Despite evidence to the contrary, the government continues to embrace a theory that adopting radical ideas is a first step toward terrorist violence. Based on this discredited model, “preventive” policies are being pursued, resulting in discrimination, suspicionless surveillance of entire communities, and selective law enforcement against belief communities and political activists. The following is the…
Editor’s note: This project, based on interviews with dozens of current and former national security officials, intelligence analysts and others, examines evolving U.S. counterterrorism policies and the practice of targeted killing. This is the first of three stories. Over the past two years, the Obama administration has been secretly developing a new blueprint for pursuing…
NEW YORK — President Barack Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser praised the New York Police Department’s work Friday, saying the agency has struck an appropriate balance between keeping people safe and protecting their rights. “It’s not a trade-off between our security and our freedoms and our rights as citizens,” John Brennan said Friday in an appearance…
The Globe and Mail – April 11, 2012 The conservative French government unveiled new counterterrorism measures to punish those who visit extremist websites or travel to weapons-training camps abroad, in the wake of deadly shootings by a suspected Islamic extremist in southern France last month. The measures now go to Parliament, where it may…
In the binary system offered by Machiavelli — “it is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” — the New York Police Department loses on either count. The police in a big city can’t expect to be truly loved; it’s not part of the job description. At the same time, it…
