5:DONALD TRUMP’S PICK FOR SPY CHIEF TOOK HARD LINE ON SNOWDEN, GUANTANAMO, AND TORTURE
COLLEAGUES OF FORMER Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., describe the septuagenarian as competent and congenial — the “Mister Rogers” of Republicans, as Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said — but his positions on issues including NSA surveillance, Edward Snowden, torture, and Guantanamo Bay are bound to spark arguments with civil libertarians as Congress debates his nomination today by President-elect Donald Trump to succeed James Clapper as director of national intelligence.
In 2013, just one week after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden came forward as the source of documents revealing the global extent of the NSA’s mammoth surveillance regime, Coats penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal lambasting the disclosures and the ensuing media coverage.
“Unfortunately, the Obama administration — especially of late — has fueled people’s distrust of government, which has made the reaction to Mr. Snowden’s leak far worse,” he wrote, pleading with his colleagues in Congress to stop “mischaracterizing” the surveillance programs Snowden exposed.
The Intercept
4: The Global Fear League 2017
Our round up of the countries that are teetering on the edge of breakdown this year.
Vice News
3: UK MPs urge probe into Israeli plot against politicians
Senior members of parliament have slammed comments made by an Israeli diplomat on plans to “take down” the UK’s deputy foreign secretary over his criticism of Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour Party’s shadow foreign secretary, called the statements by Shai Masot – a senior political offficer at the Israeli embassy in London – “extremely disturbing” and demanded a probe into the potential extent of political “interference” in the United Kingdom.
Masot’s comments were secretly captured on film during a six-month undercover operation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, which reveals plots by the Israeli diplomat and a British civil servant to destroy the careers of senior politicians .
“It is simply not good enough for the Foreign Office to say the matter is closed. This is a national security issue,” Thornberry said in a statement.
Aljazeera
2: “This is Not a Coup, But It’s Not Normal”: Trump Picks 3 Generals for Top Foreign Policy Posts
As President-elect Donald Trump’s key nominees for Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions include three generals, we get response from Gordon Adams, professor emeritus at American University’s School of International Service, who recently wrote in The New York Times about “Donald Trump’s Military Government.” Confirmation hearings for retired Marine General John Kelly as homeland security secretary begin Wednesday. The hearing for retired General James “Mad Dog” Mattis as defense secretary has yet to be scheduled. As national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn does not have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Democracy Now
1: UK’s Brexit approach is not muddled at all, says Theresa May
Theresa May has denied the government’s approach to Brexit is muddled and indicated she will prioritise control of the UK’s borders over access to the single market.
The prime minister said the UK would be able to secure control over immigration after it left the EU and would then negotiate “the best possible trade deal” with the rest of Europe.
In her first broadcast interview of the new year, May said: “Often people talk in terms as if somehow we are leaving the EU but we still want to kind of keep bits of membership of the EU. We are leaving. We are coming out. We are not going to be a member of the EU any longer.”
The Guardian
