Secure Liberties Newsletter
Covering War, Peace, and Everything in Between
TOP LINE
25 organizations say it’s time to repeal the blank checks for endless wars. In a letter to Congress yesterday, organizations from across the ideological spectrum called on legislators to sunset the 2001 Authorization of Military Force (AUMF) and immediately repeal the 2002 AUMF.
Prominent think tank with Biden Admin ties found to have ‘serious conflicts of interest.’ A new report by the Revolving Door Project documents how the national security think tank, Center for a New American Security (CNAS), has repeatedly taken money from the defense industry and foreign governments while advocating for policy that would benefit them. At least 16 CNAS alumni are now officials in the Biden Administration working on foreign policy issues.
ARMS, INTEL, and NDAA
CIA torture defender in charge of assembling Biden’s daily briefings. Morgan Muir, a CIA analyst who defended the merits of torture to the Senate Intelligence Committee with false information, is now director of mission integration at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Part of this job entails putting together President Biden’s daily briefs.
NATO could move to delay Afghanistan withdrawal. As the May 1 deadline for international forces to leave Afghanistan approaches, NATO’s defense ministers are meeting virtually this week to discuss the future of the peace process. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has been critical of former President Trump’s previously announced withdrawals, cautioned that “we will not leave before the time is right.”
Lawmakers applaud Biden’s sanctions review, but call for broader considerations. Last week Senator Warren, Representative Omar, and Representative García led 22 members of congress in a letter to the Biden Administration showing support over a national directive examining the impacts US sanctions have had on international responses to COVID-19. The letter went further by asking the administration “to consider the humanitarian impacts of sanctions more broadly” and “to make much-needed and overdue changes to the way we use sanctions as a foreign policy tool.”
They aren’t the only ones concerned with impacts of US sanctions. The UN human rights envoy tasked with monitoring the impacts of unilateral sanctions also released a preliminary report last week on their mission to Venezuela. The report finds that broad US sanctions against the country lack a legal basis, have significantly contributed to the worsening humanitarian situation in Venezuela, and recommends that the US end various aspects of its sanctions regime.
Finally closing Gitmo? President Biden announced a ‘formal review’ of the notorious U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the stated intention of closing the facility before the end of his presidency.
Arms control treaty with Russia lives on. The last remaining U.S.-Russian arms control treaty, New START, was renewed for five more years after it was set to expire this month. The treaty limited the strategic nuclear arsenal of both countries, with various monitoring and verification systems in place. Read the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center’s explainer to learn more.
SURVEILLANCE
DHS pivoting from foreign to domestic threats. Amid growing calls to expand government authorities to tackle domestic terrorism and extremism following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection the Department of Homeland Security, which was originally tasked to defend against foreign threats after 9/11, has already begun shifting its focus and resources towards domestic terrorism.
Data collected from the Capitol Insurrection reveals chilling surveillance powers. A New York Times investigation examined leaked information from the tech industry showing the extent to which these companies are tracking smartphone location data. The investigation shows how individual users’ data are assigned a unique ID, which can be matched with other databases containing personal information. Data mining companies are not required by law to disclose what they do with the data, including being bought and sold to third party companies and government agencies. DHS, among others has been was recently exposed for buying this information from data brokers, and the DIA was also caught using the controversial practice.
FBI able to hack some Signal conversations. Forbes reports that last year, the FBI was able to obtain messages and metadata from the app Signal on iPhones that had been unlocked once but kept on.
A new book uncovers US government reliance on hackers-for-hire around the world. In her book, “This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race,” Nicole Perlroth explores the creation of an industry of mercenary hackers by the US government. Perlroth expressed her concern over how this opens up cybersecurity vulnerabilities in an interview with The Washington Post.
RELEVANT, TOO
The inside story of how the Pentagon blocked efforts to end the Iraq War
The agency founded because of 9/11 is shifting to face the threat of domestic terrorism
Rocket Attack in Iraq Kills a U.S. Military Contractor
Biden Justice Dept. Asks British Court to Approve Extradition of Julian Assange
How the Police Bank Millions Through Their Union Contracts
Senate Intelligence Committee to Examine Antigovernment Extremists
BOTTOM LINE
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