Georgetown Security Law Brief

Weekly Tech Updates 12/22/12

12/22/12:  Here are this week's technology updates related to national security:

• DARPA funding research to make deployable radio frequency backbone to match fiber optic capacity
• Better mind control allows for better robotic arm
• Arming US troops with insect protective gear
• Canadian firm claims to have created an invisibility cloak
• Superconductors that work by themselves: new possibilities in chryoelectronics
• Wires that stretch up to eight times their length
• Pocket test measure 50 things with drop of blood
• DARPA's legged squad support system learns voice commands and new tricks
• DARPA challenge is looking for adaptive, software-based radio communications

 

Philippines passes law on forced disappearances

12/22/12:  The New York Times reports Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law imposing up to life imprisonment for state agents convicted of being involved in enforced disappearances, the first major human rights legislation under his nearly 3-year-old government.  The human rights group Karapatan says more than 1,000 political activists and suspected supporters have disappeared since the 1972-1986 Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, including more than 200 under Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It has documented 12 cases of enforced disappearance since 2010 under Aquino. US-based Human Rights Watch said the new law is the first to criminalize enforced disappearances in Asia and challenged Aquino to "move quickly to enforce" it.

Syria acting to safeguard chemical weapons, says Russia

12/22/12:  The BBC reports Syria has acted to consolidate its chemical weapons into "one or two" places to prevent rebels capturing them, Russia's foreign minister says. Sergei Lavrov said the weapons had previously been "scattered" across the country and they were "under control" for the time being.

Penalties on Iran sanction strengthened by US and Europe

12/22/12:  The New York Times reports the United States and Europe announced strengthened sanctions against Iran on Friday, increasing the number of blacklisted companies and individuals linked to the Iranian nuclear program, in coordinated actions that underscored the failure to resolve one of the most intractable international disputes.   Under the expanded sanctions, the Treasury Department blacklisted fourc ompanies and one person, and the Eurpean Union blacklisted 18 companies and one person.  The Treasury said one of the four companies was also involved in supplying weapons to the military of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s Middle East ally, who has been fighting an insurgency for nearly two years.

Russia demands action over UN helicopter downed in South Sudan

12/22/12:  The BBC reports Russia has urged South Sudan to identify and punish those responsible for shooting down a UN helicopter and killing its four Russian crew. The helicopter was apparently shot down on Friday while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state. The UN strongly condemned the "shooting down... of a clearly marked UN helicopter" by South Sudanese forces. South Sudanese officials have given conflicting accounts of why the helicopter may have been downed.

Syria unleashes cluster bombs on town

12/21/12:  The New York Times reports many forms of violence and hardship have befallen Syria’s people as the country’s civil war has escalated this year. But the Syrian governmnet's attack on Dec. 12 pointed to one of the war’s irrefutable patterns: the deliberate targeting of civilians, in this case with a weapon that is impossible to use precisely. The munitions in question — Soviet-era PTAB-2.5Ms — were designed to destroy battlefield formations of Western armored vehicles and tanks. They are ejected in dense bunches from free-falling dispensers dropped from aircraft. The bomblets then scatter and descend nose-down to land and explode almost at once over a wide area, often hundreds of yards across. The use of cluster munitions is banned by much of the world, although Syria, like the United States, is not party to that international convention.

How China's military is catching up to the United States

12/21/12:  Foreign Policy's John Reed published an article on how China's military is catching up to the United States.  Meanwhile, Senior Brookings Fellow Peter W. Singer published an article in Popular Science about China's increasingly sophisticated military technology.

Army rolls out brass to defend anti-IED software

12/21/12:  The Washington Times reports the Army presented two two-star generals and three intelligence specialists Thursday to defend its $2.5 billion battlefield intelligence processor, which has failed operational tests and has been criticized by soldiers as being too slow to analyze the enemy and help find buried bombs in Afghanistan.  In a news conference at the Pentagon, the Army specialists lauded the Defense Common Ground System, an array of computers, servers and programs that is the Army's principal processor of huge amounts of battlefield data.  Commanders and intelligence officers in Afghanistan complained about the Defense Common Ground System. Some asked for permission to buy Palantir, an off-the-shelf software platform that specializes in linking disparate bits of information to form a clear picture of the battlefield.

