In the News: Jun-17

US official denies charge of interference in Iran - 17 Jun 2009 at 1:59pm - WASHINGTON -- The State Department is disputing an allegation by the Iranian government that the United States is meddling excessively in its internal affairs.

But is the State Department explicitly denying that U.S. special ops played any part in encouraging protests?

Iran blames U.S. for bitter post-election dispute - 17 Jun 2009 at 1:37pm - As tens of thousands of supporters of Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi gathered in Tehran Wednesday, Iran accused the United States of "intolerable" meddling in its internal affairs, alleging that Washington has fueled a bitter post-election dispute.

AG Holder: 50 or more Gitmo trials possible - 17 Jun 2009 at 1:11pm - WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday there may be 50 or more trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees as the Obama administration works to shut the detention center by early next year.

Top senator: NSA not violating surveillance law - 17 Jun 2009 at 11:34am - WASHINGTON -- The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee says there have not been flagrant violations of rules governing surveillance of American e-mails and phone calls.

NSA Email Surveillance Pervasive and Ongoing - June 17, 2009 10:16:00 AM - The NY Times has a piece about work being done by Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) and others to curb NSA efforts to read email and Internet traffic. Here's an excerpt: 'Since April, when it was disclosed that the intercepts of some private communications of Americans went beyond legal limits in late 2008 and early 2009, several Congressional committees have been investigating. Those inquiries have led to concerns in Congress about the agency's ability to collect and read domestic e-mail messages of Americans on a widespread basis, officials said. Supporting that conclusion is the account of a former NSA analyst who, in a series of interviews, described being trained in 2005 for a program in which the agency routinely examined large volumes of Americans' e-mail messages without court warrants. Two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation.

Senator: Attorney General Holder soft on terror - 17 Jun 2009 at 10:48am - WASHINGTON -- The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says Attorney General Eric Holder is too soft on terrorism.

Thought for the day:
War is just to those to whom war is necessary. -Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD)