Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Let’s begin with all things Al Qaeda. Sources revealed that Ayman al-Zawahiri allegedly told Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of AQAP and Al Qaeda’s number two, to “do something.” Barbara Starr of CNN reports that the message was intercepted last week in the midst of several large-scale prison breaks in Pakistan and Iraq, and that “intelligence information. . .indicated final planning by al Qaeda in Yemen for possible terrorist attacks on Western targets to coincide with the end of Ramadan this week.” The Washington Post has more, and Bobby discusses the implications of the incident from an AUMF perspective. CNN and The Hill tell us that U.S. special forces are on heightened alert in the wake of this recent threat. The U.S. embassy in Yemen was evacuated today, say Meghashyam Mali of The Hill and Alan Cowell of the New York Times. Ahmed El-Haj of the Associated Press reports that Yemeni authorities have released the names of 25 high value Al Qaeda suspects. At least four suspected Al Qaeda militants have been killed by a drone strike in Yemen, according to Reuters. Ben offered some thoughts on yesterday's Times editorial.  Meanwhile, the Post editorial board sheds light on President Obama’s approach to the War on Terror, and argues that:

From the beginning of his tenure, the president has been reluctant to build a legal framework that would assume that the fight against al-Qaeda and like-minded groups might go on for a long time. He not only proposed closing the prison at Guantanamo, rightly given its poisonous effect on the United States’ image, but he also opposed options to hold prisoners taken in future operations. That may be one reason so many alleged terrorists have been killed during his time in office and so few captured. It also helps explain the quandary the United States faces with its non-Afghan prisoners when it transfers control of the Bagram prison to Afghanistan. The United States is holding prisoners of war without fully acknowledging the war.

Brett Stephens of the Wall Street Journal is highly critical of the Obama administration’s wishful thinking about the War on Terror---and of the rhetoric in the president’s May 23 speech at NDU earlier this year. Billy Kenber of the Post reports that the court martial of accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan has finally gotten underway. He is representing himself. Patrick Kennedy, the undersecretary of state for management, spoke at Pfc. Bradley Manning’s sentencing hearing about the damage caused by WikiLeaks. Julie Tate of the Post covers the story. Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is interviewed by Bernard Gwertzman of CFR about the recent discussions between Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistani officials. Conclusion: The talks will likely result in more of the same. Speaking of talks, the Taliban and members of the Afghan High Peace Council have been holding secret peace talks as a precursor to official negotiations. The AP has a few details. Five Indian soldiers have been killed in Kashmir, says Basharat Peer of the Times. And, Raffaela pointed me to this serenade from British singer PJ Harvey to Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer. The unsettling lyrics go “No water for three days / I cannot sleep, or stay awake / Four months hunger strike / Am I dead, or am I alive? / With metal tubes we are force fed / I honestly wish, I wish was dead.” Have a listen---it’s Today’s Moment of Zen. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief, Syracuse’s Institute for National Security & Counterterrorism’s newsroll and blog, and Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief and Cyber Brief. Email Raffaela Wakeman and Ritika Singh noteworthy articles to include, visit the Lawfare Events Calendar for upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings at the Lawfare Job Board.