Max Fisher
Max Fisher writes for the Atlantic Wire. He is the former producer of the Atlantic's Food Channel and has also written for The New Republic and Condé Nast Traveler.
Recently by Max Fisher
Feb 5 2010, 4:34PM
What Gets an American on The White House 'Kill List'?
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told to Congress Wednesday that the U.S. can target Americans to be killed if it believes they are involved in terrorism. This supports an earlier report
that the CIA and JSOC maintain White House-approved "kill lists"
of three to four Americans. Blair articulated the policy as requiring
high-level approval but did not mention Congressional oversight or
judicial review. He described the criteria as "whether that American is
involved in a group that is trying to attack us, whether that American
is a threat to other Americans." So far, the only confirmed
American target is Anwar al-Awlaki. The vagueness of Blair's criteria,
as well as the assertion that Awlaki meets those criteria, raises the
question: What gets an American citizen on the kill lists?
Feb 4 2010, 12:27PM
Are We Funding Tomorrow's Taliban?
If the Obama administration
is going to honor its goal of troop drawdowns from
Afghanistan by July 2011, it's going to need help. That
President Obama scheduled it so close to
his own November 2012 reelection may or may not be coincidental, but
there's no question that failure to meet his self-imposed deadline
would be politically disastrous. But few analysts seem optimistic about
bringing stability to Afghanistan in 18 months. The resiliency of the
Taliban, not to mention the severity of the underlying
social and political disorder,
are just too much for 100,000 or even 200,000 foreign troops to reverse
on their own.
Feb 1 2010, 9:51AM
Closing Gitmo is Just The Beginning
For civil libertarians and national security watchers, it's not hard to
pinpoint President Obama's greatest failure in his first year. The prison at
Guantanamo Bay, which Obama long promised to close within that now-expired
year, remains open. But the truth about indefinite detention, at Guantanamo and
elsewhere, is more complex than simple success or failure. The administration
has quietly achieved some small but encouraging successes at Gitmo. But in many
ways the greatest challenges surrounding indefinite detention are yet to come
and will extend well beyond Guantanamo.
Dec 17 2009, 11:28AM
Solving The Fifth Category
The good news about the White House's decision to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Thomson, Illinois is that the majority of them will, finally, be dealt with legally. As President Obama laid out in a May speech on national security, there are four categories of detainees whose detentions can be legally resolved: those who will face civilian trial, like so-called Sept. 11 "mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; those who will face military tribunal; those who will be deported to another country's legal system; and those who will be released, either to their home country or elsewhere.
Dec 10 2009, 10:03AM
Why The Obama Administration Defends John Yoo
In January 2008, five months after he was convicted for conspiring to commit terrorism, Jose Padilla filed a lawsuit claiming he had been tortured. His suit named former Department of Justice lawyer John Yoo, whose memos authorized the methods used. As President Bush left office and President Obama entered, the case worked its way toward the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and by this summer it looked like Yoo could face trial. Now, the Department of Justice is asking the court to dismiss the case. Why?
Dec 4 2009, 10:35AM
What If Predator Drones Work?
The American program of using unmanned Predator drones in Pakistan doesn't seem to have a lot going for it. The program, which seeks to find and kill high-value targets such as al-Qaeda leadership, is sharply and frequently criticized for killing far more civilians than it does terrorists, for promoting anti-American rage among previously indifferent locals, and for creating diplomatic tension with the Pakistani government. The New Yorker's Jane Mayer ably documents the program's many risks here, and this study by the New America Foundation's Peter Began and Katherine Tiedemann remains the most damning critique of the program. Yet despite all this, today The New York Times reports that the CIA's drone program in Pakistan is being expanded. Why the continued reliance on a program with so many problems?
Dec 3 2009, 12:41PM
How Close Are Blackwater and JSOC?
Earlier this week I wrote about Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the military special forces command once run directly out of the Bush White House that is now displacing some of the CIA's more shadowy work in national security and counterterrorism. Vanity Fair's profile of Blackwater CEO Erik Prince may now reveal even more authority under JSOC's belt.
Dec 2 2009, 2:57PM
Will The Taliban Wait Us Out?
President Obama's speech Tuesday night confirmed reports that his strategy in Afghanistan includes a timetable for withdrawal. The U.S. and NATO will "begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011," he announced. This has raised a concern that is sure to linger for some time: Will the Taliban wait us out? The fear, put forward by Republicans and even some news outlets, is that Taliban insurgents cognizant of our scheduled departure will simply "wait in the weeds," as John McCain famously put it in 2007 when condemning a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq. The White House is already pushing back. But the fear is not totally ungrounded. As is often true of the complex war in Afghanistan, it's impossible to know for sure, and both sides have a case.
