National Security

A major cyber attack somewhere in the United States is becoming increasingly possible, top government intelligence officials said Thursday, warning that an assault on America's power grid system "represents the battleground for the future. " The officials, speaking at a special hearing on Capitol Hill, also said that although Al Qaeda has been diminished after nine years of the U.S. war on terror, more foreign groups have risen up, increasing concerns among U.S. authorities that one of them may eventually get their hands on a nuclear device.

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday morning that American national security wouldn't be as strong if Republican Mitt Romney were president, based on his recent assertion that Russia is the country's “No. 1 geopolitical foe.” “If that's his prism through which he views our national security interests, I would say it would not be as strong,” Biden told David Gregory on “Meet the Press.” The vice president also questioned whether Romney would have authorized the killing of Osama bin Laden -- not because Romney wouldn't have acted the same way on the intelligence about the terrorist's location, he said, but because he wouldn't have gotten the intelligence in the first place.

'Politics should never get in the way of national security," wrote John Brennan, the White House's shockingly political deputy national security advisor. His USA Today Op-Ed article last week set off a firestorm inside the Beltway by essentially accusing critics of administration policy of deliberately lying -- "misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe" -- and aiding and abetting Al Qaeda. "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of Al Qaeda.

Since it became clear that Mitt Romney would win the GOP nomination, the Obama campaign has been eager to portray the former Massachusetts governor as the committed conservative he presented himself as in the primaries. But Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday portrayed Romney as weak and waffling when it comes to foreign policy, an issue on which Democrats feel they have the advantage in the fall campaign. Biden contrasted what he characterized as Romney's uncertainty with President Obama's record of making "hard calls with strength and steadiness," with no better example than ordering the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, a successful mission that is nearing its one-year anniversary.

Rick Santorum sought to broaden his pitch to Alabama and Mississippi Republicans beyond his conservative stands on social issues Friday with scathing attacks on President Obama over national security, energy and global warming. At the same time, with the twin Deep South primaries now four days away, the former Pennsylvania senator kept up his religious appeals at a morning rally here at a museum for the Alabama battleship. Santorum described himself as "someone who understands the centrality of the family.

In a recent interview with Newsweek magazine, former CIA lawyer John Rizzo spoke with surprising candor about the CIA's "targeted killing" program. He discussed the scope of the program (about 30 people are on the "hit list" at any given time), the process by which the CIA selects its targets (Rizzo was "the one who signed off") and the methods the CIA uses to eliminate them ("The Predator is the weapon of choice, but it could also be someone putting a bullet in your head"). In a wide-ranging conversation, Rizzo volunteered details about a highly controversial counterterrorism program that had previously been cloaked in official secrecy.

Peering down at a blank sheet of graph paper, a fresh crisis looming, President Obama's top national security advisor calmly scribbled notes. The Pentagon was poised to launch strikes against Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, whose forces were advancing on rebel-held cities. But the advisor, Thomas E. Donilon, wasn't writing a memo urging war or peace, airstrikes or diplomatic pressure. Instead, working a few paces from the Oval Office, Donilon was doing what he does whenever emergencies arise: setting up a system for his boss to make choices.

Inside a futuristic-looking dome that rises from the sandy wasteland of the high Mojave Desert, soldiers in plywood cubicles work at computers powered by solar panels and a towering wind turbine. Plug-in cars shuttle the troops across the vast expanses here at Ft. Irwin in San Bernardino County. At night, tents lined with insulating foam provide a cool retreat at the end of a 100-degree day.

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday morning that American national security wouldn't be as strong if Republican Mitt Romney were president, based on his recent assertion that Russia is the country's “No. 1 geopolitical foe.” “If that's his prism through which he views our national security interests, I would say it would not be as strong,” Biden told David Gregory on “Meet the Press.” The vice president also questioned whether Romney would have authorized the killing of Osama bin Laden -- not because Romney wouldn't have acted the same way on the intelligence about the terrorist's location, he said, but because he wouldn't have gotten the intelligence in the first place.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said there's good reason why he's talking a lot more about foreign policy than other Republican candidates. "Because I believe that there's a very good chance that by next election day, the national security issues in this country will be of higher priority in the eyes of the American people than the economy," he said Wednesday morning in Washington. Santorum was the first of six Republican presidential candidates -- and one potential vice presidential nominee -- to speak at a forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

WASHINGTON -- The White House's threat to veto the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is prompting more amendments from its supporters as the bill heads toward a planned House vote on Friday. President Obama's senior advisors will recommend he veto the bill if it passes Congress in its current form, the administration said on Wednesday, pointing out that the bill goes too far in releasing companies from liability if their computer networks are not secure and does not include enough oversight to limit how information gathered by the government can be shared.

LONDON - The British government is scrambling to fend off accusations of trying to turn the country into a virtual police state with plans to conduct some trials in secret and allow authorities to track the phone calls, emails, text messages and online activity of the entire population. Civil liberties advocates are aghast over revelations this week that officials are preparing to introduce legislation to expand state surveillance in the interests of national security. Separately, the government of Prime Minister David Cameron is proposing that certain civil court proceedings take place behind closed doors if sensitive matters of intelligence are involved.

Rick Santorum sought to broaden his pitch to Alabama and Mississippi Republicans beyond his conservative stands on social issues Friday with scathing attacks on President Obama over national security, energy and global warming. At the same time, with the twin Deep South primaries now four days away, the former Pennsylvania senator kept up his religious appeals at a morning rally here at a museum for the Alabama battleship. Santorum described himself as "someone who understands the centrality of the family.

The National Security Council is moving to exert greater federal control over scientific studies of highly lethal diseases and toxins in the face of mounting fears that the research could be used by terrorists and rogue states, according to people with knowledge of the process. Under the NSC's guidance, the government plans to issue guidelines for research grants that would give agencies the authority to delay or restrict publication of findings they considered susceptible to "dual use" by terrorists or enemy states.

Egyptian state media Monday published the names of 43 people accused in a politically explosive investigation of pro-democracy groups, saying they are suspected of receiving illegal funding with the aim of destabilizing the country's national security. The 19 Americans on the list of those to be prosecuted on charges of violating foreign funding laws included Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and country director for the Washington-based International Republican Institute, and Charles Dunne, the Mideast program director for Freedom House, a research and advocacy organization.

Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. The high-flying U-2 spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the iron curtain and, as engineers said, snap "picture postcards for Ike" of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union. And although the plane is perhaps best known for being shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 and the subsequent capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 continues to play a critical role in national security today, hunting Al Qaeda forces in the Middle East.

In the latest White House staff shakeup, President Obama announced Friday that Gen. James L. Jones was stepping down as national security advisor at the end of the month and will be replaced by his deputy, Tom Donilon. The change at the top of the National Security Council comes as Obama presides over an escalation of the war in Afghanistan and peace negotiations in the Middle East. By July, the administration is expected to decide how quickly to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, and Donilon has stressed internally the importance of meeting the deadline.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said there's good reason why he's talking a lot more about foreign policy than other Republican candidates. "Because I believe that there's a very good chance that by next election day, the national security issues in this country will be of higher priority in the eyes of the American people than the economy," he said Wednesday morning in Washington. Santorum was the first of six Republican presidential candidates -- and one potential vice presidential nominee -- to speak at a forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition.