Morning Brief - 5/2/12

The United States
OBAMA IN SURPRISE VISIT TO AFGHANISTAN TO SIGN STRATEGIC PACT
President Barack Obama signaled a new era in the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, making a surprise visit to Kabul where he penned a strategic partnership agreement with Afghan President Karzai. Obama's trip comes exactly one-year after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in a daring night raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The pact lays out the terms for bi-lateral relations following the scheduled withdrawal of American troops in 2014, and was an opportunity for the president to make a high-profile gesture that he is bringing a costly and increasingly unpopular war to an end. "One year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden,” Obama said. “The goal I set — to defeat Al Qaeda, and deny it a chance to rebuild — is now within our reach.” The president stated that U.S. military objectives had been achieved and that Afghans were prepared to take control of their own security, a transition set to begin next year when U.S and NATO forces move from a combat role to a training and counterterrorism mission. (NYT, WashPost, al-Jazeera)

FBI ARREST FIVE IN OHIO BRIDGE TERROR PLOT
The FBI arrested five men associated with Occupy Cleveland on charges of plotting to detonate explosives on an Ohio bridge connecting two Cleveland suburbs. Federal prosecutors say the men planted fake explosives provided by the FBI, armed them, and attempted to detonate them from a remote spot. Unwittingly, the group had been working with FBI informants for several months. The five were charged with conspiracy and attempting to destroy property used in interstate commerce. They are being held without bond. (LATimes, AP)

Cyber Command: Top U.S. military officials are seeking to elevate the status of U.S. Cyber Command, based in Fort Meade, MD, to the status of a full combatant command. Analysts say the move is intended to raise the profile of the Pentagon's cyber-based operations and send a signal to adversaries. If President Obama approves the request, which experts say is likely, the nation's cyber forces would be directly connected to both the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (WashPost)

Conflict Zones
Mueller in Libya: FBI Director Robert Mueller traveled to Libya in late April to meet with Prime Minister Abdurahim el-Keib and discuss the investigation of the 1988 Pan Am bombing that killed hundreds over Lockerbie, Scotland. Officials say the meeting was not publicized at the time for security reasons. Only one individual, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, was convicted in the bombing, but former Libyan officials have claimed the ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered the attack. (AP, BBC)

Boko Haram: President Idriss Deby of Chad has requested the urgent formation of a regional force to combat Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based Islamist militant group. The Nigerian government has been struggling for years to stem attacks by the group, whose objective is to institute Sharia law in the country. Some experts warn Boko Haram is developing ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a group which is active in Niger, Mali, and Algeria. (BBC)

North Korea: In the wake of Pyongyang's recent missile launch, the United States and its allies have presented about forty North Korean companies to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. China has indicated that it would only consent to adding two companies to the list. The U.S. and allies have recommended expanding the list of goods banned for North Korean importation. (Reuters)

World News
UK POLICE ARREST SEVEN ON TERRORISM FUNDING CHARGES
Scotland Yard arrested seven people, six men and one woman, on suspicion of financing terrorism in Somalia and laundering money via the illegal export of khat, a narcotic leaf, to North America. The arrests were part of an investigation run in concert with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, “Law enforcement had developed leads, in the UK and U.S., that khat was being transshipped through the UK, then illegally smuggled into the United States…The proceeds generated by this illegal activity [were] then transferred back to Somalia.” Khat, which has been illegal in the U.S. since 1993, is popular in East Africa and parts of the Arab world where it is chewed to induce euphoria. (AP, Reuters)

TROVE OF ENCRYPTED AL-QAEDA DOCS REVEAL FUTURE PLOTS
A trove of encrypted data discovered and unlocked by German investigators last year has revealed some of al-Qaeda's most daring terrorist plots, according to CNN. Proposed acts include seizing cruise ships and waging attacks in Europe similar to the shootings that paralyzed the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008. U.S. intelligence officials characterized the information as "pure gold," with one source stating that the documents, which include terrorist training manuals, are the most important haul of al-Qaeda materials in the last year, outside of those found in the bin Laden raid. CNN notes that the German newspaper Die Zeit was the first to report the story. (CNN)

China: U.S. officials say Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who escaped house arrest last month, has left the U.S. embassy and is receiving medical treatment in Beijing. The announcement was the first public acknowledgment that U.S. officials knew of Chen's whereabouts. His departure from the embassy follows the arrival of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is in Beijing for diplomatic talks. (NYT)

Arguments, Editorials, and Must Reads
Spencer Ackerman on claiming victory over al-Qaeda: Despite mounting claims of defeating al-Qaeda, "U.S. counterterrorism officials do not know how they would know if the terrorist movement is actually destroyed," writes Ackerman in Wired. "Experts debate whether al-Qaeda will end when its core leadership in Pakistan is destroyed; when its affiliates around the world are destroyed; or whether its online propaganda is gone." He notes that, "If the U.S. doesn’t know what the end of al-Qaeda looks like, then it can’t actually craft a strategy toward that outcome….[it] can’t know if the actions it takes are counterproductive to the goal it seeks."

James Kitfield on U.S. counterterrorism excesses: The Obama administration's promise to end "the season of fear" associated with Bush-era counterterrorism was an ephemeral "mirage" writes Kitfield in the National Journal. The United States in 2009 "was ready to grapple with terrorism as a manageable policy problem, not a political bludgeon. It was unafraid to prosecute terrorist suspects according to legal norms. And it was willing to subject its policies to oversight, checks, and balances," he says, "We’ve had the debate, and that vision of America lost."

Gabor Rona on John Brennan's latest speech: "The Obama administration’s charm offensive on targeted killings continues in response to calls from a broad spectrum of political and legal observers for greater government transparency," writes Rona on Opinio Juris. "Sometimes though, it appears that instead of being a deliberate and coordinated drip feed, the speeches… are the tips of competing icebergs, reflecting pitched battles within and across government agencies about the legality of targeted killings." He writes that Brennan's latest speech "has some new tidbits, but may also be a signal that [Department of Defense General Counsel Jeh] Johnson’s expansive view of targetability has prevailed over [State Department Legal Advisor Harold] Koh’s views that are more consistent with the limitations of international law."