Tag: President Obama

The Yemen raid, the first known covert military operation approved by President Donald Trump, is justified under the ever-evolving interpretation of the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF).

In his eight years in office, the Obama Justice Department spearheaded eight Espionage Act prosecutions, more than all US administrations combined. Journalists were also caught in the crosshairs.

Who is Chelsea Manning? Chelsea Manning is a former private first class in the US Army and whistleblower who leaked 700,000 classified US...

That the Obama administration is reportedly considering commuting Manning’s sentence is remarkable given the president’s unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers and the government’s full-throated condemnation of Manning for leaking 700,000 classified military and state department documents to WikiLeaks.

Little attention has been paid to an ever-evolving problem gripping the internet: For all its democratizing prowess, it is saturated with so much information—from traditional media outlets, alternative voices, hyperpartisan blogs, and industry groups funneling propaganda through websites masquerading as legitimate public policy centers—that it’s become increasingly difficult to distinguish between factual news, scientific research and agenda-driven content, academics say.

The Obama administration Thursday rescinded the regulatory framework for a widely criticized travel registration system that has been dormant for five years after officials deemed it redundant and ineffective. The decision by the Department of Homeland Security to effectively kill the program—the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS)—came after a wave of civil rights groups petitioned the administration to dismantle it. Critics considered the program discriminatory toward Muslims, since it affected only those coming from 24 predominantly Muslim countries, plus North Korea.

Established by the George W. Bush administration after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) captured the names of non-immigrants entering the US who originated from 24 predominantly Muslim nations as well as North Korea.

Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to her bitter rival Donald Trump Wednesday morning, telling supporters gathered at The New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan that the Constitution “enshrines a peaceful transition of power” and offering to work with her opponent on behalf of uniting the country. Just before noon Clinton emerged publicly for the first time since her election night defeat had become official. She was wearing a black pantsuit with purple lapels—perhaps her own way of demanding that a deeply fractured America of red and blue states come together.

“That is America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it,” Obama said. “We embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own. That’s what Hillary Clinton understands—this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot—that’s the America she’s fighting for."

The president said the far majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving and blamed a small fraction for perverting a religion followed by 1.6 billion people worldwide in order to justify their violence and land grabs that have further destabilized regions in the Middle East and Africa.