Daily Beast
Spencer Ackerman is a senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast.
A former reporter for Wired magazine's 'Danger Room' blog, where he covered national security, he has also reported for the Washington Independent and American Prospect, and served as associate editor for the New Republic.
In UN speech, Trump threatens all-out war In a speech before the United Nations -- an organization dedicated to peace -- President Donald Trump threatened to totally destroy North Korea. How did world leaders react?
Kremlin influence and a widening Russia investigation Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to know many things about associates of President Trump and their ties to Moscow. One involves Felix Sater, who claimed in an email that a Russian bank was ready to finance a Trump Tower in Moscow — even though it was subject to financial sanctions. Spencer Ackerman is reporting the story for the Daily Beast .
Will a Sour Economy Trump Obama's Foreign Policy Victories? President Barack Obama's on a foreign policy roll: the death of Moammar Gadhafi, the assassinations of Anwar Awlaki in Yemen and Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Obama's withdrawal from Iraq and the successful NATO air campaign in Libya reaffirmed his credentials as a wartime leader. But conventional wisdom holds that none of this will matter because his political fortunes will be determined by the US economy. How will voters weigh his foreign policy victories against a sour economy? Will Republican candidates still try to make the case that he's weak on national security?
Will a Sour Economy Trump Obama's Foreign Policy Victories? President Barack Obama's on a foreign policy roll: the death of Moammar Gadhafi, the assassinations of Anwar Awlaki in Yemen and Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Obama's withdrawal from Iraq and the successful NATO air campaign in Libya reaffirmed his credentials as a wartime leader. But conventional wisdom holds that none of this will matter because his political fortunes will be determined by the US economy. How will voters weigh his foreign policy victories against a sour economy? Will Republican candidates still try to make the case that he's weak on national security?
Gun Rights Make Strange Bedfellows in Patriot Act Debate Some portions of the Patriot Act are scheduled to expire at midnight tonight, and Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Senate it’s time for a vote to renew them. But Indiana’s freshman Republican Rand Paul refused to allow a vote because he opposes possible invasions of privacy and gun rights if special courts issue secret warrants.
Obama says Gadhafi Must Go At a joint news conference with Mexico's President Felipe Calderón, Barack Obama had harsh words for Moammar Gadhafi, saying that Libya's President had "lost the legitimacy to lead" and must leave, adding that "the aspirations of the Libyan people for freedom, democracy and dignity must be met." Spencer Ackerman blogs at the Danger Room at Wired magazine.
The Lame Duck Congress and the Republican Agenda President Obama has invited future House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the White House two weeks from today, while the lame duck session of the current Congress is trying to deal with unfinished business.
The New Congress and the Old One's Unfinished Business Republicans claim a voter mandate to cut federal spending, but what programs do they have in mind? The big gorillas are Medicare and Social Security . President Bush's prescription drug plan will cost more over 10 years than Obama's stimulus and health plans combined. Will they reduce defense spending or cut back on the war in Afghanistan? What about the lame-duck session of the current Congress starting in ten days? Not a single appropriation bill has been passed. The Bush tax cuts are set to expire. Nuclear arms cuts with Russia are on the table. President Obama has invited future House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the White House two weeks from today, while the lame duck session of the current Congress is trying to deal with unfinished business.
WikiLeaks and the War in Afghanistan WikiLeaks reportedly has 91,000 secret reports , which it has shared with the New York Times, Britain's Guardian and Der Spiegel in Germany. But not all of them have been released to the Internet. On MSNBC today, WikiLeaks' editor in chief, Julien Assange, was asked about the Pentagon's claim that American lives could be put at risk .
WikiLeaks and the War in Afghanistan The White House, the Pentagon, national security think-tanks and some reporters say all those formerly secret documents released by WikiLeaks don’t contain anything new . But civilian casualties, Afghan corruption and Pakistan’s mixed loyalties are not what the American people have heard about from two presidents and their military commanders. Will public perceptions be changed? Will Congress start backing away? Will 92,000 raw reports from the battlefield provide new understanding of America’s longest war or more confusion than ever?
The Politics of Security and Terrorism Terminal C at Newark's Liberty International Airport was shut down for several hours last night after a man reportedly walked through the wrong side of a checkpoint. Passengers on aircraft that had not taken off were sent back to the terminal. And today intense new screening has been put into effect for all citizens of 14 nations, including Yemen, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Security in the Skies and Politics in Washington President Obama now says the man who tried to bring down a US airplane on Christmas day was " trained, equipped and directed " by al Qaeda in Yemen. Several embassies there have been shut down, and new restrictions are now in effect for citizens of Yemen and 13 other countries who are flying to the US. The Administration says there was no "smoking gun" that could have prevented the would-be bomber from boarding the plane, but criticism continues. We hear about new measures to protect travelers as the Obama Administration responds to charges that it's weak on security.
'Home-based Terrorism:' Politics and Reality Are American Muslims being radicalized? Is any substantial number likely to go overseas for training and then return to commit terrorist actions on American soil? That's a continuing fear of terrorist experts.
'Home-based Terrorism:' Politics and Reality A series of recent incidents led Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to warn that “home-based terrorism” is a threat the US “must confront.” American citizens -- including Muslims born in the US — are accused of planning some terrorist actions and actually being involved in others. How serious is the threat and how should it be confronted? Are American Muslims being radicalized? Is any substantial number likely to go overseas for training and then return to commit terrorist actions on American soil? Do Muslims have a special responsibility to combat it? What does it have to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Does the Obama Administration exaggerate to gain support for military action?
Obama's Two Fronts in the Afghan War At his re-confirmation hearing today, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said it's likely that commanders in Afghanistan will ask for more troops “very soon…”
Politics in America and Reality in Afghanistan At his re-confirmation hearing today, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated that commanders are likely to ask for another increase of troops in Afghanistan. But, after eight years, public support for the war is fading fast, and Democrats are suggesting that, if the President asks, they might have to say "no." Republicans, backed by militant neo-cons, insist that more force is the only way to win. What would "winning" look like? How long would it take? Will the White House have any options to seek common ground?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.