments of Defense and Justice Announce Forum Decisions for Ten Guantanamo Bay Detainees
The Departments of Defense and Justice today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating …

In today’s Washington Post, Professor Loch Johnson, former special assistant to the late Senator Frank Church, reminds us previous efforts to investigate allegations of wrong-doing in the intelligence community. Dr. Johnson writes:
During the first half of the Cold War, the CIA was largely free of serious congressional supervision. And despite controversies such as the U2 shoot-down over the Soviet Union, …

In his Marver Bernstein Address at Georgetown University today, Senator Patrick Leahy proposed the creation of a comprehensive “truth and reconciliation commission” to address questions relating to the practices of the previous administration in areas such as detainee treatment, interrogation techniques, and the dismissal of U.S. attorneys.
More info soon ….