Today's Headlines and Commentary

The controversy over the liberation of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl continues. Early today, the Taliban released a video showing Bergdahl's handover to U.S. forces. He is shown with a clean-shaven head and face, and wearing white Afghan garb. CNN says the transfer appears peaceful: American soldiers wave and even shake hands with the Taliban fighters. However, the Taliban also warns Bergdahl not to return to Afghanistan. The video lastly shows the homecoming of the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners, who were freed in exchange for Bergdahl. Although the U.S. is reviewing the footage, a Pentagon spokesman told NBC they have no reason to doubt its legitimacy. The Hill reports that Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken called the Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Dianne Feinstein, to apologize on behalf of the White House for not informing her before agreeing to free the five Guantanamo Bay detainees. Blinken called it an “oversight,” but Feinstein noted that chairmen and ranking members of relevant congressional committees had strongly objected to prisoner trades in 2011. Indeed, Speaker of the House John Boehner accused the Obama administration of not consulting Congress beforehand because of this bipartisan opposition to prisoner swaps. The Hill has that story too. The Washington Post’s lead story examines deliberation among Obama administration officials over various efforts, during the past five years, to secure Bergdahl’s freedom. According to the New York Times, his recent release came under what the White House has called “unique circumstances,” giving the President the authority to circumvent Section 1035 of the 2014 NDAA. (Jack’s Lawfare piece was quoted in the article.) The Wall Street Journal discusses the secret videos of Sgt. Bergdahl that convinced the White House to move forward with the trade. Secretary of the Army John McHugh released a statement, maintaining that after ensuring Sgt. Bergdahl’s “health” and “recovery,” the Army would assess the circumstances surrounding his capture. In an interview with CNN, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney indicated that the need for such an investigation does not affect the need to bring Bergdahl home. In other news, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met in Brussels yesterday with his counterparts from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. On the agenda was President Obama’s European Reassurance Initiative, which will provide for an increased American military presence in Europe. Hagel also met with the acting defense minister of Ukraine and promised “continued U.S. support.” After meeting in Ukraine yesterday with President-elect Petro Poroshenko, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Lebanon, writes Reuters. He has promised increased aid to help with the influx of Syrian refugees. The news agency also reports that in Yemen, airstrikes on Shia Houthi rebels ended a ceasefire that had been negotiated Monday night, following the deaths of 100 Houthis and 20 government soldiers “in fighting and in air strikes.” China marks the 25th year anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests today with heightened security around the area and the detention of dissidents, according to Al Jazeera. Charlie Savage of the Times informs us that the relatives of three U.S. citizens killed in drone strikes---Anwar al-Awlaki, his son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan---have decided not to appeal Judge Rosemary Collyer’s dismissal of their lawsuit against Obama administration officials. Speaking of rulings, Judge B. Lynn Winmill has upheld the constitutionality of the NSA’s metadata program. In civil litigation outside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the judicial score stands at 2-1 for the NSA. Josh Gerstein of Politico has more. Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times reports that Ahmed Abassi, a Tunisian man charged with terrorism last year, accepted a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to lesser non-terrorism charges. He also had to agree to deportation after serving his prison term. Imprisoned former CIA officer John Kiriakou has an op-ed in The Daily Beast, arguing both that President Obama should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the CIA's use of torture after 9/11; and that the Senate Intelligence Committee should declassify its report on this issue in its entirety. Devin Barrett of the Wall Street Journal tells us that Attorney General Eric Holder will resurrect a domestic terrorism task force to combat homegrown radicalization---which was scheduled to meet the morning of 9/11 and was sidelined thereafter. The Senate Banking Committee approved a seven-year extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which ensures that the government will “cover a portion of the insured losses from a terrorist attack once the loss amount passes a certain threshold.” The Hill also has the story. The FBI is investigating how Moner Mohammad Abusalha went from a teenager in Florida to a suicide bomber in Syria. Two senior Pakistani army officers and three civilians were killed today by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi. The attack was likely carried out by the Pakistani Taliban, though that has yet to be confirmed. One of Pakistan’s most infamous politicians, Altaf Hussein, who has continued to wield enormous power in Karachi since he fled to England in 1991, was arrested in London yesterday. Declan Walsh of the Times and Bruce Riedel of Brookings describe how his political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has destabilized Pakistan over the years. 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