President George W. Bush’s appointment of Henry Kissinger to chair the commission that will investigate intelligence failures preceding September 11 has led to an outpouring of comment. Much of the opposition has focused on policies that Kissinger implemented as national security adviser and then secretary of state for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The […]
John Prados
John Prados is a senior fellow of the National Security Archive in Washington D.C.
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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Joint hearings on the intelligence failures that preceded September 11 took place in Washington last week, only to be conveniently upstaged by the Bush administration’s demand for a resolution of congressional approval for a war against Iraq. As a result, the real significance of what did and did not happen in the post-September 11 investigation […]
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Artificial Intelligence?
When the first prisoners from the war on terrorism arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their rights and treatment became the subject of heated international debate. Should those incarcerated be considered prisoners of war? Could they be brought before military tribunals? To what diplomatic and legal representation might they be entitled? But there has been comparatively […]
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Our Pearl Harbor:
Recent news that the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted two messages the day before the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks — messages that indicated imminent action — obliges us to reconsider whether the airliner hijackings that led to 3,000 lost lives and $20 billion in property damage could have been foiled. FBI director Robert […]
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DEFCON Artists:
Once again, Americans have been stunned by our government’s release of warnings about terrorist threats. Most recently, the danger highlighted has been that al-Qaeda will attack cities using radioactive materials mixed into explosives, or so-called “dirty bombs.” Here’s a story sure to ride for more than one news cycle, and therein lies a tale — […]
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The Barn Door:
It’s true, but far too easy, to make the point that the new Department of Homeland Security is coming to us way too late, kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. A more useful notion would be to view President George W. Bush as opening the barn door and trying […]
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Democracy 0, Terrorism 1:
At the height of the Cold War, the United States argued that the truth would set people free. In fact, many scholars have attributed the growth of democracy in some foreign countries precisely to the free flow of information. We have touted the impact of the Internet on China and Russia because that information flow […]