Today's Headlines and Commentary

Raffaela has retreated to an undisclosed location, so I will be your one-stop-shop for all things news and commentary for the next week. We begin, naturally, with stories that mention our own people. Washington Lawyer magazine's cover story, entitled "Lethal Force" and written by Anna Stolley Persky, discusses many aspects of targeted killing operations--and quotes three separate Lawfare folks: John Bellinger, Ken Anderson, and Bobby Chesney. FBI Director Robert Mueller believes "that cyber-threats [will] surpass terrorism as the country’s top concern," reports the AP. Meanwhile, Wired magazine describes the turf battle between the NSA and Department of Defense over cybersecurity efforts. Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson argues in this piece that "the American endgame [in Afghanistan] will be crucial. . .[and] the choice between a hasty retreat and a patient drawdown will matter greatly." Fox News reports that Jose Pimentel, the NYC gentleman charged with building explosives to detonate at various locations in the city, has been indicted "on both the initial terror charges against him--weapons possession and conspiracy." President Obama had a lot to say about Iran in this interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic--including the fact that he isn't bluffing. CNN's Suzanne Kelly writes about the problem of "self-radicalization," specifically focusing on the case of Zachary Chesser, the 21-year old Virginian who threatened the writers of South Park. And here, from Syrian President Bashar Assad's wife--who seems to think she's talking about Israeli actions in Gaza but is actually giving a razor-sharp description of her own government's actions at home--is your Moment of Horrible Not Zen: For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief, Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief, and Fordham Law’s new Cyber Brief. Email us noteworthy articles we may have missed at wakeman.lawfare@gmail.com and  singh.lawfare@gmail.com.