Dec 1 2009, 12:46PM
The Special Ops Command That's Displacing The CIA
Most people could be forgiven for being unfamiliar with JSOC. The Joint Special Operations Command is part of the U.S. military's Special Operations Command, for which it oversees certain special operations. Established in 1980 following the unsuccessful rescue of American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, it has remained an obscure and secretive corner of the military's hierarchy. But JSOC has enjoyed a rapid expansion of authority and notoriety beginning in the latter years of the Bush administration. Under President Obama, JSOC appears to be playing an increasingly prominent role in national security, counter-terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. If Obama's first ten months in office are any indication, it may not be so obscure for long.
Nov 23 2009, 3:04PM
The New U.S. Ally In Afghanistan
The White House will hold its ninth national security meeting on Afghanistan tonight to "fine tune" President Obama's forthcoming strategy announcement. Likely to be under discussion at the meeting is the rise of a new ally in Afghanistan that could supplement or even replace the tens of thousands of troops Obama is expected to send: local and organically-arising anti-Taliban militias.
The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan that has been fighting against the U.S. for eight years may be losing its base of support. American officials told USA Today that 80% to 90% of the 700-some detainees imprisoned at Bagram Air Force base are "accidental guerrillas" not fighting for ideological reasons. In a country with debilitating poverty, 40% unemployment, and few job alternatives, many Taliban fighters may have simply joined for the salary. Dexter Filkins of The New York Times reveals the U.S.-allied local militias that could be hiring them instead:
The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan that has been fighting against the U.S. for eight years may be losing its base of support. American officials told USA Today that 80% to 90% of the 700-some detainees imprisoned at Bagram Air Force base are "accidental guerrillas" not fighting for ideological reasons. In a country with debilitating poverty, 40% unemployment, and few job alternatives, many Taliban fighters may have simply joined for the salary. Dexter Filkins of The New York Times reveals the U.S.-allied local militias that could be hiring them instead:
Nov 20 2009, 3:12PM
The Resetting of Afghan-U.S. Diplomacy
No one felt very good about Thursday's inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's second term. The White House, recognizing the necessity of a close ally in Kabul but the need for our complicated relationship with Karzai to change, is hitting reset. The Washington Post's Rajiv
Chandrasekaran explains our "softer approach" to be led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
Nov 18 2009, 11:51AM
Can Warlords Save Afghanistan?
President Obama has made it clear that any strategy he commits to in Afghanistan must stabilize the country while accounting for our exit. But a very significant hurdle stands in the way: the notorious weakness of Afghanistan's police and military. Of the troop-level plans Obama has reportedly considered, even the smallest emphasizes training and assistance for Afghan forces. After all, for us to leave, Afghan institutions must be able to replace the 100,000 foreign troops currently providing security. This makes building a massive, national Afghan military one of our top priorities in the region. Critics of this plan say the Afghan military is hopelessly disorganized, ill-equipped and corrupt. Supporters say it's crucial to our success. But there may be another way.
Nov 11 2009, 1:09PM
Why Home-Grown Islamic Terrorism Isn't A Threat
Since the moment cable news anchors first announced the name of the shooter at Fort Hood military base in Texas, there's been a clear and ever-growing undercurrent to coverage of Major Nidal Hasan's crime. Is there a threat of home-grown terrorism in America? Hasan, after all, was deeply troubled by America's two wars in Muslim nations. He exchanged e-mails with Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born imam living in Yemen with ties to al-Qaeda. Could there be more Hasans?
Oct 16 2009, 10:30AM
Applying Saudi Counterterrorism To The Afghanistan War
Expert opinion, public opinion, and even the White House are increasingly split between two camps on how we should proceed in Afghanistan: The doves, represented in the White House by Vice President Biden, call for targeted counterterrorism and a scaled down presence; while the hawks, with whom President Obama seems to side, insist that only boots on the ground and a strong counterinsurgency can tame the Taliban and restore stability. Divisions between the two are contentious and a clear path for success remains elusive. But an unusual program in Saudi Arabia may offer a way for both to come together.
Sep 14 2009, 12:09PM
The Other 9/12 Rally
Just how many people attended Saturday's 9/12 tea-party protest? Estimates by conservatives range from the hundreds of thousands to the millions -- numbers they say indicate a growing anti-Obama grassroots movement. Unsurprisingly, liberal pundits are pushing back, saying protesters came out in the tens of thousands. So far, the debate is hinging on photos of the rally, which appear to show the National Mall packed from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, 16 blocks away. A National Park Service map pegged to the 2008 inauguration appears to show that the Mall holds about a million people. Bloggers have overlaid the map with photos from Saturday. Case closed, right? Not so, as there's an important detail both conservatives and liberals are ignoring.
Copyright © 2010 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.