I see no possible way we could
ever come to regret this.
The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that for the first time it would permit the export of armed drones to allies. [...]
The announcement comes two weeks after Jordan’s King Abdullah visited the U.S. and supposedly asked President Obama to sell unmanned surveillance drones to his country in order to better fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The move could help U.S. allies in the Middle East battle the terror network that has rolled up large swaths of territory.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2005—"Controversial" Negroponte Nominated to Be First Director of National Intelligence:
The current U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, has been nominated to become the first Director of National Intelligence […]
Negroponte began his diplomatic career in 1960 and served in South Vietnam before becoming an aide to Henry Kissinger during negotiations in Paris with North Vietnam. From 1981 to 1985, he was U.S. ambassador to Honduras, where he helped carry out the Reagan administration's efforts, using the Contra rebels, to oust the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. He also served as ambassador to Mexico and the Philippines. After leaving the diplomatic service in 1997, Negroponte worked as a senior executive with the McGraw-Hill publishing company. In 2001, Bush appointed him as ambassador to the United Nations, a post he held until he was named ambassador to Iraq last year. A 1960 graduate of Yale University, the London-born son of a Greek shipping magnate speaks five languages.
Billmon provides "context":
"The DNI [National Directorate of Investigation] maintained a secret unit - the Honduran Anti-Communist Liberation Army (ELACH), a rightist paramilitary organization which conducted operations against Honduran leftists. According to DELETED, during the period ELACH operated (1980-1984), ELACH's operations included surveillance, kidnappings, interrogation under duress, and execution of prisoners who were Honduran revolutionaries."
Tweet of the Day
.GovChristie said NH gov is using her office"as a way to try to increase her own visibility and run for the next job." He really said that
— @MattFriedmanSL
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show,
Greg Dworkin has the serious science & medical news of the day: GMO spider venom may be the next Viagra, and; is it OK for docs to Google patients? In politics: 2016 frontrunners & what the Gop base can do about it.
Armando considers the order of the federal judge in Texas that purports to block President Obama's immigration executive actions. There's more to it than just derp. Jeb's e-mail dump was apparently full of viruses. Random sampling: an old Ian Millhiser piece on why today's Tea Party would've hated George Washington. Republicans' DHS stalemate: another filibuster reform moment?
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