Today's Headlines and Commentary

FBI Director James Comey published an open letter on Lawfare last night about the FBI’s ongoing San Bernardino litigation against Apple. If you’ve been on the Internet in the last week, you’ll likely know that the FBI asked a federal magistrate judge in California to order Apple to assist the FBI in accessing the contents of an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. In his letter, Comey argues that “the particular legal issue is actually quite narrow,” that “its value [will be] increasingly obsolete because the technology continues to evolve,” and that the FBI “could not look the survivors in the eye if [it] did not follow this lead.”

This morning, Reuters informed us that some victims of the San Bernardino attack plan to file a legal brief in support of the Department of Justice’s motion to compel Apple to assist in unlocking the phone. An attorney for the victims told reporters that his clients “were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why.” 14 people were killed in the shootings and another 22 were wounded.

Over the weekend, Ellen Nakashima and Mark Berman of the Washington Post reported that as part of its efforts to gain access to information in the phone, the FBI asked a technician for San Bernardino County to change the iCloud password on the phone, but “that action foreclosed the possibility of an automatic backup to Apple iCloud servers that might have turned up more clues.” The Justice Department had previously disclosed the decision in a brief filed on Friday.

Late last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said that his office is currently determining which cases involving encrypted smartphones to bring before a New York state judge for similar review. The Wall Street Journal has more. The Journal also provides a history of corporate defiance in battles with Washington over privacy and security, beginning with the Telegraph and Western Union in 1877.

In response to the ongoing battle, Apple has renewed its call for a commission to address the difficult problems presented by encryption and law enforcement’s need to access data for investigations. Apple has said that it would “gladly participate” in a group of experts in intelligence, technology, and civil liberties. The Journal notes that Apple CEO Tim Cook has struck recently a more conciliatory tone than when he published his own open letter last Tuesday, saying “our country has always been strongest when we come together.” House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senate Intelligence Committee member Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) are set to introduce legislation that would create such a commission on Wednesday.

In an interview with Capitol Download, former CIA and NSA Director General Michael Hayden said that “in this specific case, I’m trending toward the government, but I’ve got to tell you in general I oppose the government’s effort.” Hayden warned that backdoors in encryption would undermine the security of the United States. Read more of Hayden’s position here at USA Today.

Last month, the Italian government quietly authorized American drones to fly out of an air base in Sicily for military operations against the Islamic State in Libya, according to U.S. officials. However, the authorization came with an important caveat: the drones can only be used defensively to protect U.S. special operations forces in Libya. The Wall Street Journal notes that the caveat underscores the challenges the U.S. faces when attempting to persuade partner countries to allow offensive drone strikes, as policymakers weigh the risks of inciting anti-war opposition movements in their own countries.

Over the weekend, General Michael Hayden also issued a 2,000 word defense of the U.S.’s targeted killing program, arguing that while the “program is not perfect,” it is “the most precise and effective application of firepower in the history of armed conflict.” The piece also provides some unique insights into the process by which CIA operatives authorize strikes.

In Defense One, Micah Zenko argues that Hayden’s defense “doesn’t add up.”

The Washington Post shares that on Sunday “at least three explosions struck a suburb south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, leaving at least 50 people dead.” Another bombing earlier in the day targeted the city of Homs, killed at least 34 people. In eastern Syria, a suicide bombing killed 50 Kurdish fighters. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

Yet as violence rippled across Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Sunday that he and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov reached a provisional agreement on the terms of a cessation of hostilities in Syria. Kerry, speaking in Jordan, said “we are closer to a ceasefire today than we have been.” The ceasefire is expected to exclude operations against organizations “recognized as terrorists by U.N. Security Council,” including the Islamic State and al Nusra Front.

Elsewhere Reuters reports that Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed alliance that includes the Kurdish YPG militia, captured the Islamic State-held town of al Shadadi in northeast Syria. The town is a crucial element of an ongoing offensive to isolate ISIS’s de facto capital of Raqqa.

The New York Times reports that Afghan forces “have pulled out of the strategic district of Musa Qala in southern Helmand Province” just “months after the Taliban overran most of the district and kept them holed up in desert outposts.” The Times calls the retreat “the latest blow to a province that had been teetering for months.” The Taliban now either controls or is contesting 10 of the province’s 14 districts.

Elsewhere, however, Afghan troops advanced against ISIS militants in the country’s eastern province of Nangarhar. The Wall Street Journal shares that last week, the Afghan army “pushed into Achin district, the group’s main base.” U.S. airstrikes have hit the area almost every day for weeks.

Across the Durand Line, Pakistan’s military claimed to have killed five terrorists after a firefight in the country’s northwestern tribal region. But in the city of Faisalabad, three police officers were killed in a suspected Islamic State attack. The assailants, who escaped the scene, left copies of a pamphlet that said the regional chapter of ISIS claimed responsibility for “recent attacks on security forces.” In recent weeks, the Pakistani government has pushed back hard against the narrative of a rising ISIS affiliate in Pakistan, claiming that there is “no organized presence” of ISIS in the country. The New York Times has more.

The Periodic Review Board at Guantanamo Bay has cleared Yemeni Majid Ahmed, a former Osama bin Laden bodyguard, for release to an Arabic-speaking country with security precautions. Ahmed was recruited to al Qaeda at age 18 or 19. The Miami Herald has more.

Parting Shot: A love note to Lawfare’s readers from the Washington Post. According to the post Lawfare, reporting on Director Comey's open letter, "LawFare [is] a prominent national security law blog with an elite and specialized audience.” We think you’re pretty special, too.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

FBI Director Jim Comey penned an open letter on the FBI’s ongoing attempt to compel Apple to unlock the phone one of the San Bernardino shooters.

In this week’s Foreign Policy Essay, Dan Byman wrote on the Islamic State's “archipelago,” and how the United States can push back the group’s franchising strategy.

Cody posted the Lawfare Podcast, featuring Leon Wieseltier on the moral dimensions of the Syrian refugee crisis.

Ben later shared a Brookings event entitled “Who We Really Are: A Conversation with Syrian Refugees in America.”

Cody also provided coverage of the 2/16 in pre-trial hearings of the 9/11 military commissions case. Yishai Schwartz followed up with coverage of the proceedings from 2/17.

Helen Klein provided an overview of oral arguments in al Nasiri, currently before the D.C. Circuit, asking whether Judge Griffith is the all-important swing vote.

Finally, Cody caught us up on The Week That Was, rounding up the latest Lawfare coverage.

Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.