Joe and Hussein are Muslims and Americans

Support democracy, not dictators – 02/05/2011 | MiamiHerald.com. For decades we have allied ourselves with autocrats in the Middle East and looked the other way as they crack down on political expression, free speech and human rights out of fear of the unknown and the desire for stability in the region. We support these regimes because of the uncertainty of who may come into power if we press for democracy. But, we need to question whether this is good long-term policy.  If the objective has been regional stability, we have not succeeded. Recent events across the region show that the…

Brad Lander: NYPD Surveillance: What We Don’t Know, And Why It Matters. Every federal agency (including the FBI and CIA) has one, as do many city agencies. In fact, the NYPD — despite its size and operations — stands alone among major American police departments for lacking any meaningful independent oversight (L.A., Chicago, and Philadelphia all have broad independent bodies with subpoena power, for example). IGs help agencies work better. When they are following the law and doing the job right, IGs help provide independent confirmation and legitimacy. When there are ways to do it better, IGs suggest them. The…

The Boy Who Cried Lone Wolf – By J.M. Berger | Foreign Policy. The Moroccan-American man arrested Friday for attempting to blow up the U.S. Capitol building, Amine El Khalifi, was also far from alone. He was in contact with men he thought were part of al Qaeda, and those men handed him a complete (but inert) suicide vest and an automatic weapon to carry out his attack. The fact that those men were FBI undercover agents is beside the point: If someone claiming to work for al Qaeda hands you a fully assembled bomb for your attack, you are…