High Court blocks US drone intelligence case

12/21/12:  The BBC reports the High Court has rejected an attempt by a Pakistani man to force the UK government to reveal if it is providing intelligence for US drone strikes. Noor Khan, whose father died in a drone strike in Pakistan, said the UK could be committing a war crime by helping the CIA to identify targets. The government neither confirms nor denies any role in assisting with operations against al-Qaeda. The court said it could not force the government to reveal its policy. Lord Justice Moses said that oversight of intelligence arrangements in this case was for Parliament, not the court. The UK operates its own unmanned drones in Afghanistan, but these operations were not part of this case.

North Korea says it has detained an American citizen

12/21/12:  The New York Times reports North Korea said on Friday that it had detained an American citizen on charges of committing “hostile acts against the republic,” a crime punishable by years in prison in the isolated country. The Korean Central News Agency said the American, Bae Jun-ho, had entered the country on Nov. 3 through a port city near the Russian border. Human rights activists said they believed Mr. Bae to be Kenneth Bae, who they said had been detained in the North. The North Korean report said that an investigation had established Mr. Bae’s guilt and that he had confessed. It said he had been allowed to meet with officials from the Swedish Embassy. The Swedish Embassy intervenes on Washington’s behalf on issues involving American citizens in North Korea. Washington has no diplomatic relations with the North.

UN backs Mali intervention force to oust rebels

12/21/12:  The BBC reports the UN Security Council has authorised an African-led military force to try to oust Islamists from northern Mali. The council unanimously voted to give the force an initial one-year mandate. The resolution also sets "benchmarks" for Mali, including political reconciliation and improved training for the military. Armed groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, took control of northern Mali after a military coup in March and established a harsh form of Islamic law.

Court clears way for spy lawsuit against Army workers

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports Several activists from Washington State can continue with a lawsuit accusing two civilian employees of the United States Army of spying on organizers of protests against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday. The ruling, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, appears to clear the way for a trial involving assertions that the Army was involved in the surveillance of civilian groups, which several statutes forbid.

Congressional negotiators drop ban on indefinite detention for citizens, Aids say

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports lawmakers charged with merging the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act decided on Tuesday to drop a provision that would have explicitly barred the military from holding American citizens and permanent residents in indefinite detention without trial as terrorism suspects, according to Congressional staff members familiar with the negotiations. The Senate approved that amendment in a surprise vote last month. While it appeared to be a rare step to bolster protections for domestic civil liberties, rights groups opposed it because it did not cover other categories of people so they feared that it would implicitly open the door to using the military for domestic police purposes.

Yemen's president restructures armed forces

12/20/12: CNN reports Yemen's armed forces have a new look after President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ordered major changes to both the military's leadership and structure on Wednesday. The expansive reshuffle appears to have removed those loyal to Yemen's previous President Ali Abdullah Saleh from their powerful positions within the military, with several other generals attaining appointments to new positions. As part of the restructuring, the elite republican guard and the first armored division will be absorbed into the country's Defense Ministry. The republican guard has been led by Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, and Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who defected during the 2011 Yemeni uprising, has commanded the first armored division.

Army seeking death penalty in massacre of 16 Afghans

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports rhe United States Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.  Sergeant Bales’s court-martial will consider 16 counts of premeditated murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of assault, among other charges, but no trial date was set.

Israel settlements: UN steps up pressure

12/20/12: The BBC reports the UN is stepping up pressure on Israel over its settlement building on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The secretary general and all Security Council members except the US demanded an immediate halt to new construction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would press ahead with settlement expansion. The US protects Israel at the UN but the state department accused Israel of "a pattern of provocative action".

War in Syria is becomign Sectarian, UN panel says

12/20/12:  The New York Times reports Syria’s civil war has evolved from a battle over political change into a conflict that is “overtly sectarian,” pulling fighters from across the Middle East and North Africa into the fray, United Nations investigators said on Thursday.  The risk of political confrontation erupting into ethnic and religious strife had always been present but “as battles between government forces and anti-government armed groups approach the end of their second year, the conflict has become overtly sectarian in nature,” said the investigators, who are members of a panel appointed by the United Nations and led by Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil.

