[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]
Armed Conflict and the "War on Terror"
I Worked on the US Drone Program. The Public Should Know What Really Goes On, Heather Linebaugh
A former geo-spatial analyst for the United States` drone programs in Iraq and Afghanistan offers a disturbing first-hand account of the operation of a drone strike.
Karzai is Warned over Release of Detainees, Matthew Rosenberg
Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain have urged Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States and back away from a plan to release detainees transferred to Afghan custody from the US military.
A Deadly Mix in Benghazi, David D. Kirkpatrick
The New York Times offers reporting debunking claims of Al Qaeda involvement with the attack on a US diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya on 11 September 2012.
US Government Appeals Ruling Denouncing NSA Mass Phone Surveillance as Unconstitutional, Russia Today
Russia Today provides an update on the legal battle over the degree to which National Security Agency metadata collection programs violate a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Media Darling, Shahan Mufti
Far from a media pawn or "Pakistan`s Mother Teresa," the relationship between Malala Youfsazi and the international media is a much more complex story of a war in which news media has become a kind of weapon, writes Mufti in Columbia Journalism Review.
Illegal Detention
Uighur Men Held for Twelve Years leave Guantánamo Bay for Slovakia
Three Slovakian men ordered released by the Defense Department in 2008 have been freed and returned to their home country.
Report: "Soldiers Kidnapped 3,874, Including 931 Children, in 2013," Saed Bannoura
The Census Department of the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees has published an annual report on the number of Palestinians detained by Israel in the past year.
Out of Guantanamo: December Releases Signal Renewed Effort, Carol Rosenberg
Miami Herald provides a year-end review of the Defense and State Department plan to empty the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay on a case-by-case basis.
In Guantanamo, "National Security" Rides Roughshod over Human Rights, Shaker Aamer
Guantanamo detainee Aamer, writing for The Guardian, notes that nearly every article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been violated by the US military, in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere in the "war on terror," in the name of a vaguely defined ideal of "national security."
Israel-PA Negotiations
To End the Occupation, Dissolve the Palestinian Authority, Iyad Burnat
Burnat argues in Electronic Intifada that the Palestinian Authority leadership, particularly those involved in negotiation with Israel and the United States, stands in the way of liberation for Palestinians.
Israel Insists on Jordan Valley Presence as John Kerry Pushes Peace Plan, Robert Tait
Israeli intelligence and strategic affairs minister Yuval Steinitz has publicly insisted on an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley even in the event of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israel Releases Twenty-Six Palestinian Prisoners, Al Jazeera English
As part of a deal brokered with the Palestinian Authority and the United States and one day before the arrival in Israel of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel has released twenty-six Palestinian prisoners.
Israelis Object to John Kerry Pressure, Associated Press
Members of the coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have threatened to pull out of the coalition, toppling the Israeli government, if Netanyahu concedes territory to the Palestinian Authority.
Palestine/Other
NYU`s Selective Defense of Academic Freedom, Kevin Jon Heller
Opinio Juris editor Heller criticizes John Sexton, President of New York University, for arguing the ASA boycott of Israel suppresses academic freedom without criticizing Israel for its own repression of Palestinian academia.
Bard College and the American Studies Association Vote, Louis Proyect
Proyect compares the anti-boycott position of Bard College President Leon Botstein to a recent incident where Botstein abruptly withdrew all ties with Palestinian Al Quds University following pressure from pro-Israel figures.
Debunking Israel’s Imagined "Christian Awakening," Reem Kmamis-Dakwar
Mondoweiss offers a critique of a Wall Street Journal article arguing Palestinian Christians in Israel are increasingly viewing themselves as more Israeli than Palestinian.
Gaza Lays to Rest 3-Year Old Girl Killed by Israeli Strike, Ma`an News
Ma`an News reports on the death of Hala Abu Sbeikha, killed by an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on 24 December, 2013.
Defending Zionism under the Cloak of Academic Freedom, Robin D.G. Kelley
Kelley responds to critics of the ASA academic boycott of Israel by illuminating Israeli suppression of academic freedom of Palestinians, Africans and even many Israelis.
On Jadaliyya
Open Letter from AUC Faculty Members to the American Studies Association (ASA), Jadaliyya Reports
حكاية مخيم اليرموك: اخطأنا الرصاص، فأصابنا سهم الجوع, Yasin Sbeih
Call for Translators (Paid): The Legal Agenda, Jadaliyya Reports
هل تنقذ حكومة نتنياهو الموقف الفلسطيني من المفاوضات؟, George Ciacaman
Open Letter to Trinity College President and Dean, Jadaliyya Reports
The Ongoing Nakba: Palestinian Refugees from Syria in Lebanon, Jadaliyya Reports
اتفاق إطار أم أوسلو 2, Hani Masri
GMU Students Walk Out of Graduation Ceremony in Protest of Honoring Shari Arison, Tareq Radi
Ismail Besikci and the Reality of Kurdistan, Bülent Küçük