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CIA Begins Weapons Delivery To Syrian Rebels

"The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear — a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria’s civil war. The arms shipments, which are limited to light weapons and other munitions that can be tracked, began arriving in Syria at a moment of heightened tensions over threats by President Obama to order missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad." Continue reading →

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9/11 Commission leaders push for changes in US terrorism fight

"Today, Al Qaeda and its affiliates maintain a presence in 'some 16 different theaters of operation – compared with half as many as recently as five years ago,' according to the report. In Syria in particular, the civil war may be providing Al Qaeda 'with a chance to regroup, train, and plan operations, much as the US invasion of Iraq revitalized the network and gave it new relevance,' notes the report. While these Al Qaeda groups have been busy expanding in other parts of the globe, within the confines of the United States, the threat of attacks 'has shifted away from plots directly connected to foreign groups,' in the report’s estimation, 'to plots by individuals who are merely inspired by them.'" Continue reading →

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Donald Trump eyeing ‘building swap’ for FBI headquarters

"Flamboyant New York property developer and reality TV star Donald Trump is casting his eye on what some Washingtonians consider an architectural eyesore in the US capital — FBI headquarters. He told The Washington Post in an interview posted online Wednesday that he might take an opportunity to acquire the Brutalist-style premises on Pennsylvania Avenue in return for erecting a new and bigger home for the storied federal law enforcement agency. Inaugurated in the mid-1970s, the 11-floor J. Edgar Hoover Building houses more than half of the 10,000 employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the greater Washington area." Continue reading →

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NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans’ data with Israel

"Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis. The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacyof US citizens caught in the dragnet. The deal was reached in principle in March 2009, according to the undated memorandum." Continue reading →

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NSA routinely spied on phone records unrelated to terrorism cases

"US intelligence officials declassified documents Tuesday revealing the National Security Agency violated privacy rules for three years when it sifted phone records of Americans with no suspected links to terrorists. The government was forced to disclose the documents by a judge’s order after a Freedom of Information lawsuit. The NSA had been permitted by the court to only search phone numbers that had 'reasonable articulable suspicion' of having links to terrorism. But out of more than 17,000 numbers on a NSA list in 2009, the agency only had reasonable suspicion for about 1,800 of the numbers, two senior intelligence officials told reporters on Tuesday." Continue reading →

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Syrian President Bashar al Assad Charlie Rose Interview (full)

"PBS' Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, September 9, at 9 p.m. in a special presentation of CHARLIE ROSE. In this global television exclusive, Assad gives his only television interview since President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the use of force against the Syrian regime for alleged use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people." Continue reading →

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What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria

"It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan 'you’re either with us or against us.' But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes." Continue reading →

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Iran’s new U.N. nuclear envoy gets harsh reception

"Western envoys gave Iran’s new ambassador to the UN atomic agency a frosty welcome Wednesday, saying Tehran’s new government should waste no time proving to the world it does not want the bomb. Speaking at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, US envoy Joseph Macmanus said Iran was refusing to comply with UN Security Council and IAEA resolutions demanding it suspend key parts of its nuclear programme. Iran denies seeking or ever having sought nuclear weapons and argues that the six UN Security Council resolutions passed against it since 2006 — four with sanctions attached — are illegal." Continue reading →

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Treasury: $238b financial bailout ‘avoided catastrophe,’ only $3b outstanding

"The US Treasury said Wednesday the government’s massive response to the economic crisis five years ago paid off, avoiding a catastrophic breakdown of the financial system. In a report marking the anniversary of the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers — which snowballed into the worst crisis since the 1930s — the Treasury defended deploying hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to save other banks, major financial institutions and auto companies. While the rescue effort required piling up government debt, it was necessary, said Treasury officials who briefed reporters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTreasury: $238b financial bailout ‘avoided catastrophe,’ only $3b outstanding

FBI continues to investigate Hastings for ‘controversial reporting’

"The FBI released a heavily redacted document on Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings, which revealed the law-enforcement agency is continuing to investigate what it characterized as 'controversial reporting' by the journalist, who died in a late-night car crash in Los Angeles in June. The FBI'S public liaison officer wrote that after the agency searched for responsive records it located one 'cross reference' file pertaining to a pending criminal investigation. The papers revealed that the FBI still considers Hastings' work highly sensitive; even the title of the case file has been withheld under claims that the information could interfere with an ongoing law-enforcement investigation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI continues to investigate Hastings for ‘controversial reporting’