John Brennan

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Obama Taps Hagel, Brennan for Pentagon, CIA

He praises both men at White House event

(Newser) - President Obama officially announced his nominations of Chuck Hagel as secretary of Defense and John Brennan as CIA director today, praising both men for their records of service at a press event in the East Room of the White House. Hagel, Obama said, "knows that war is not an...

Obama Will Tap John Brennan for CIA Director

Will nominate Brennan, Chuck Hagel today

(Newser) - President Obama will make two potentially controversial nominations this afternoon: Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director, the AP reports. Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, has a close relationship with the president and was very involved in planning the Osama bin Laden raid. He was...

Kerry Eyed as Defense Secretary

Susan Rice leading candidate to replace Hillary Clinton, insiders say

(Newser) - With Leon Panetta saying he'd "like to get back to California," President Obama is looking hard at John Kerry as his replacement at the Pentagon, reports the Washington Post . The move would be part of a major Obama administration shake-up that would include a permanent replacement for...

US Soups Up Kill List, Digs In for 10-Year Drone War

Obama intent on making it a permanent feature of US policy

(Newser) - If you thought President Obama's " kill list " was a simple, shopping list-style affair, think again. The military has spent the past two years developing what it calls a "disposition matrix," a complex database keeping tabs on targets and plans to eliminate them, the Washington Post...

Obama: The Man Holding the &#39;Kill List&#39;

 Obama: The Man 
 Holding the 
 'Kill List' 
'NYT' Report
May 29, 2012 10:52 AM CDT

Obama: The Man Holding the 'Kill List'

'New York Times' dives into president's counterterrorism approach

(Newser) - The New York Times is running what is undoubtedly today's biggest talker—in terms of both length and heft. The paper interviewed three dozen current and past Obama advisers in an attempt to define the president's counterterrorism approach—a topic it describes using words such as baffling, confounding,...

White House Defends Drone Campaign

John Brennan: Civilians are not 'intentionally targeted'

(Newser) - White House counterterrorism official John Brennan publicly described how al-Qaeda targets are chosen for drone strikes, the first time the Obama administration has described the widely known practice so openly and in such detail. Brennan, speaking in Washington today, said President Obama wants to be more transparent with the American...

US to Yemen's Saleh: Get Out

White House calls for 'immediate transition'

(Newser) - The White House is not-so-subtly telling Yemen's embattled president to hit the road, with top counterterror adviser John Brennan telling Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday to “fulfill expeditiously” his pledge to step down. Brennan “called upon” Saleh “to sign the GCC-brokered agreement for peaceful and Constitutional political...

Bullet Blew bin Laden’s Skull Apart

Al-Qaeda leader had lived in Abbottabad compound for 5 to 6 years

(Newser) - The scene is shaping up to be a gruesome one: As reported earlier, Osama bin Laden was shot above his left eye, but a US official adds that the bullet blew away part of his skull, and that a second bullet hit him in the chest, reports CBS News . The...

Sen. Levin: Pakistan Has Tough Questions to Answer

Senators wonder how much nation's intelligence services knew

(Newser) - Pakistan is going to have to answer some tough questions about whether members of its military and intelligence services knew where Osama bin Laden was, warns Sen. Carl Levin. The Democrat, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the security arms of the Pakistani government may have known...

Bin Laden Used Wife as Human Shield

Counterterror chief says al-Qaeda ringleader died behind only female casualty in raid

(Newser) - Staring down the near-certainty of his imminent death yesterday, Osama bin Laden did not fight valiantly to the end nor peacefully step toward martyrdom: he died behind a woman—likely his own wife—as he used her as a human shield. "Here is Osama, living in a million-dollar compound,...

White House: Must Assume More Bombs Are Out There
White House: Must Assume More Bombs Are Out There
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Oct 31, 2010 10:00 AM CDT

White House: Must Assume More Bombs Are Out There

GOP, Dems spar about what's going to happen Tuesday

(Newser) - There's no indication more mail bombs are lurking out there, John Brennan tells Meet the Press today, but the White House has no choice but to "presume that there might be." Continued Obama's counterterror chief: "That’s why we’ve taken exceptionally prudent measures as far as...

