Today’s Headlines and Commentary

No, we didn’t stop talking about Benghazi even after last year’s presidential election came and went. Even the cicadas will disappear again before we’re done talking about it. Today’s congressional hearing on the Benghazi attacks is generating a maelstrom of press attention: Scott Shane of the New York Times fleshes out the reasons why, after all this time; and Jeremy Peters and Eric Schmitt have more on what to expect from the hearing. Philip Rucker of the Washington Post tells us that the newest possible casualty in the investigation of wrongdoing might turn out to be Hilary Clinton herself, and Ernesto Londono reports on testimony from Gregory Hicks, former Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission in Libya.  Lastly, Jonathan Bernstein of the Plum Line expresses his frustration with Washington on this whole issue. In other news, CIA Director John Brennan has passed over the woman who was heavily involved in the CIA’s interrogation program to lead the Agency’s clandestine service. Here are the Post and the Times on that. Adam Nossiter of the Times reports on the latest efforts by Nigerian authorities to quash Boko Haram militants---and the indiscriminate killing and extrajudicial measures the authorities often take to achieve that end. Mauritanian authorities likewise torture and detain militants suspected of involvement in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.  The United States and France provide Mauritania with “logistics, training, equipment and intelligence.” Hannah Armstrong of the Times has more. The Times’s Editorial Page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, discusses the potential debate over a new AUMF in Congress and says:

Reviewing the force resolution is not optional. And yet, the risk is obvious: this sort of discussion can go badly awry in a Congress that has preyed on Americans’ fear of terrorism to needlessly attack civil liberties and the rule of law. Congress could broaden, rather than rein in military power.

Rosenthal also has a post about the CIA’s role in shaping Zero Dark Thirty.  (Earlier, Gawker had obtained a CIA memo demonstrating just how much the agency's input affected the movie.) Peter Bergen and Bailey Cahall of the New America Foundation argue in this CNN.com op-ed that the threat of recidivism among Guantanamo detainees is wildly overblown by lawmakers and the intelligence community. The Times editorial board discusses the Pentagon's report on Chinese misbehavior regarding cyber issues. According to the Washington Times, the White House is likely to grant the FBI’s request for greater Internet surveillance powers. Charlie Savage of the Times also reports. Dawood I. Ahmed, who wrote this guest post on how the Pakistani media was covering Dr. Shakil Afridi’s case, has an article in Foreign Policy about whether the country can legally shoot down a U.S. drone. Three days before elections in Pakistan, Sumera Khan of Pakistan’s Express Tribune informs us that the country’s Centre for Research and Security Studies has found “that some 2,674 people lost their lives in 1,108 incidents of violence across the country” from January to April of this year. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter and check out the Lawfare News Feed, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief,  Syracuse’s Institute for National Security & Counterterrorism’s newsroll, 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.