Foreign Policy: Killer SEALs In The Making

As details of the death of Osama bin Laden emerge, one thing has become clear: the U.S. owes a great deal of gratitude to Navy SEAL Team 6, whose 40 minute mission ended with the death of the Sept. 11 mastermind. But who are the Navy SEALS? Photographer Stephanie Fried-Perenchio of Foreign Policy investigates.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/04/135980171/foreign-policy-killer-seals-in-the-making?ft=1&f=1057

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Ahead Of 2012, Bin Laden Death A Dilemma For GOP

But in the past two elections, national security has receded as an issue as economic troubles have risen. The killing of bin Laden this week brings terrorism back to center stage just as another election cycle is getting under way.

Up to now, GOP hopefuls have seemed to focus on party activists in their campaigns, including those who questioned the president's birth certificate. But then came Monday's news out of Pakistan.

"The results of this wonderful American victory with Osama has kind of reminded everybody how serious the stakes are in a presidential race," said Mike Murphy, a GOP political strategist.

Republican strategist Ed Rogers said the events of this week may change how voters view the candidates and what they're doing — even at this very early stage.

"Part of the critique will not be who can say the most outrageous thing, but part of the critique is going to be who is the most thoughtful, who is the most serious, and who can you imagine doing what Obama did to finally get Osama bin Laden," Rogers said.

Economy Still Top Concern

But none of the Republican strategists we talked to seemed to think the death of bin Laden would significantly alter the landscape for 2012.

GOP operative Ron Kaufmann predicted that the primaries and next year's general election will be about three things: "My job, my house and putting gas in my car."

As for the impact of big foreign policy successes, Kaufman said he needed only to recall his former boss, the first President Bush.

"He tore down the Berlin Wall, ended the Cold War, had the most successful 100-day war in the history of our country and had polling numbers in the 90s and ended up losing to an unknown governor from Arkansas," he recalls.

That unknown governor was, of course, Bill Clinton.

The first official GOP presidential debate of the 2012 cycle takes place in South Carolina on Wednesday. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and returning candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas may be the best known of those participating.

Still, Rogers says the participants need to show they are aware that the race may be turning serious. He says they should congratulate Obama on getting bin Laden.

"Be gracious, give him his due," he says.

And then quickly switch the subject to jobs.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/04/135963423/ahead-of-2012-bin-laden-death-a-dilemma-for-gop?ft=1&f=1014

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CIA Used Satellites To Prep For Bin Laden Raid

It was last August when the CIA first homed in on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was ultimately found and killed. In the months leading up to that raid, the CIA and Pentagon used an array of satellite technology and imagery to learn more about that compound and who might be inside. Melissa Block speaks with John Pike, director of Global Security.org, about satellites and imagery used before and during the Osama bin Laden campaign.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/04/135995089/cia-used-satellites-to-prep-for-bin-laden-raid?ft=1&f=1003

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Immigration Agents Accused Of Crossing A Line

Immigrant advocates in Detroit say local ICE agents disregarded their agency's own policies, citing a recent incident that sent terrified parents to hide out in a school. ICE is conducting an internal review, but the union that represents ICE agents says the operation was a by-the-book enforcement action.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/04/135957469/immigration-agents-accused-of-crossing-a-line?ft=1&f=1003

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Without Bin Laden, How Dangerous Is Al-Qaida?

Having learned to operate without Osama bin Laden's regular leadership, al-Qaida and its affiliates will continue to launch attacks, analysts say. But some say the group's ambitions and its ability to recruit may be diminished by his death.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135953238/without-bin-laden-how-dangerous-is-al-qaida?ft=1&f=1004

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Sheriff Tells Congress That Border Patrol Agents Ordered to Reduce Arrests

The Border Patrol?s practice of detecting but not apprehending illegal immigrants -- known as ?Turn Back South? -- is in effect far north of the U.S.-Mexico border, Arizona Sheriff Larry Dever claimed in congressional testimony Tuesday morning.

?It appears, according to numerous reports from current and former border agents, that this practice has gravitated many miles north of the border. That means that, regardless of proximity to the border, people who are detected but not caught are considered to be ?Turned Back South,? Dever said in his written testimony before the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.

Last month, FoxNews.com first reported that Dever said he?d been told by Border Patrol officials, including at least one senior supervisor, that they have been ordered to reduce and to sometimes stop arresting people attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally.

Homeland Security officials, including Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher, have repeatedly denied these claims, but a flood of current and retired Border Patrol agents from across the country continue to come forward with details of their own that support Dever?s initial remarks.

Dever leveled another new charge: That TBS-ing is going on within the American judicial system.

?There are policies in place that establish thresholds for quantities of drugs and numbers of illegal aliens before consideration for prosecution can be entertained. In at least one Federal District in Texas, if you are caught smuggling less than 750 kilos of marijuana, you will not be subjected to prosecution,? Dever wrote, citing several examples.

?TBS occurs at many levels and is quickly assimilated into the understanding of the bad guys on how to game the system.?

Committee Vice Chairman Ben Quayle pressed Dever on prosecutorial smuggling thresholds toward the end of the 90-minute hearing.

Dever responded with a case in which someone in the U.S. illegally had been deported 23 times but never charged.

On Tuesday, during the same hearing, Border Patrol Deputy Chief Ron Vitiello wrote in his testimony:

?While there is still work to be done, every key measure shows we are making significant progress along the Southwest border. Border Patrol apprehensions have decreased 36 percent in the past two years, and are less than a third of what they were at their peak.?

He was not questioned by committee members about TBS-ing, though that was not the focus of the hearing on cooperation between local and federal law enforcement at the border.

After the hearing, Dever told FoxNews.com that he thought the hearing had gone ?okay.?

?They could?ve been a little more difficult. They could?ve asked more difficult questions,? Dever said, adding that he?d hoped the committee members would?ve asked more about the TBS part of his submitted testimony.

?That was something that they could?ve delved into, but they didn?t,? he said.

?It was pretty much hands off, it wasn?t a game of hardball.?

Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/CDnyEiSZ8w8/

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A Cosmonaut's Fiery Death Retold

Many readers ? and space historians ? cried out in rage in response to a post last month recounting a new book's take on the 1967 death of Soviet spaceman Vladimir Komarov. Here, we revisit the tale ? with footnotes. What really happened?

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/05/03/135919389/a-cosmonauts-fiery-death-retold?ft=1&f=1007

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Leiter Discusses Raid On Bin Laden's Compound

Bit by bit, new details are trickling out about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. As that raid unfolded, the president's national security team was gathered in the situation room to watch. Among those in the room was Michael Leiter, head of the National Counterterrorism Center.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135963038/leiter-discusses-raid-on-bin-ladens-compound?ft=1&f=1004

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