Today's Headlines and Commentary

Nuclear talks between the United States and Iran continued today in Geneva. The New York Times points out that these talks are the first time that the “top nuclear officials” from both nations have joined their diplomatic counterparts at the negotiating table. But there may be a bump in the road. Bloomberg informs us that, fifteen years ago, the CIA passed doctored blueprints of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program to the IAEA in an attempt to pressure the UN to impose sanctions against the country. The revelations come as a result of the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, who was convicted earlier this year of violating the Espionage Act when he leaked classified information about American attempts to undermine Iran’s nuclear infrastructure to journalist James Risen. And that’s not all that may call into question the success of the ongoing nuclear talks. Earlier this month, The Intercept reported on a document that reveals a worrying growth of cyberwarfare between the United States and Iran. The Times now covers the importance of the document, and fills in some of the gaps that were left open: it’s now been confirmed that Iran’s cyberattacks against American targets came as direct retaliation for American attacks against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. New defense secretary Ash Carter wrapped up his time visiting Afghanistan without announcing any clear policies on U.S. presence in the region. The AP explains that Carter is preparing recommendations for President Obama about the future of American presence in Afghanistan, but declined to answer direct questions from reporters about the pace of U.S. military withdrawal. On Saturday, the terrorist group Al-Shabaab released a propaganda video in which the group called for the direct targeting of shopping centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Guardian reports on how American and British security services responded to the threat. Meanwhile, CNN has a helpful primer on the history and organization of Al-Shabaab. The Islamic State also released its own propaganda video over the weekend which shows Kurdish fighters caged and abused. The Telegraph tells us that IS’ most recent video is meant to instill fear into Kurds, and to warn them against fighting alongside the American-backed campaign against the Islamic State. Reuters reports that Australia appears to be a likely purchaser of U.S. drone technology. Australian air force personnel arrived in the United States last week to begin training on armed drones, but according to the Australian defense department, no final decision has been made as to if Australia will definitely purchase any American drones. Before heading to Geneva for the nuclear summit with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry was in London to discuss the U.S. and its European allies’ next steps with regard to Russia and the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. Reuters explains that Kerry did not make any definitive pronouncements about what might come next, but instead indicated that President Obama will likely make an announcement in the coming days on heightened sanctions against Russia. Gil Troy over at The Daily Beast, hopped on the “Do Americans value privacy?” opinion-piece train this weekend, addressing the fine balance between a new type of online “exhibitionism” measured against a deeply American-rooted desired for privacy. Ultimately, Troy argues, it’s on us to demand more of our government and internet service providers: American complacency has become the biggest risk to our personal security. Last week, we covered the details of the “Equation Group” and its abilities, to use Bruce’s words, to “embed spyware deep inside computers, gaining pretty much total control of those computers while maintaining persistence in the face of reboots, operating system reinstalls, and commercial anti-virus products.” Wired takes a look at the hacking network, which most believed was developed and is in use by the NSA, and tells us what might be so troubling about it. In op-ed in the Times, David Cole argues that the CIA was treated “unfairly” in the aftermath of the SSCI torture report. Specifically, Cole pushes back against the repeated SSCI conclusions that interrogations that included torture tactics did not yield any helpful information in preventing terrorist attacks or helping to capture other individuals. Cole also talks about his piece over at Just Security. Last night, Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald’s documentary about Edward Snowden, Citizenfour, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Many of us at Lawfare haven’t seen the documentary feature, but here’s the Daily Beast’s lukewarm review back from October.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

Carol R. Saivetz penned this week’s Foreign Policy Essay, focusing on the conflict in Ukraine. Saivetz explains in detail why Russia has pushed such an aggressive policy in Ukraine, and recommends that the United States “proceed cautiously” in addressing the situation. John takes us inside a Hamas attack tunnel leading from Gaza into Israel. In our most recent podcast episode, we – finally – feature Ben’s September keynote address at the NSA on Constitution Day. 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.