Today's Headlines and Commentary

A U.S. drone strike killed between six and nine suspected militants in northwest Pakistan yesterday. Reuters has the story. The Daily Beast reveals, after obtaining an internal U.S. Air Force service memo, that the military does not have enough manpower to operate its drone fleet and fulfill the demands of the Pentagon. Calls for the number of “drone orbits” have increased dramatically in recent months because of the offensive against ISIS---but there simply aren’t enough drone operators to carry out the missions. But perhaps we shouldn’t despair just yet: NPR explains that ISIS’ power in Iraq is beginning to wane. Apropos of the region: Four men assaulted a Saudi guard patrol near the Saudi Arabian border with Iraq.  At least three have been killed, and three more wounded, according to the New York times.  Afghan president Ashraf Ghani said in an interview that aired yesterday that President Obama should reconsider his deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Hill covers Mr. Ghani’s remarks. On Friday, the United States announced that it would be imposing new sanctions on North Korea following the cyber attack on Sony Pictures. The sanctions, explains the Post, target ten North Korean and three government agencies and are expected to “complicate North Korean business dealings.” The Times reports, unsurprisingly, that North Korea has strongly denounced the U.S. for its recent actions. Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a Libyan suspected of being an operative for Al Qaeda died in government custody on Friday night, reports the New York Times. He died as a result of medical complications associated with liver failure. Al-Ruqai’s trial was scheduled to begin in the Southern District of New York a week from today. The Times tells us that after September 11, 2001, the FBI implemented an internal surveillance program that monitored hundreds of its employees with international ties. Some FBI agents have complained that the program is discriminatory, precluding them from advancing within the agency because they would no longer receive certain top-secret information. The Times profiles Megan J. Smith, the current Chief Technology Officer of the United States, and covers the difficulties Ms. Smith faces when dealing with the federal government’s somewhat outdated technology. Over at Forbes, Jay Johnson predicts that there will be more data breaches in 2015 than in 2014. As Cody mentioned Friday, jury selection in the trial of suspected Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will begin today. The Post tells us that the jury selection process alone is expected to last weeks, if not months. Tomorrow, the Republicans take control of Congress. The Times lays out the potential implications that the switch of leadership in the Senate may have on far-reaching policies, including national security issues. An opinion piece over at Al Jazeera echoes Harry Truman’s call in the 1960s to severely limit the powers of the CIA, even to dismantle it if necessary. For those of you who are fans of the hit TV show, “The Americans,” it turns out that the CIA is also an intent viewer. Uproxx notes that the CIA keeps a close eye on the show to make sure that the show’s creator, Joe Weisberg, who once worked for the CIA, isn’t spilling any state secrets. And in more entertaining news from the CIA, RT reveals that the intelligence agency admitted, via Twitter, that the majority of reported UFO sightings in the 20^th century were actually due to “secret, high-altitude reconnaissance flights” organized by the CIA.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

David Dollar penned this week’s Foreign Policy Essay, addressing American concerns over China’s growing economy, and wondering if it will really dominate the 21^st Century. Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us onTwitter 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.