Today's Headlines and Commentary

The AP and the AFP have the story of Abd al-Nashiri, the main suspect in the USS Cole bombing, whose trial Bobby discusses here. The AP reports that top Democratic leaders have written to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opposing provisions in the NDAA that require military custody of terrorist suspects and limit the government's authority to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Josh Gerstein at the Politico has more on the story, and Jonathan Hafetz at the National Law Journal argues that the NDAA will not simply institutionalize existing detention policies, but significantly extend them. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, argues in an editorial that civilian courts are the right venue for terrorism trials. Mansour Arbabsiar, the man accused of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, pleads not guilty, report Ben Weiser of the New York Times and Vivienne Foley of CNN. The AP informs us that the 18-year old associate of "Jihad Jane" has also entered a plea of not guilty. In more news from Libya, the AP announces that Muammar Gaddafi, his son, and a top aide were buried in a secret location at dawn today -- guess that's about it for them. Meanwhile, amidst the international calls for investigations into the circumstances of his death, Time has an story on why "Libyans don't really give a hoot."  Over at the Times, Kareem Fahim and Adam Nossiter report on the massacre by anti-Qaddafi fighters of "at least two former Qaddafi government officials, local loyalist fighters and maybe civilians," and Mark Landler informs us that the Obama administration had debated what to do with Qaddafi before his death mooted the matter. According to CTV News, the British Columbia Criminal Justice Branch has blocked the attempt by the Canadian Center for International Justice to prosecute President George W. Bush. China is considering new legislation to better define terrorism in an effort to strengthen domestic terrorism prosecutions and play a larger role internationally, says the AP. The Financial Times states that the U.S. is discussing how to militarily and financially assist Kenya in its fight against al-Shabaab. And here's your moment of Zen. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter and visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief. Feel free to email me noteworthy articles I may have missed at singh.lawfare@gmail.com.