Zero Dark Thirty

12/20/12:  Opinion Juris posted the contents of an open letter from three Senators concerning the content of the movie Zero Dark Thirty.  The letter makes an interesting read and confirms that the relevant information was not obtained through torture.

Iraq's president rushed to hospital

12/18/12:  CNN reports Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has suffered a stroke and was rushed to a hospital in Baghdad on Monday night, Iraqi officials said. Talabani was in intensive care after the stroke, said Kurdish Lawmaker Mahmoud Othman, who said he was headed to the hospital to visit the ailing leader.

In sign of normalization, Pentagon to reimburse Pakistan $688 million

12/18/12: The New York Times reports the Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalize support for the Pakistani military after nearly two years of crises and mutual retaliation.The biggest proponent of putting foreign aid and military reimbursements to Pakistan on a steady footing is the man President Barack Obama is leaning toward naming as secretary of state: Senator John Kerry.

NATO: Somali pirates seized no ships for 6 months

12/18/12:  The Miami Herald reports NATO officials say no ships have been hijacked off the Somali coast in the second half of this year, reflecting a sharp decrease in piracy along one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Commodore Ben Bekkering attributed the success to the continuing efforts of an international fleet along the coastline, combined with better security measures by merchant ships and increased pressure on the pirates within Somalia itself. About 20 vessels from NATO, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and other countries regularly patrol Somalia's 1,900-mile-long (3,100-kilometer) coastline.

North Korean satellite most likely dead

12/18/12:  The New York Times reports the North Korean satellite launched into space last week appears to be tumbling in orbit and is most likely dead, astronomers are reporting. The evident failure will not cause the spacecraft to fall quickly back to earth but seems to represent a major blow to the North’s portrayal of the launching as a complete triumph.“It’s spinning or tumbling, and we haven’t picked up any transmissions,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity. “Those two things are most consistent with the satellite being entirely inactive at this point.”

ICC acquits Congo rebel leader of war crimes

12/18/12:  The New York Times reports the International Criminal Court acquitted a Congolese militia leader Tuesday of all charges of commanding fighters who destroyed a village in eastern Congo in 2003, raping and hacking to death some 200 people, including children.  The acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo on charges including rape, murder and pillage was only the second verdict in the court's 10-year history and the first time it had cleared a suspect. The only other ICC verdict, handed down earlier this year, convicted another Congolese rebel leader, Thomas Lubanga, of using child soldiers in battles in Ituri. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Mexico to create new police force in drugs policy shift

12/18/12:  The BBC reports Mexican President Pena Nieto, has announced the creation of a new national police force as part of efforts to tackle crime and violence. Mr Pena Nieto said the new militarised force would initially be 10,000 strong. Troops would continue to patrol until the new force was fully trained, he said, without elaborating. Some 60,000 people have died since 2006 when the previous government deployed the military against the drugs gangs. Mr Pena Nieto had campaigned on a promise to switch the focus of the drugs fight from tackling the gangs to reducing the crime and violence that blight the lives of ordinary Mexicans.

 

Weekly Tech Updates 12/15/12

12/15/12:  Here are this week's technology updates related to national security:

• X-47B next gen UCAS completes first tests aboard USS Truman
  
• Pharmaceutical company develops anti-radiation pills
• Northrop Grumman patents show potential next-gen bomber design
• IBM ushers in the age of silicon nanophotonics
• DARPA foam for stabilizing wounds
• Hacking the human brain, the next domain for warfighting
• Research project uses real-time data to predict path of wildfires
• Follow the eyes: Head-mounted cameras could help robots understand social interactions
• Robot mimics the muscles, skeleton of a real human
• Laser drills could open up cheap geothermal power

China’s Communist Party chief acts to bolster military

12/15/12:  The New York Times reports Xi Jinpin, the new Communist Party chief and civilian commander of the Chinese military, is moving quickly to make strengthening the country’s armed forces a centerpiece of what he calls the “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation. The nationalist message of building up the People’s Liberation Army has been broadcast loudly in the aftermath of Mr. Xi’s recent visit to south China. “We must insist on using battle-ready standards in undertaking combat preparations, constantly enhancing officers’ and troops’ thinking about serving in battle, and leading troops into battle and training troops for battle,” Mr. Xi said, according to a report on Wednesday by Xinhua, the state news agency, that was later published by prominent state-run newspapers. “And we must insist on rigorous military training based on the needs of actual combat.”

