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Sam Sacks - page 72

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

Former Ambassador to Syria: US Has Been “Looking The Other Way” Over Rebel al-Qaeda Alliance

Former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford suggested on Thursday that Washington is aware its aid to Syrian rebels is benefiting an al-Qaeda affiliate. Ford made the comments in reference to insurgents’ cooperation with the group, Jabhat al-Nusra. “The days of us looking the other way are finished,” he said, according to McClatchy reporter Hannah Allam. “Cooperation with a terrorist group has political impact,” he added. Ford also predicted that Nusra would “attack the US and our friends in Europe,” according to another journalist present.… Keep Reading

White House Supports CIA Board’s Findings on Senate Spying, No Consequences Recommended

Faced with two reports offering different conclusions about the CIA’s spying on Senate staffers, the White House chose to back the one that found no wrongdoing. On Wednesday, the Agency Accountability Board released its findings on the CIA-Senate row, which concluded that “the actions and decisions” of agency personnel were “reasonable.” White House spokesperson Josh Earnest, on Thursday, briefed reporters saying, “The administration has a lot of confidence in the report that was put forward by this group.” The findings of that report directly contradict… Keep Reading

How to Throw Away a Half-Million Bucks in Four Months: A Story About Afghan Reconstruction

In the summer of 2012, US Central Command awarded a contract worth more than $456,000 to an Afghan construction company to build a police training facility in the eastern province of Wardak. Four months later, that building was “disintegrating” and overseers of the project were nowhere to be seen. The story of how Qesmatullah Nasrat Construction Company (QNCC) bilked the US government out of half-million dollars is one that regularly plagues the Afghan reconstruction effort, and is documented in the latest report, released on Thursday,… Keep Reading

Big Business Not Buying Into New Methane Regulations

President Obama put forward a plan of action Wednesday to reduce methane emissions over the next decade. Hours later, the nation’s most powerful business lobby said it hoped the idea would be squashed. “Now the administration comes out with another one-size-fits-all regulation that’s going to have an impact on one of the most innovative industries in the country,” said Bruce Josten, the Executive Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs. He made the statement as he and the Chamber’s CEO, Tom Donohue,… Keep Reading

Amid Record Deportations, House Moves to Deport Most Vulnerable

In a series of votes on Wednesday, House Republicans attached several anti-immigrant riders to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that will now assuredly be vetoed by the White House, if it can pass the Senate. The bill, which keeps the agency funded through September, was passed out of the House Rules Committee Monday night, along with several amendments ruled in order. The addition to the appropriations bill would roll back President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. In a 237-190 vote in the full… Keep Reading

WH: “Very, Very Difficult” to Close Guantanamo Before Administration Ends

Administration spokesman Josh Earnest is pessimistic that the infamous military prison at Guantanamo Bay will be shuttered in the next two years, casting doubts on a signature campaign promise his boss made more than six years ago. “It will be very, very difficult for us to achieve that goal before the president leaves office,” Earnest admitted to reporters on Tuesday. He cited measures passed by Congress that placed restrictions on detainee releases and the outright barring of prisoner transfers to the United States for trial.… Keep Reading

Lawmaker Suggests CENTCOM Twitter Hack Could be Act of War

During a House Foreign Affairs Committee briefing on North Korean cyber and nuclear threats, one high-ranking Republican veered off course and suggested that Monday’s hack on a US military twitter account is “severely disturbing” and necessitates a discussion about how to define an act of war. “What is going to be the response of the United States of America…when our military is under fire?” asked Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) Tuesday morning. The chair of the House Homeland Security Committee went on to claim that the… Keep Reading

Lawmaker Breaks From Pack, Calls for Petraeus Prosecution

Since news broke that charges could be filed against retired Gen. David Petraeus for allegedly disclosing classified information to a biographer who became his lover, lawmakers have rushed to his defense. But on Monday, one Member of Congress wasn’t willing to grant special treatment to the former top general. “It’d be very hard to justify not prosecuting [Petraeus] if the facts were there,” said. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on MSNBC. Those sentiments run counter to what other lawmakers have said, in reaction to the news… Keep Reading

Rosy Report on Over-classification Raises Oversight Concerns

Despite the allocation of security clearances to nearly five million people, an inspector general report found few problems with over-classification within the US intelligence community. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI) report, which was made public last Friday, “found no instances where classification was used to conceal violation of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency; restrain competition; or prevent or delay the release of information not requiring protection in the interest of national security.” The… Keep Reading

Feds Jump Into Fight Against Racist NFL Mascot

The US government put itself at odds with the National Football League in a case that will determine the fate of a franchise’s racist mascot. In a statement released on Friday, the Department of Justice said it would defend the constitutionality of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to repeal the Washington Redskins’ trademarks, which were found last year to be “disparaging to Native Americans at the time they were registered.” One of the trademarks struck down was the actual name of the organization,… Keep Reading

State Dept. Mum on Final Report Following Nebraska Court Keystone XL Ruling

Reporters sparred with a State Department spokesperson on Friday, hoping to glean information about the agency’s final report on the Keystone XL pipeline, after a critical legal obstacle was lifted earlier in the day. The Nebraska Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit challenging the pipeline project in a decision that upholds the route approved by the state’s governor. Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters following the ruling that department agencies must now “complete their consideration of whether the proposed project serves the national interest and provide… Keep Reading

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