Today's Headlines and Commentary

Let’s begin with some good news that came down the pike just in time for Turkey Day: A cease fire has been declared in the Israel-Gaza conflict as of 2 pm EST, reports CNN. Michael Birnbaum and Ernesto Londoño of the Washington Post also have the latest. The news comes after at least 21 people were injured in a bus bombing in Tel Aviv, says Edmund Sanders of the Los Angeles Times. Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports that a Mexican national was arrested for carrying drone parts into Israel in his luggage. And Helene Cooper and Mark Landler of the New York Times discuss the shifting relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker tells us about the Israeli Defense Forces’s mistake over the weekend in which the wrong house was bombed---and argues that the “the illusion of surgical war has become our illusion, too, in Afghanistan and Pakistani border regions and elsewhere.” David Cole writes in the Daily Beast that the pro-Israel group Christians United for Israel is arguing that “providing ‘services’ of any kind to a designated terrorist organization like Hamas is a federal crime” under the material support statute, and Twitter should ban Hamas. Meanwhile, India has hanged the last surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks four years ago, the New York Times reports. Ajmal Kasab, a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was hanged this morning after the country's president rejected his clemency application. The Associated Press reports that General John Allen has returned to Afghanistan despite an ongoing investigation into his correspondence with Jill Kelley, the woman linked to the Petraeus sex scandal. David Alexander of Reuters reports that SecDef Leon Panetta, speaking at the Center for a New American Security, said that Al Qaeda core has been “decimated,” but its affiliates remain adept---and that a successful Afghan transition is the key to defeating Al Qaeda. Spencer Ackerman of Wired’s Danger Room blog offers his thoughts on Panetta’s remarks. In the continuing blame game surrounding Susan Rice, CBS News tells us that “the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) cut specific references to "al Qaeda" and "terrorism" from the unclassified talking points given to Ambassador Susan Rice on the Benghazi consulate attack---with the agreement of the CIA and FBI. The White House or State Department did not make those changes.” And Andy Rosenthal, editorial page editor of the New York Times, says: “Leave Susan Rice Alone.” Mike Mount of CNN’s Security Clearance blog reports that Obama administration officials remain concerned about the continuing violence in Bahrain. Eric Holder will be sticking around for the President’s second term, reports Katie Glueck of Politico. Abdi Aynte of All Africa gives us the latest about Al Shabaab and argues that the group is “winning a strategic war [for hearts and minds] back in Kenya.” And, from a Lawfare reader, comes this story about Philadelphia hunters shooting not at birds, but at drones spying on them---it’s today’s Moment of 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, Syracuse’s Institute for National Security & Counterterrorism’s newsroll, and Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief and Cyber Brief. Email Raffaela Wakeman and Ritika Singh noteworthy articles to include, visit the Lawfare Events Calendar for upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings at the Lawfare Job Board.