Egyptians vote in divisive referendum on constitution

12/15/12: The BBC reports people in Egypt have begun voting on a new constitution endorsed by the Islamist president, which has divided the country and sparked deadly unrest. President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have campaigned heavily in favour of the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come. Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists. The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote. However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week's time, appears to be going smoothly with indications of a high turnout.

Iran: Progress on nuclear talks

12/15/12:  The New York Times reports the leader of a United Nations nuclear inspection delegation reported progress on Friday in negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear energy work and said another meeting was planned for Jan. 16. But the leader, Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the Internaitonal Atomic Energy Agency, said the Iranians still had not allowed the inspectors to visit Parchin, the military site where, inspectors suspect, nuclear weapons trigger testing work may have been conducted.

Detention law challenge fails

12/14/12:  The SCOTUS blog reports Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday refused to block enforcement of a broad new grant of detention power for the government, indicating that she felt a need to be cautious about putting into effect a judge’s ruling that struck down that new law, at least while the issue was under review in a federal appeals court.  Ginsburg acted without seeking a response from the federal government to a plea by writers and political activists who fear they may be seized under that new law. The full text of Ginsburg’s order, as shown on the Court’s docket, reads: “Application (12A600) denied by Justice Ginsburg.  The application to vacate the order entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit staying a permanent injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is denied.  See Doe v. Gonzales, 546 U.S. 1301, 1308-1309 (2005) (GINSBURG, Circuit Justice).”

China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN

12/14/12:  The BBC reports China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a disputed area of the East China Sea. It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out to a group of islands near Japan. A UN commission of geological experts will examine China's submission but does not have the authority to resolve conflicting claims. Beijing and Tokyo have long laid claim to the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

State secrets front and center in Dragnet case

12/14/12:  Wired's Threat Level reports a federal judge on Friday is to hold the first hearing following an appellate court’s decision reinstating allegations that the government is siphoning Americans’ communications from telecoms to the National Security Agency without warrants. The new judge on the case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco, notes a 2007 court case in which a federal judge declined the government’s privilege by ruling federal spy laws barred, or “preempted” the doctrine. White notes that an appellate court did not address the issue when that case was on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

US rejects telecommunications treaty

12/14/12:  The New York Times reports talks on a proposed treaty governing international telecommunications collapsed in acrimony on Thursday when the United States rejected the agreement on the eve of its scheduled signing, citing an inability to resolve an impasse over the Internet.  The United States announcement was seconded by Canada and several European countries after nearly two weeks of talks that had often pitted Western governments against Russia, China and developing countries. The East-West and North-South divisions harked back to the cold war, even though that conflict did not stop previous agreements to connect telephone calls across the Iron Curtain.

Senate panel approves findings critical of detainee interrogations

12/14/12:  The New York Times reports the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday approved a highly critical, classified report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program, the most comprehensive review of the brutal treatment of Qaeda prisoners in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The committee voted 9 to 6 in a closed meeting, mostly along party lines.  The long-awaited 6,000-page report contains 20 official conclusions and 35,000 footnotes.  The chairwoman stated the report, “includes details of each detainee in CIA custody, the conditions under which they were detained, how they were interrogated, the intelligence they actually provided and the accuracy — or inaccuracy — of CIA descriptions about the program to the White House, Department of Justice, Congress and others.”

Pentagon to send missiles, 400 troops to Turkey

12/14/12:  The Washington Times reports the US will send two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a NATO force meant to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attack, the Pentagon said Friday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order en route to Turkey from Afghanistan calling for 400 U.S. soldiers to operate two batteries of Patriots at undisclosed locations in Turkey. Germany and the Netherlands have already agreed to provide two batteries of the US-built defense systems and send up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them, bringing the total number of Patriot batteries slated for Turkey to six.

