Today's Headlines and Commentary

Yesterday’s news that a U.S. drone strike inadvertently killed two al Qaeda hostages---one American and one Italian---continues to reverberate throughout the Fourth Estate. Scott Shane writes in the New York Times that these revelations highlight the imprecise nature of the drone program: “it has become clear that when operators in Nevada fire missiles into remote tribal territories on the other side of the world, they often do not know who they are killing, but are making an imperfect best guess.” The Wall Street Journal notes that the tragic news, and the Obama administration’s forthcoming review of its drone program, may rekindle calls for control of the program to be handed from the CIA to the Defense Department. But Pentagon officials reportedly said that there is no indication that such a shift would have prevented the outcome of the strike. Moreover, the article notes, the administration review is unlikely to bring about any changes, as it currently enjoys strong support from lawmakers in both parties. Another aspect of yesterday’s revelations---that counterterrorism operations also killed American al Qaeda operatives---may give new life to a different debate over the drone program: whether the administration should target U.S. citizens participating in terrorist activities abroad. The Times notes that, while the administration has said that the two American militants were not intentionally targeted, “the deliberate killing … of Americans working for Al Qaeda has been one of the most disputed aspects of Mr. Obama’s clandestine drone war.” Whatever the outcome of that debate, however, Reuters reports that the killing of one of those American militants, Adam Gadahn, represents a significant blow to al Qaeda. Gadahn reportedly directed al Qaeda’s media campaign, and his death comes at a time when the terrorist group attempts to compete with ISIS's sophisticated propaganda machine. Moreover, J.M Berger writes in Politico Magazine that

“Gadahn’s death marks, in some ways, the end of an era for the Americans of Al Qaeda. Its most-visible American recruits have been killed by U.S. counterterrorism actions or betrayed by their fellow jihadists. And the media innovations that [these Americans] brought to the terrorist organization have now been thoroughly co-opted and surpassed by Al Qaeda’s bitter rival, the Islamic State.”

Off the coast of Yemen, an Iranian flotilla thought to be bringing weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen appears to have shifted course. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Iranian ships shifted course as a U.S. aircraft carrier came within 200 nautical miles of the flotilla and as Saudi officials said that Saudi sailors would try to search the ships if they attempted to dock in Yemen. A U.S. official noted, however, that the ships remain in the waters off Yemen and that he could not confirm the specific direction in which the flotilla was now heading. During a visit to Washington last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi opined that U.S. airstrikes in support of Iraqi troops were taking too long. Now, the Obama administration appears to be looking for ways to speed up those strikes. The Times reveals that one plan under consideration involves training Iraqi soldiers to spot targets for airstrikes. That move, a first in U.S. military operations in Iraq, would bolster Iraqi operations against ISIS, but also carries the risk that Iraqi troops might misidentify targets. Indeed, Pentagon officials noted that U.S. forces would retain ultimate authority for directing strikes. In Ramadi, Iraqi forces continue to fight to expel ISIS militants. The Associated Press reports that earlier today government troops captured a bridge that had served as a key supply route for the militants in the city for months. The success comes as Iraqi troops have in recent days been able to regain the center of Ramadi and force the militants back in some areas of the city. A Saudi Arabian man has confessed to shooting two police officers and wounding two others in Riyadh on orders from ISIS, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry. The man allegedly received instructions and cash from the militant group before carrying out the shootings in March and April. Reuters notes that last year ISIS called on Saudis to carry out attacks in their own country rather than joining the group in Iraq and Syria. Italian police have broken up a terrorist network that plotted to bomb the Vatican and included Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards, the Guardian reports. The counterterrorism operation targeted 18 people suspected of links with al Qaeda, including some men allegedly involved in a 2009 bombing in Peshawar that killed over 100 people. NBC adds that the group had been involved in smuggling migrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan into Italy and funneling money into Pakistan to fund terrorist operations. In Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban officially launched its spring offensive today. Reuters reports that Taliban militants launched rockets onto a U.S. base in Kabul and at government buildings in the capital of Ghazni province, but no casualties were reported. The militant group, however, sent out an email claiming to have conducted 108 attacks across Afghanistan today, some of which allegedly "killed and wounded many Americans" at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul. Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter revealed that Russian hackers accessed an unclassified Pentagon network earlier this year. CNN writes that, according to Secretary Carter, the hackers were quickly detected, identified as Russians, and kicked off the network. While it is unclear whether the hackers were working for the Russian government, the incident is the latest in a string of breaches of government networks by Russians. Secretary Carter’s remarks came during a speech at Stanford University detailing the Defense Department’s new cyberstrategy. The Times writes that the new strategy, laid out in a document which we linked to here, represents a dramatic shift by the Obama administration. Indeed, the document for the first time discusses when the United States could use cyber weapons against attackers and explicitly names Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as the United States's biggest cyberthreats. In the Senate, a fight over NSA reform has stalled a bill meant to improve U.S. responses to cyberattacks. Although the House passed two measures this week that would increase the private-public exchange of data about cyberthreats, the Senate has put on hold plans to move its companion bill forward. The Hill reports that blocking that bill’s path is the looming sunset of Section 215 and the Senate’s apparent inability to take action on it. The Miami Herald reveals that, although the Obama administration appears eager to move more detainees out of Guantanamo, it has not yet set some of the requisite wheels in motion for those transfers to take place. Indeed, as of Thursday Congress had yet to receive any 30-day transfer notices, Carol Rosenberg notes, and several further hurdles in the transfer process remain, appearing to belie a recent Washington Post report that as many as 10 detainees could be transferred by June. General David Petraeus was sentenced yesterday for divulging classified information. CNN reports that Gen. Petraeus was given two years of probation and fined $100,000 for passing his personal notebooks, which “included notes from national security meetings, the identities of covert officers and more classified documents,” to his mistress and biographer. Parting Shot: For your weekend reading list, Buzzfeed News profiles CIA Director John Brennan.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Steve Vladeck followed up on Bobby’s post about the administration’s potential Guantanamo endgame by posing a detainee math problem that may bedevil any such strategy. Ben shared another of the responses he’s received to his note on the Harold Koh incident. Cody linked us to the Defense Department’s new cybersecurity strategy. I shared news that the Obama administration revealed that a U.S. counterterrorism operation inadvertently killed two al Qaeda hostages, including an American, in January. Kenneth Anderson reviewed War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Designing Compensation After Conflict. 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.