CIA Increases Drone Killings of Pakistanis Who “Might be Militants”

Source: AllGov
Noel Brinkerhoff

To the chagrin of American diplomats and military commanders, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has expanded its targeting criteria for drone attacks in Pakistan to include anyone who might be associated with al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations.

 

In effect, the CIA has authorized the killing of foreign nationals whose identities aren’t known and who are only suspected of terrorist associations. Attacks against such groups of people are referred to as “signature” strikes by the CIA, as opposed to “personality” strikes which target known suspects. The vast majority of CIA drone attacks are of the “signature” variety. They were first used during the administration of President George W. Bush, but they have been enthusiastically pursued by Barack Obama’s CIA.

 

The change in policy has raised the question, according to Spencer Ackerman at Wired’s Danger Room, of “whether it’s acceptable for the CIA to kill someone without truly knowing if he’s the bombsmith or the laundry guy.”

 

Officials in the Departments of Defense and State are not happy with the CIA’s expanded targeting of Pakistanis. Diplomats worry that the broader rationale for increased aerial assaults will foment even more anti-American sentiments in Pakistan, while military planners fear a backlash that will lead to the U.S. losing key supply routes into Afghanistan.

Why is U.S. Using X-Ray Security Scanners Europe Rejects as Unsafe?

Source: AllGov

Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

In the late 1990s, experts insisted it was highly unlikely the U.S. would rely on new x-ray body scanners at airports and other security checkpoints. But the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, reversed that thinking and today there are hundreds of the machines in use, despite health concerns that have kept the technology out of Europe.

 

Some health specialists argue that even low-level radiation exposure poses an unacceptable risk to Americans going through airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), though, sees things differently, claiming body scanners are safe and effective. Nonetheless, on Tuesday John Pistole, the administrator of TSA, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that his agency will authorize a new, independent study of x-ray and body scanner safety.

GAO Report Highlights Federal Reserve Conflicts of Interest

Source: AllGov 

David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Now that congressional auditors have gained access for the first time to the financial records of the Federal Reserve, their assessment has turned up serious conflicts of interest for the board members overseeing the branches of the national bank.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) states in a new report that the directors of the 12 regional Fed banks and Fed-supervised firms are risking the system’s reputation by maintaining ties to the industry they regulate.

For instance, at least 18 former and current directors were affiliated with financial institutions that relied on the Fed’s emergency assistance programs during the crisis that swept Wall Street.

In September 2008, the chairman of the New York Federal Reserve was Stephen Friedman, who also happened to be a member of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs. When Goldman applied to become a bank holding company in order to gain access to cheap credit from the Federal Reserve, the New York Fed approved, and Goldman came under the regulatory purview of the New York Fed, which gave Friedman a waiver to continue in his position despite the obvious conflict of interest. After it was revealed that Friedman, in December 2008, purchased 37,300 additional shares of Goldman Sachs, he was forced to resign.