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Sam Sacks - page 54

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

With Syria, White House Probing Outer, Outer Limits of the 2001 AUMF

Administration lawyers are considering whether or not a 2001 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) can be applied nearly a decade-and-a-half later to a foreign government that had nothing to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks: Syria. “Let me take that question just to make sure that we get you the precise legal answer,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday, responding to a reporter’s inquiry about the 2001 AUMF, and whether or not it justifies airstrikes against government forces loyal to Syrian… Keep Reading

NSA Backdoor Searches Would End If House Amendment Survives

The House passed legislation Thursday that would prevent the NSA from spying on American citizens whose data was incidentally collected during foreign dragnets, marking the second year in a row that the lower chamber has put the kibosh on backdoor domestic spying. Read more of this article at The Intercept. Keep Reading

Pelosi On A New AUMF: “We Don’t Discuss It”

Debate over a new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State (ISIL) stalled this week in the House, despite the Obama administration’s announcement Wednesday that it will be sending 450 more troops to Iraq. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged to reporters on Thursday that drafting a new AUMF has been pushed to the back burner—or rather, shoved off the stovetop—just as US involvement in the conflict is set to ramp up yet again. “We don’t discuss it on the… Keep Reading

Dem Rep Blasts G.O.P. Military Budget Proposal, Warns of “New Nuclear Arms Race”

With Congress and the White House mired in a debate over defense policy and appropriations bills, one Democratic lawmaker pressed his colleagues to consider the consequences—both at home and abroad—of profligate Pentagon spending. Describing what he called “the waste of war,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) spoke out against increased funding to maintain the nation’s nuclear arsenal “We are now in the first quarter of a new nuclear arms race. It involves Russia and China, France, United Kingdom, and the United States are all rebuilding,” he said,… Keep Reading

Leahy Decries “Last Minute Attempt” To Pass Privacy-Implicating Cyber Sharing Legislation

A bid to quietly include controversial cybersecurity legislation into a must-pass defense policy bill didn’t go unnoticed by the top Democratic judicial authority in the Senate. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) blasted the procedure as being the result of “closed door” maneuvering involving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and said “the privacy of millions of Americans is at stake.” He issued the statement on Tuesday, hours after legislation known as the Cyber Security Information Sharing Act (CISA) was introduced as an amendment to a separate… Keep Reading

New NSA Allegations Have Reformers Saying “I Told You So”

The Thursday disclosure of a rife-for-abuse top-secret NSA program may have come too late to affect the recently concluded USA Freedom Act debate. But lawmakers are already suggesting that the new revelation about bulk collection activities will influence the next NSA fight on the horizon. A joint-investigation by the New York Times and ProPublica revealed that the agency was using its internet dragnet capabilities to monitor IP addresses and computer code related to foreign hackers—a surveillance method that leaves Americans’ communications prone to exploitation by… Keep Reading

Senators Concerned With “Militarization of US Foreign Policy In Africa”

Senators voiced frustrations with the US government’s activities in Africa, and asked State Department and Pentagon officials if the fight against terrorism on the continent is undermining support for good governance. During a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) used part of his question time to highlight what he called “a dramatic imbalance between State and DOD” in providing assistance to friendly African governments. “I’m growing more concerned about the potential for militarization of US foreign policy in Africa,” he… Keep Reading

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