Terrorism

5 or 6 Doctors in UK Car Bomb Case?

Defying the stereotype that those involved in terrorist acts are often uneducated, at least five doctors may be among the eight suspects now being held in an alleged plot to blow up cars in London and Glasgow, Scotland. Only two of the suspects have been identified by authorities as physicians,…

Jul 3, 2007 1:47 AM CDT

Appeals Judge Seeks Secret Trials (Not)

A 7th Circuit judge reportedly created a stir amongst visitors from the Australian legal community at a recent Chicago conference, when he allegedly advocated secret trials for terrorists, among other non-traditional approaches to deal with this relatively new threat to the United States. Speaking of the possibility that terrorist plots…

Jul 2, 2007 11:17 PM CDT

More Arrests in Bomb Attempts

A night of “intensive police operations” has led to the arrests of two more men in the attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow, a police spokesman says. The arrests took place near Glasgow, where two men rammed a Jeep Cherokee into the entrance of the airport on Saturday, the…

Jul 2, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

High Court Accepts Gitmo Appeals

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed course and agreed to decide whether Guantanamo detainees may challenge their detention in federal court. The two cases raise a basic question, David J. Savage writes in the May 2007 ABA Journal story, “The Reach of the Writ”: Is habeas corpus protection limited…

Jun 29, 2007 5:22 PM CDT

London Police Dismantle Car Bomb

London police dismantled an explosive device early this morning in a car in the city’s nightclub and theater district. The car was packed with gasoline, cylinders and nails, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Police have asked the public to call with relevant information and are likely to study…

Jun 29, 2007 2:51 PM CDT

Is Libyan Innocent in Lockerbie Case?

A “miscarriage of justice” may have resulted in the conviction of a Libyan intelligence agent in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, requiring that he be granted a new appeal by Scotland’s High Court, an independent review board reported today. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was found guilty in 2001 of the bombing,…

Jun 28, 2007 7:14 PM CDT

CIA Documents Show U.S. Dirty Deeds

From an unsuccessful government plot to have a Chicago mobster assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to a failed effort to bug the Las Vegas hotel room of comedian Dan Rowan and a sidelines role in the Watergate scandal, recently released CIA documents show a plethora of dirty deeds committed by…

Jun 27, 2007 8:18 PM CDT

Padilla Jurors See Bin Laden Interview

Jurors in the terrorism trial of Jose Padilla saw a 10-year-old video of an interview in which Osama bin Laden condemned the United States. In the edited, seven-minute tape, the al-Qaida leader praised recent terrorist bombings that killed U.S. soldiers and warned that American civilians could also be targeted. U.S.…

Jun 27, 2007 4:36 PM CDT

Tipster Protection Bill Passes

The New York legislature has approved a law that protects citizens who warn of suspicious activity. The bill bars those fingered by such reports from suing the tipsters, Joseph Goldstein reports in the New York Sun. It provides immunity for anyone who in good faith files a report warning that…

Jun 27, 2007 2:44 PM CDT

Doctor, Soldier Among Plaintiffs Suing Feds Over Delayed Background Checks

A 30-year physician in Texas and a former member of the U.S. Army National Guard might seem to be unlikely national security risks. But they are among thousands whose background checks have been delayed for months or even years, reports the Houston Chronicle. As a result, families have been separated…

Jun 27, 2007 1:22 AM CDT

Cheney Pushed ‘Robust Interrogation’

Fare more so than has been realized until now, Vice President Dick Cheney was a key architect of the Bush administration’s plan to evade the Geneva conventions and at least come close to torturing prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere. That essentially is what the Washington Post reports in a page-one…

Jun 26, 2007 1:57 AM CDT

Judge Decries Warrantless Surveillance

The judge who once approved terrorism wiretaps has criticized President Bush’s decision to allow surveillance in some cases without court approval. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said in a speech to the American Library Association that warrantless surveillance erodes civil liberties, the Associated Press reports. “We have to understand you…

Jun 25, 2007 4:17 PM CDT

Difficult Decisions Delay Gitmo Closing

Bush administration officials are deeply divided on how to deal with 375 detainees if a decision is made to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Yesterday Associated Press reported that a decision to close the prison is near. The Washington Post reports today that many issues still must be…

Jun 22, 2007 4:44 PM CDT

Ashcroft Testifies on Surveillance Disputes

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft appeared in a closed-door session before a House committee yesterday to testify about Bush administration disputes over a domestic surveillance program. The committee is considering a bill that would rewrite the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires a special court to issue warrants for domestic…

Jun 22, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

Bin Laden Tape Allowed in Padilla Trial

Prosecutors have won permission to play a 1997 television interview of Osama bin Laden in the trial of Jose Padilla and two co-defendants. Bin Laden calls for a violent jihad against the United States in the interview. Prosecutors have wiretaps of Padilla’s two co-defendants discussing it, suggesting they agreed with…

Jun 22, 2007 2:42 PM CDT