A memorandum filed by the Justice Department today reveals that the Obama Administration is abandoning the “enemy combatant” label for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, while maintaining that they can continue to hold them on the basis of executive authority. Obama is rather pointing to the international laws of war as a basis for indefinite detentions, [...]
President Barack Obama declared today that the United States “will maintain our military dominance. We will have the strongest armed forces in the history of the world. And we will do whatever it takes to sustain our technological advantage and to invest in the capabilities that we need to protect our interests and to defeat [...]
The Aegis Destroyer USS Chung-Hoon has been dispatched to the South China Sea in the wake of a Sunday incident involving the USNS Impeccable, an unarmed surveillance ship, and five vessels in the Chinese Navy. Chinese military officials condemned the move, saying “the timing and the extent have gone beyond what you could call proportionate.” [...]
GEO News, the most popular television news network in Pakistan, was ordered blocked today by government regulators. Officials have yet to comment on the exact reason for the blocking, but most see it as retaliation for its harsh criticism of the actions of the government during the crackdown against opposition figures in recent days. Part [...]
Aides to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari say they are making progress toward a resolution of the political crisis which has lead to the imposition of emergency rule across much of the nation and has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to protest. Though the opposition would not comment the aides say the deal [...]
Speaking in an interview on PBS, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believes that in the wake of the disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq, future US presidents will be “very, very cautious” about attacking other nations, and that the “hurdle is much higher today than it was six or seven years ago.” Gates admitted that [...]
President Barack Obama followed in the footsteps of his predecessors today, renewing the annual sanctions that ban US companies from trading or investing in Iran. Obama cited the “continuing and unusual and extraordinary threat” posed by the Iranian government, which he declared “contrary to the interests of the United States in the region.” President Obama [...]
Said T. Jawad, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the United States, launched a tirade against the government’s western backers today, condemning them for pointing to the failing effort to pacify the ever growing insurgency in the nation. Jawad lashed out at the “total negligence” of the backers in trying to prop up a sustainable Afghan police system, [...]
Police have been out in force across Pakistan, arresting people involved in the Long March, a week-long protest rally across the nation which began today under threats of retaliation by government figures. Hundreds of thousands of lawyers are expected to take part in the march, along with untold numbers of opposition figures and average citizens [...]
Last Updated 3/13/09 12:30 PM EST At least 24 people were killed today when four missiles fired from US drones hit a residential building in Barjo, Kurram Agency. Local officials characterized the building as a “militant hideout” and said it had been completely destroyed. One security official said that those killed were “mainly Afghan Taliban,” [...]