UN nuclear weapons inspectors visit Iran

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports nuclear inspectors visited Iran for their first meeting since August, but they appeared to be no closer to resolving a dispute over their repeated requests to examine Parchin, a military site that the inspectors suspect was used for atomic weapons trigger tests. The head of the inspector delegation, Herman Nackaerts, deputy director of the IAEA, told reporters as the group left for Tehran that the purpose of the visit was to devise a way to satisfy the agency’s concerns over the Iranian program’s “possible military dimensions.” He also said his delegation still hoped the Iranians would allow a visit to Parchin.  Iran has insisted that its uranium enrichment program is peaceful and has dismissed as Western propaganda commercial satellite imagery that has shown cleanup work at Parchin.

Japan scrambles jets in island dispute with China

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports a Chinese military surveillance plane entered what Japan considers its airspace on Thursday, and Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The episode threatened to escalate tensions over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which Japan controls and calls the Senkakus; the plane flew near the islands.  China claims them as well and calls them the Diaoyus. For months, patrol ships from the two countries have sporadically faced off in nearby waters, exchanging protests over loudspeakers and, on some occasions, sparring with water cannons.

Bosnian Serb intel chief sentenced for Srebrenica massacre

12/13/12:  CNN reports nearly two decades after the Srebrenica massacre left thousands of Muslim boys and men dead, a former Bosnian Serb intelligence chief was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in their slaughter. The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal found Zdravko Tolimir guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and other crimes committed in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which was overrun by Serb forces in 1995 in what later was described as the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War. The killings, part of the war's so-called "ethnic cleansing," were carried out by ultra-nationalist forces bent on carving up Bosnia based on religious and ethnic affiliations.

Syria government 'losing control' - Russian official

12/13/12:  The BBC reports a Russian official has said for the first time that the Syrian government may be defeated by opposition forces. President Bashar al-Assad's forces are "losing more and more control and territory", deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said. He said Russia, one of Syria's staunchest allies, was making plans for a possible evacuation of thousands of its citizens. Separately, Syria denied reports it had fired Scud missiles at rebels. Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen earlier said the organisation had detected the launch of such short-range missiles, saying it showed an "utter disregard" for the lives of the Syrian people.

European Court backs CIA rendition victim

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports after years of legal struggles, a German man mistaken for a terrorist and abducted and held captive for months in 2004 won a measure of redress on Thursday when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Macedonia had violated his rights by arresting him and turning him over to the United States. In a unanimous ruling, the 17-judge panel, based in Strasbourg, France, found that Macedonia had violated the prohibition against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment in the European Convention on Human Rights for its role in the abduction of the man, Khaled el-Masri. It was the first time a court had ruled in Mr. Masri’s favor in the case.

After North Korean rocket launch, call for new sanctions

12/13/12:  The New York Times reports the US and its Asian allies began an effort on Wednesday to impose additional sanctions on North Korea after its largely successful rocket launching, but this time Washington added a warning to China: Failure to rein in Kim Jong-un, the North’s new leader, will result in an even greater American military presence in the Pacific.  The Chinese government, which sent a delegation to Pyongyang last month to warn against the missile test, said it “regrets” the launching, which put a 200-pound earth surveillance satellite into orbit.

Iran says it can make copy of captured CIA drone

12/13/12:  The Washington Times reports Iran is now capable of manufacturing its own copies of an advanced CIA spy drone captured last year, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Wednesday.  A member of the parliament's national security committee said experts have reverse-engineered the RQ-170 drone, and Iran now is capable of launching a production line for the unmanned aircraft.  The drone went down last December. Iran claimed it took control of it and landed it, but U.S. officials said the drone malfunctioned and had to land.

UK Navy submariner jailed for Official Secrets Act breach

12/13/12:  The BBC reports a Royal Navy petty officer who offered nuclear submarine secrets to MI5 agents posing as Russian spies has been jailed for eight years. Edward Devenney, gathered classified coding material after being passed over for promotion, the court was told. He had been "prepared to betray his country and his colleagues", said Mr Justice Saunders at the Old Bailey. Devenney admitted breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Syria 'fires Scud-type missiles at rebels'

12/13/12:  The BBC reports Forces loyal to the Syrian government have fired "Scud-type missiles" at rebels, media have quoted US officials as saying. A number of short-range, unguided ballistic missiles had been launched, US and Nato officials said. The US state department would not confirm the type but said missiles had been deployed. It said Syria was resorting to "more vicious weapons". Separately, a series of blasts has hit the Syrian capital Damascus.

