Today's Headlines and Commentary

Heavily armed Australian police have stormed a Sydney cafe in order to free several hostages held there at gunpoint. Two hostages and the gunman are dead. Reuters reports that the gunman, identified as Man Haron Monis, was an Iranian refugee and self-styled cleric facing multiple charges of sexual assault as well as accessory to murder. In all, 17 employees and customers were held for more than 16 hours. The New York Times has more on on Monis and this evolving situation. At one point in time, the gunman had hostages hold a black flag with white Arabic script similar to those used by Islamic militants in Iraq, but not the same flag frequently brandished by ISIS. The flag displays the Shahada - a testament of faith to Muslims. The New York Times’s Charlie Savage reports on newly released documents that shed light on the legal interpretations and disagreements of the judges who were asked to approve the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. The Times also has carries a detailed account of the horrors endured by a just a few of the 26 people held in error during the CIA’ secret detention and interrogation program. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has signalled his intention to introduce legislation in the new year that would, in his words, “make it clear...that if torture is used in the future, there would be a basis to prosecute.” In the New York Times, Mark Mazzetti and Peter Baker also explore the relationship between President Barack Obama and CIA Director John Brennan, noting that in the 67-year history of the CIA, few presidents have had as close a bond with their intelligence chief as Mr. Obama has with Mr. Brennan. Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo said yesterday that some interrogation techniques, “were not supposed to be done” and that “the people who did those are at risk legally because they were acting outside their orders.” Yoo co-wrote a memo that was used as the legal justification for the CIA’s program. Those comments came on the same day that former Vice President Dick Cheney actively defended the CIA program on the Sunday morning talk shows. Conor Friedersdorf outlines Cheney’s incoherent logic in defending “the torture of innocents.” The Syrian government and Islamic militants appeared to trade territory this weekend, with the forces of Bashar al Assad seizing an area north of Aleppo, but losing Wadi al Deif, a key military base next to the country’s main north-south highway to the al Nusra Front. Syrian soldiers killed 34 al Nusra fighters outside Aleppo. In the latter battle, at least 31 government soldiers and 12 al Nusra fighters were killed. Reporting from Erbil, Ben Hubbard of the New York Times describes how the Islamic State has imposed its strict order in Mosul, and how that order has brought about deprivation. According to the Times, electricity has been cut off for months, tap water is undrinkable, and prices are way up on ordinary foodstuffs. And while it has sworn to eliminate the government in Baghdad, at the moment, ISIS relies on it to pay the salaries of public sector workers who keep some semblance of normalcy and order in the city. The Christian Science Monitor shares that ISIS is proving much harder for local Sunni tribes in Anbar to challenge than was Al Qaeda in Iraq from 2006-2008. Heavily outmanned and outgunned without US or Iraqi security forces on the ground, massive numbers of tribal fighters are dying, and even more are being scared away from rising up against the Islamic State. And, on Friday, the Pentagon said that the year-long plan to train and equip 5,000 Syrian rebels to fight ISIS could push into early 2016. The Hill notes that Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said that it would take three to five months to recruit and vet the rebels, a process that is yet to begin. The rebel fighting units may not be prepared for battle before March 2016. The Islamic State has released yet another propaganda video that employs a drone. This time, the drone is used to film suicide attacks in the Syrian city of Kobani. The Washington Post carries the footage. Finally, police in Bangalore, India have arrested Mehdi Biswas, the suspected manager of pro-ISIS Twitter account @ShamiWitness. The account had more than 17,000 followers and has since been deleted. Biswas has denied facilitating recruitment for the militant group. In the Atlantic, Allen McDuffee reports on the watershed of violence throughout Afghanistan this weekend, that left two US soldiers, one Afghan Supreme Court justice, 12 workers, and 7 Afghan soldiers dead.  The Wall Street Journal shares that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has carried a decisive electoral victory, giving his party a comfortable majority to pass nearly all legislation. A United States Marine has been charged with murder in the Philippines, according to Time. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the next chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has signalled he may be prepared to help close Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying, “I think it can be done.” CNN has more from the Senator’s interview. According to Reuters, US Attorney General Eric Holder will not force New York Times reporter James Risen to identify his source for a story detailing a failed CIA effort to subvert Iran’s nuclear weapons program. In light of a statement from Germany’s top prosecutor suggesting he had found no evidence that the NSA tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone, German newspaper Der Spiegel is doubling down and standing by its report. On Friday, the Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act. The measure authorizes the training and arming of moderate Syrian rebels for two years and provides $5 billion for the training of Iraqi security forces. The legislation also includes changes to the way the military justice system deals with sexual assault cases, striking the “good soldier defense.” The Associated Press has more.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

Mira Rapp-Hooper tipped us off to a new web-based program, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. Lawfare will host information about the debates and resources the AMTI has for readers. In this weekend’s Foreign Policy Essay, Michael Becker took a look at the “wolves who are lonely.” This week’s Lawfare Podcast featured Mieke Eoyang and a discussion on her proposal for FAA exclusivity. Lawfare also completed its initial review of findings, conclusions and areas of dispute in the SSCI, Minority and CIA reports on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. Part 5 is here. 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.