Today's Headlines and Commentary

The Secret Service has intercepted suspicious packages potentially containing explosive devices addressed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, and CNN’s offices in New York; the bombs are believed to be connected to an explosive device founder earlier this week at the home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, reports the New York Times.

National security adviser John Bolton rejected Russian requests on Tuesday to remain a part of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty despite concerns that withdrawal from the INF Treaty could result in a nuclear arms race, according to the New York Times.

The cybersecurity firm FireEye published a blog post on Tuesday that ties a Russian government lab to a cyberattack last year on a Saudi petrochemical plant, says the Washington Post. The attack involved malware that temporarily halted operations at the plant.

A second caravan of Honduran asylum seekers is gathering in Guatemala, presenting a new challenge for Mexican and Guatemalan border officials seeking to quell mass migration, says the Wall Street Journal. Travelling in caravans provides migrants a safe and low cost alternative to paying traffickers for passage across borders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech on Tuesday about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was addressed to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and did not mention Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely regarded as the kingdom’s de facto ruler; the omission is seen by some as an attempt to drive a wedge between the King and his son, reports the Post.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Robert Chesney explored the motivation behind the Pentagon’s new “defending forward” cyber doctrine in a piece responding to Lyu Jinghua’s earlier article on the Chinese Perspective on the same cyber strategy.

Monica M. Ruiz argued that Michigan provides a successful state-level cyber defense model.

Stewart Baker posted this week’s episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, a discussion with Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate Christopher Krebs on potential foreign hacking in the midterms, while Maury Shenk highlighted the role of Twitter, trolls, and Saudi royals in the Khashoggi killing.

J. Dana Stuster posted this week’s Middle East Ticker, covering Khashoggi’s murder, the release of a U.S. pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey and Jordan’s cancellation of two lease agreements with Israel.

Nathan Swire posted the newest edition of Water Wars, focusing on a close run-in between U.S. and Chinese warships in the South China Sea, and Vice President Mike Pence’s accusation that China is interfering U.S. domestic politics through tariffs and pressure on academics.

Jen Patja Howell posted a new episode of The Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes sat down with Hungarian constitutional law scholar András Pap to discuss Viktor Orbán and the decline of Hungarian democracy.

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