All Security Watch
- NSA surveillance: Revelations damaged US security, Obama says
In his year-end press conference, President Obama defended NSA surveillance as vital, but acknowledged that public trust needs to be restored and changes are necessary.
- How far can any US-Iran rapprochement go?
The message of perpetual conflict between the US and Iran is weakening amid nuclear talks and an interim deal.
- Iraq violence more than doubles in 2013: is country headed off the cliff?
At least 7,500 civilians have died in Iraq this year, the death toll surging because of the war in Syria and the failure of Sunni-Shiite reconciliation.
- Civilians in South Sudan increasingly vulnerable as violence reaches UN compound
An attack on the UN compound in Akobo, South Sudan, killed two Indian peacekeepers and prompted the UN to send helicopters to evacuate staff.
- Foreigners evacuate South Sudan as civil war threat grows
An estimated 500 people have been killed since fighting within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) army broke out over the weekend in what the government calls an attempted coup.
- Obama task force's NSA proposals go 'much further than anyone expected'
A panel convened by President Obama to look into NSA surveillance practices has made 46 recommendations, pleasing some civil libertarians. One cyber expert calls it a 'mixture.'
- Behind Japan's new military plans: China, nationalism, or both?
China's aggressive moves figure largely in Japan's new defense strategy. Some worry about nationalism, too.
- Is China's near miss with US ship the start of a new pattern?
China's defense ministry confirmed and appeared to downplay the incident, but commentary in the state-run news agency took a more aggressive tone on who's to blame.
- The latest sign that the US is losing Saudi Arabia over Syria
But is that a problem?
- Amnesty for Edward Snowden? Might depend on what secrets he's got left.
Edward Snowden needs a place to go. If it's true that he still has as many as 1.5 million unreleased top-secret NSA documents, that could be a big bargaining chip.
- Edward Snowden: To be heard on NSA spying, I need asylum in Brazil
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden wrote in an open letter to Brazil that he can't speak freely unless he has political asylum. Snowden is currently living in Russia.
- Restraint, not retaliation, after Israeli fatality on Lebanon border
UN peacekeepers are talking to military representatives on both sides of the border after the first fatality in three years.
- Curfew in South Sudan after fighting breaks out. Was it a coup attempt?
President Kiir called the fighting an 'attempted coup' in the world's newest nation.
- NSA review panel closes in on new rules for surveillance, privacy
NSA review panel is expected to recommend that the agency's collection of phone metadata continue – along with new measures to protect the privacy of Americans and foreign citizens.
- As moderate Syria rebels slip, US forced to consider aiding Islamist groups
Without any US assistance, Islamist groups in Syria have zoomed past the moderate rebel forces in organization, control of territory, and staying power – thus becoming the Assad regime’s principal opponents.
- USS Cowpens: Why China forced a confrontation at sea with US Navy
The USS Cowpens had to veer sharply to avoid colliding with a Chinese military vessel in international waters earlier this month, the US Navy has confirmed. In the USS Cowpens incident, what message was China sending?
- Levinson, Iran, the CIA, and lies
The US government has been lying for years about Robert Levinson, a man kidnapped in Iran after being sent there as part of a rogue CIA operation. Some media have been playing along.
- Iran sanctions blacklist: US additions prompt sharp pushback
The US blacklisted 19 companies and firms linked to Iran's nuclear program. Iran said the move could jeopardize the interim nuclear deal agreed to in Geneva.
- Look who's trying to defuse tension in the East China Sea
Taiwan's calls for talks about China's new air zone aren't being taken too seriously. Here's why there may be something more to them.
- Obama's Syria policy is pretty much dead, and there are few good options
The Free Syrian Army, the US hope for 'good' rebels to prevail in Syria, is in disarray. The chances for a negotiated settlement to Syria's brutal civil war just got dimmer.