Terrorism

Engaged from the Start

The ABA has shaped the debate over the legal war on terrorism since 9/11

Sep 1, 2007 5:10 AM CDT

On ABAJournal.com

Additional materials here on our Web site related to the articles in our September special issue print magazine

Sep 1, 2007 5:05 AM CDT

Scientists Challenge Background Checks

Twenty-eight contract scientists, engineers and other workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have filed a suit claiming that newly instituted security checks invade their privacy. The suit claims the government is seeking detailed information covering areas such as sexual history and is asking for waivers so past employers…

Aug 31, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

State Secrets Often Cited to Crush Suits

The Bush administration is apparently relying on the state secrets privilege in a motion seeking dismissal of a lawsuit claiming a Belgian banking cooperative gave customers’ records to the United States without a warrant. The Justice Department says in a July 25 motion that the suit should be dismissed to…

Aug 31, 2007 3:54 PM CDT

Headgear Policy Draws Protests

A new federal policy that allows airport screeners to pat down anyone wearing a turban or other headgear is causing concern among Sikhs and Muslims. The Sikh Coalition is protesting the policy, the New York Times reports. “The federal government has equated our most precious article of faith with terrorism,”…

Aug 30, 2007 1:53 PM CDT

Weapons Fraud Investigated

The government is conducting 73 criminal investigations of contract fraud and bribery in the delivery of weapons and supplies to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. “Investigations span the gamut from low-level officials submitting false claims for amounts less than $2,500 to more serious cases involving conspiracy,…

Aug 28, 2007 1:41 PM CDT

4th Circuit to Rehear Detainee Case

A federal appeals court has granted en banc review in a case challenging the indefinite military detention of a civilian who is suspected of terrorist ties. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear the case at its Oct. 31 session, SCOTUSblog reports. Its en banc order vacates a…

Aug 23, 2007 6:33 PM CDT

U.S. to Investigate Aid Workers

Ratcheting up U.S. scrutiny of foreign aid workers, the Bush administration is about to require charitable and nonprofit organizations that receive money from a government agency to provide detailed personal information on thousands of key employees. The controversial program, which is to take effect in four days, would require the…

Aug 23, 2007 4:23 PM CDT

Terrorism Wiretap Numbers Disclosed

The nation’s top intelligence official has revealed new details about the government’s terrorism wiretap programs in an interview with the El Paso Times. The newspaper says revelations by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell “raised eyebrows for their frank discussion of previously classified eavesdropping work conducted under the Foreign Intelligence…

Aug 23, 2007 2:09 PM CDT

Va. Tech Panels: More Security Needed

More is needed to help keep students safe on campus, according to reports by three internal Virginia Tech review committees that were released today. The committees were appointed after a student gunman killed 32 students and faculty during a several-hour on-campus massacre on April 16, to help the university prevent…

Aug 22, 2007 10:56 PM CDT

Why Wiretap Warrants?

A law professor argues that search warrants are “utterly beside the point” when the object is to detect terrorism schemes rather than to gather evidence against a suspect. Law professor Philip Bobbitt of Columbia University concludes in a New York Times op-ed that critics are misguided in their assessment of…

Aug 22, 2007 2:02 PM CDT

Pentagon Scraps Anti-Terror Database

The Pentagon is pulling the plug on an anti-terrorism database criticized for tracking information on peace activists. Army Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman, said the database was being shut down because its analytical value had declined, the Associated Press reports. The data will be transferred to the FBI’s Guardian…

Aug 22, 2007 1:36 PM CDT

Court Case Cited in Pakistani’s Release

The lawyer for an al-Qaida suspect says his release may be because of the Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision to review his detention without charges. Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan had been held without charges since July 2004 when he was arrested in a joint Pakistani-British operation, the New York Times reports.…

Aug 22, 2007 1:12 PM CDT

Behavioral Experts Denounce Interrogation Abuse

The nation’s largest group of behavioral experts ruled on Sunday that its members cannot be associated with interrogation techniques that the government has used on terrorism detainees. In making its decision at its annual meeting over the weekend, the American Psychological Association said that psychologists who are witness to mock…

Aug 20, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

Court Mulls Release of Wiretap Rulings

A court that secretly decides government wiretap requests in terrorism cases is considering a motion to release its recent classified rulings limiting certain kinds of government surveillance. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court released an order on Friday saying it would consider the request, the New York Times reports. One report…

Aug 20, 2007 10:51 AM CDT