Yemeni president in standoff with Saleh son over Scud missiles

12/11/12:  Reuters reports the commander of Yemen's Republican Guards has refused orders from the president to hand long-range missiles over to the Defence Ministry, raising the risk of a showdown between the country's two most powerful figures. The standoff between Brigadier General Ahmed Saleh, son of ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi could delay an overhaul of armed forces that split last year during a mass uprising, worsening disorder.

Panetta: Syrian chemical-weapons preparation has slowed

12/11/12:  The Washington Times reports the Syrian government seems to have slowed preparations for the possible use of chemical weapons against rebel targets, US Defense Secretary Panetta said Tuesday. Last week, U.S. officials said there was evidence that Syrian forces had begun preparing sarin, a nerve agent, for possible use in bombs. Speaking to reporters flying with him from Washington to Kuwait, Mr. Panetta suggested the threat no longer was escalating, although he was not specific about any Syrian military preparations. “At this point the intelligence has really kind of leveled off,” he said. “We haven’t seen anything new indicating any aggressive steps to move forward in that way.”

US places militant Syrian rebel group on list of terrorist organizations

12/11/12:  The New York Times reports The United States has formally designated the Al Nusra Front, the militant Syrian rebel group, as a foreign terrorist organization. The move is aimed at building Western support for the rebellion against the government of President Bashar al-Assad by quelling fears that money and arms meant for the rebels would flow to a jihadi group. The notice in the register lists the Al Nusra front as one of the “aliases” of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In practical terms, the designation makes it illegal for Americans to have financial dealings with the group. It is intended to prompt similar sanctions by other nations, and to address concerns about a group that could further destabilize Syria and harm Western interests.

North Korea extends launch window for rocket after technical problems

12/11/12:  CNN reports North Korea has extended the window for a controversial long-range rocket launch by one week after finding technical problems in an engine, state media reported Monday. The planned launch has been widely condemned by other countries like the United States and South Korea, which say it's cover for testing ballistic missile technology. The North insists the launch is aimed at putting a scientific satellite in orbit. They have decided to extend the launch period until December 29, the agency said.

Global Trends 2030 report released

12/11/12:  The New York Times reports a new intelligence assessment of global trends projects that China will outstrip the United States as the leading economic power before 2030, but that America will remain an indispensable world leader, bolstered in part by an era of energy independence. The product of four years of intelligence-gathering and analysis, the National Intelligence Council study presents grounds for optimism and pessimism in nearly equal measure. One remarkable development it anticipates is a spreading affluence that leads to a larger global middle class that is better educated and has wider access to health care and communications technologies like the Internet and smartphones. At the same time, it warns, half of the world’s population will probably be living in areas that suffer from severe shortages of fresh water, meaning that management of natural resources will be a crucial component of global national security efforts.

Morsi’s concessions fail to quiet Egyptian opponents

12/11/12:  The New York Times reports the political crisis over Egypt's draft constitution hardened on both sides on Sunday, as President Morsi prepared to deploy the army to safeguard balloting in a planned referendum on the new charter and his opponents called for more protests and a boycott to undermine the vote. Thousands of demonstrators streamed toward the presidential palace for a fifth night of protests against Mr. Morsi and the proposed charter, and the president formally issued an order asking the military to protect such “vital institutions” and to secure the vote. With the decision to boycott the referendum, the opposition signaled that it had given up hope that it could defeat the draft charter at the polls, and had opted instead to try to undermine the referendum’s legitimacy.

Yemen security chief tells Iran to stop backing rebels

12/11/12:  Reuters reports Yemen's security chief has told Iran to stop training and funding Shi'ite Muslim rebels who, along with al Qaeda-backed Islamists and southern separatists, are staging one of three insurgencies threatening to pull the chaotic country apart. Major-General Ali al-Ahmadi, president of Yemen's National Security Board, also said al Qaeda appeared not to number more than 700-800 in the country, including a few hundred Saudis. But the group's Yemeni wing, which has plotted attacks on international airlines and sworn to bring down Saudi Arabia's monarchy, had sleeper cells on top of this that authorities had yet to track down, he told Reuters on Sunday.