Yemenis Flee as Military Lays Seige to al-Qaeda

Obama counter-terror adviser visits Yemen

(Newser) - Thousands of villagers have fled fighting in southern Yemen as the government steps up its campaign against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemeni authorities say they have laid siege to a village where some 120 militants are holed up and the assault will continue until the militants have surrendered, the...

Brennan: GOP Was Briefed on Bomb Suspect

Accuses Republicans of using terrorism as 'political football'

(Newser) - John Brennan says he briefed senior GOP lawmakers on the Christmas Day terror arrest and the FBI’s handling of it right away, and dismissed their later criticisms as political ploys. “None of those individuals raised any concerns with me at that point.” the White House counterterror chief...

Palin: 'Absurd' Not to Consider a Run in 2012


 Palin: 'Absurd' 
 Not to Consider 
 a Run in 2012 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Feb 7, 2010 11:03 AM CST

Palin: 'Absurd' Not to Consider a Run in 2012

Ex-gov also thinks Obama should play the 'war card' to get re-elected

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner gamely made the talk show rounds today, reports Politico , but the foreign policy and economic views gathering buzz were those being espoused by Sarah Palin over at Fox News Sunday. The onetime would-be veep said it would be "absurd" for her not to consider...

Helen Thomas Only One to Ask Real Question

What motivates terrorists? Brennan dodges and patronizes

(Newser) - It's a simple question, really: What motivates terrorists to keep coming after the US? It deserves an honest answer, writes Glenn Greenwald. But when Helen Thomas pressed security chief John Brennan on it yesterday, he resorted to the "cartoon idiocy" that al-Qaeda members are simply evil murderers. She kept...

Biggest US Error Was to Miss Yemen Threat
Biggest US Error Was to Miss Yemen Threat
MARC AMBINDER
Jan 8, 2010 7:21 AM CST

Biggest US Error Was to Miss Yemen Threat

Seems we didn't know they were capable of launching terrorists

(Newser) - In all the news yesterday about US intelligence lapses, one "startling concession" stands out to Marc Ambinder: Security chief John Brennan admitted that the US didn't realize al-Qaeda's organization in Yemen—al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula—had "progressed to the point of actually launching individuals here." As...

WH Terror Counsel: 'System Didn't Work'
 WH Terror 
 Counsel: 
 'System 
 Didn't Work' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jan 3, 2010 11:30 AM CST

WH Terror Counsel: 'System Didn't Work'

Napolitano's comment haunts your Sunday dial this week, too

(Newser) - Forget Janet Napolitano, the system that let a would-be Nigerian suicide bomber aboard a Detroit-bound flight didn't work, White House Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan told State of the Union today—though "every other day the system has worked this year." "There was no smoking gun. There was...

Obama Gets First Report on Detroit Terror Attempt

Prez gets answers to how Abdulmutallab boarded plane

(Newser) - As a first step in his effort to overhaul intelligence practices, President Obama will today receive a preliminary report on how exactly the Detroit bombing suspect managed to board a US-bound plane, along with recommendations on how to prevent a sequel. The reams of intelligence data that were combed through...

Obama Unveils Intelligence Team
Obama Unveils Intelligence Team
Jan 9, 2009 10:16 AM CST

Obama Unveils Intelligence Team

Panetta, Blair, and Brennan an unusual, controversial crew

(Newser) - Barack Obama rounded out his national security team today, tapping Leon Panetta to head the CIA and Dennis Blair as his national intelligence director. Obama defended the choice of Panetta, which has drawn criticism because of his lack of intelligence experience, calling him "one of the finest public servants...

Obama Picks CIA Veteran as Terror Adviser

Controversial Brennan backs harsh tactics, has contractor ties

(Newser) - The rumors are true: Barack Obama has picked John O. Brennan as his top counterterrorism adviser, the Washington Post reports, just six weeks after Brennan was forced to back out of the hunt for the CIA directorship. Brennan has made public statements about controversial CIA tactics such as extraordinary rendition—...

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