Secure Liberties Newsletter
TOP LINE
Yemen truce breaks down. Over the weekend, the temporary truce between warring parties expired on Oct. 2, and for the first time since April, there was no agreement to extend it. Despite UN efforts to mediate a compromise, impasses exist in expanding the terms of the truce surrounding the payment of civil servants, the aerial and naval blockade, and road closures.
But before it did, Members of Congress sent a letter to Blinken urging the use of US leverage to lift Saudi blockade. Last Friday, 40 members, led by Reps. Dingell and Pocan with the support of 20 orgs, quietly sent a letter to the Biden Administration as it was engaged in diplomacy to extend the truce. The letter called on Secretary Blinken to use US leverage over Saudi Arabia to finally put an end to their blockade, and warned that Congress would pass the bi-cameral War Powers Resolutions to ensure an end to US support for Saudi/UAE coalition’s offensive operations in Yemen should they resume. See Middle East Eye’s coverage here.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
22 organizations have urged the Senate Armed Services Committee to preserve Reps. Jacobs and Davidson’s bipartisan amendment to the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2023. The amendment – which was adopted without opposition in the House – requires the Department of Defense to disclose which components are buying Americans’ location records, internet activity, and similar information from data brokers without court orders. This unclassified information is critical to enabling Congressional, judicial, and public oversight. Last week, Senators Wyden and Daines offered a Senate companion.
As we mentioned in our last edition, Vice revealed that — without any court order or Congressional oversight — “[m]ultiple branches of the U.S. military have bought access to a powerful internet monitoring tool that claims to cover over 90 percent of the world’s internet traffic, and which in some cases provides access to people’s email data, browsing history, and other information such as their sensitive internet cookies.” This rapidly expanding practice represents an enormous and irreversible threat to our right to privacy.
NDAA procedurally moving forward Oct. 11, votes to come after the election. That’s pretty much all we know right now (send in tips if you have other intel!). The Senate is to officially start debate on the NDAA, a procedural step to move the bill forward, but no final vote until after the election. It’s yet to be seen how it will be reconciled with the House version, and how amendments will play out (but we’re not expecting an open process).
END OF FIST-BUMP DIPLOMACY?
After OPEC production cut, Reps. Malinowski, Casten, and Wild intro bill to remove US troops and defense systems out of Saudi Arabia and UAE. Yesterday, after OPEC+ announced they were cutting energy production to boost prices, the trio announced a new bill which would direct the removal of all US forces, including our THAAD and Patriot missile systems, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who hold great sway over OPEC decisions. Critics of Biden’s campaign to court the Saudi Crown Prince earlier this year aren’t really that surprised at how things turned out.
PUBLIC OPINION ON WAR & PEACE
New polls show majority American support for diplomacy to end Russia-Ukraine war and Iran nuclear impasse; reining in executive war making; ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia: The Eurasian Group Foundation’s new poll found nearly 80% of Americans support continued talks to return to a nuclear agreement with Iran, and Data for Progress’ new poll shows 60% of Americans want the US to engage in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible. The EGF poll also shows 80% support to constrain the president’s war-making abilities and 69% support to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
SUBWAYS & SCHOOLS
Surveillance solutions are reaching New Jersey schools and NYC subways and it’s not about improving safety. A superintendent from a small New Jersey school district sent sales pitches in coordination with camera security company Verkada to neighboring districts, per Vice. And New York Governor Kathy Hochul is launching a new effort to install two cameras in each subway car (over 6,400!) – but it’s about ridership, not crime. And don’t forget about the Met’s facial recognition ticketing from our last edition… big yikes! We’re hoping the Padres send them a strong message this weekend.
RECOMMENDED READING
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An advisory breaking down the emerging issue of ICE administrative subpoena requests to tech companies, such as Google, for account holder data from Just Futures Law.
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A piece looking at the harmful impacts of post 9/11 policies and the impediments they cause to peacebuilding and civil society by Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery of the Charity & Security Network