Homeland Security

The release of photos of detainee abuse at the hands of the U.S. military would serve little purpose and potentially endanger American troops, President Obama said Wednesday.

Obama said the photos were part of a closed investigation into abuses and are "not particularly sensational" in nature.

"It's therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals," Obama said during an availability this afternoon in which he also spoke about the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka. "In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger."

The president reversed course on the release of the photos today, leaving it having to explain its decision to backtrack on the photos.

The Obama administration on Wednesday endorsed the House version of the 2009 war emergency funding, thanking lawmakers for not including "earmarks."

The statement of administration policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget comes as a surprise particularly after House appropriators added about $13 billion to the White House's $83.4 billion request.

Among the additions are funds for more Boeing C-17s, Lockheed Martin C-130Js and General Dynamics' Stryker combat vehicles-all money that the Obama administration did not request.

But the need to fund operations in Afghanistan and the new strategy in that region, as well as the conflict Iraq may be overshadowing what normally would be considered parochial interests.

"We face a security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan that demands urgent attention. The Taliban is resurgent and al Qaeda continues to operate from its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border," the OMB said in its statement. "The administration urges the Congress to move expeditiously to approve this funding to help the people of Iraq take responsibility for their own future and work to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

The statement goes on to say that, "the Administration appreciates that no earmarks are included in the bill, and that emergency funding was limited to non-recurring costs such as wildland fire management and the influenza outbreak."

-Roxana Tiron

View the full statement below: Read more...

A Texas Republican said Monday he is considering legislation that would restore proposed cuts in President Obama's budget to a program that subsidizes the jailing of illegal immigrants.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) indicated he's leaning toward introducing a measure to restore a $400 million cut to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAPP), which provides subsidies to states to offset the costs of jailing illegal immigrants.

"I am hopeful there is so much bipartisan support there'll be a groundswell of support," McCaul said during an appearance on Fox News. "In fact, I'm going to look at the idea of introducing a bill to restore the funding in the budget."

McCaul said he'd float the bill before the House Homeland Security Committee, on which he serves.

The cut to SCAPP, contained in President Obama's proposed budget, had incited a minor uproar from conservative activists in favor of border security.

"I mean, this is a program that detains and incarcerates people who come into this country illegally and commit crimes," McCaul argued. "Now, why in the world this president would want to cut funding for this is beyond me."

McCaul insisted there were better programs in the budget Obama could target for elimination.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that while she was briefed on enhanced interrogation tactics during the Bush administration, it was only once, and came in 2002.

"Of the 40 CIA briefings to Congress reported recently in the press, I was only briefed once, on September 4, 2002, as I have previously stated," Pelosi said in a statement, which included past quotes of hers on interrogation briefings.

"I had no further briefings on the techniques," Pelosi continued. As reported in the press, a cover letter from CIA Director Panetta accompanying the briefings memo released this week concedes that the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate."

The Speaker has come under fire from Republicans who accuse her and other Democrats of having exploited the release of the so-called "torture memos" from the Bush administration for political purposes. Republicans have asserted that Democrats were well aware of tactics having been carried out the last eight years.

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) indicated earlier today he may push for hearings on Pelosi's knowledge of the tactics.

A Guantanamo Bay-type facility could be established in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the state's former governor, John Engler (R), suggested this week.

Engler, who now leads the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), told state Republican lawmakers to consider the idea during a strategy session in Lansing, Mich., the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.

The location of terrorist detainees has become a controversial issue in recent months after President Obama announced the closure of the Cuban naval prison shortly after taking office. Republicans have criticized the administration's plans since then as having lacked detail in how it will next proceed.

According to the Free Press, the proposal found some receptiveness from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who represents the entirety of Northern Michigan and some parts of the lower peninsula in Congress.

The United States must shift its military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, the country's top military official said Monday.

"The main effort in our strategic focus from a military perspective must now shift to Afghanistan," Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Monday after a trip to the Middle East and South-Central Asia. "This isn't about can-do anymore, this is about must-do, and we must do more over at least the next two years, starting now."

Mullen signaled an increased urgency for concentrating on Afghanistan and Pakistan amid a resurgence of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the region.

"I'm gravely concerned about the progress they have made in the south and inside Pakistan," he said. "The consequences of their success directly threaten our national interests in the region and our safety here at home."

Former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and John Ashcroft stood firm against criticism of the Bush administration's use of waterboarding, maintaining the practice was not torture.

Both Gonzales and Ashcroft defended the interrogation tactic, their and other administration lawyers' advice on which was outlined in memos released last month by the Obama administration.

"I think that the U.S. government provided advice to CIA interrogators based upon the best legal reasoning by the lawyers in the Department of Justice," Gonzales <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-03/bushs-lawyers-strike-back/">said at a forum at American Jewish University</a>, moderated by Dan Abrams. "Was it torture, when that advice was given? No. Were the interrogations harsh? Yes. Did they save lives? Absolutely."

"I believe that the work of the department by these professionals came to the right conclusion," Ashcroft said. "That, as described, and as commented on in their memorandum, that it was not torture."

Gonzales said that some Justice Department and military officials had undergone the technique, which critics have alleged amounts to torture, during training exercises.

Gonzales, though, refused to call the memos a mistake, only saying that while he made his own mistakes while in public service, the Justice Department acted admirably to keep the U.S. safe.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said CNN pundit Lou Dobbs can buzz off during a townhall meeting with career foreign affairs officers on Friday.

One questioner, Jan Strasser, an employee at the United States Joint Forces Command, asked what Clinton thought about a system of global governance, referencing the work on the subject by Anne-Marie Slaughter, Clinton's nomination to be the State Dept.'s Director of Policy Planning.

"Well, I can just imagine what Lou Dobbs will say about that," Clinton said to laughter, referencing the CNN host who has emphasized economic nationalism and decreased deference to larger world governing bodies.

"You know what? Who cares about Lou Dobbs?" Strasser responded.

"I agree with that," Clinton shot back to more laughter, before refusing to specifically answer the question, saying that Slaughter is working on the subject.

The U.S. government will look to dismiss charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists whose indictments ensnared Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) in a developing scandal over her influence in the case.

News broke several weeks ago that Harman was recorded on a wiretap having agreed to urge the Justice Department to dismiss charges against two former analysts for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) accused of espionage.

Prosecutors asked a federal judge to dismiss all charges against Keith Weissman and Steve Rosen on Friday, JTA reported.

News that Harman had been captured on wiretaps discussing the case spawned two developing scandals: One over whether Harman had agreed to intervene in exchange for AIPAC's support for her run for a key chairmanship, and another over the widespread use of wiretaps during the Bush administration.

Those reports spawned two outrages: One over the extent of Harman's involvement

The Obama administration and Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano should not have taken closing the border with Mexico off the table as a method to contain swine flu, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) argued Thursday.

"We urged Secretary Napolitano to please keep that option open. We're not recommending it," Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said on Fox News. "It just seems to us that if we get to a point where contagion can be carried by proximity and there are more of the cases in Mexico then we want to keep separate for a while."

While some lawmakers such as Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) have called for a closed border with Mexico, where swine flu cases have run amok, the administration has rejected calls for such a response, reasoning it would damage the political and economic relationship with Mexico.

"If you close the border with Mexico even temporarily, it would have tremendous economic, dislocating effects. It'll also dislocate a lot of personal lives of people who go back and forth most every day," Lieberman explained. "But if we get to a point where public health experts tell us that closing the border temporarily will save lives in this country, then that's a choice that we've got to make."

Watch a video of the interview below: