OUR PICKSDHS’ Information Security Program | An American Catastrophe | Legal Basis of Zawahiri Strike, and more

Published 8 August 2022

·  An American Catastrophe

·  Ericsson Sued by U.S. Terror Victims Over Alleged Iraq Bribe Payments

·  ISIS Praises Devastation in Ukraine, Accuses West of Defaming Putin, and Welcomes ‘Great War’ Ahead

·  Top Experts Raise Questions Regarding Legal Basis of Zawahiri Strike

·  The Oak Creek Massacre Signaled the Rise of White Nationalist Violence. But the Warnings Went Unheeded

·  On Fringe Social Media Sites, Buffalo Mass Shooting Becomes Rallying Call for White Nationalists

·  Evaluation of DHS’ Information Security Program for Fiscal Year 2021

·  Were Facebook and Twitter Consistent in Labeling Misleading Posts During the 2020 Election?

An American Catastrophe  (Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic)
The secret history of the U.S. government’s family-separation policy

Ericsson Sued by U.S. Terror Victims Over Alleged Iraq Bribe Payments  (Richard Vanderford, Wall Street Journal)
Ericsson is being sued by hundreds of Americans who say the company’s alleged payment of bribes to al Qaeda and Islamic State—protection money meant to let it operate in Iraq—also helped fund acts of terror. The Stockholm-based telecommunications company, which was sued Friday in federal court in Washington D.C., faces claims from more than 500 U.S. service members and civilians who were victims of terrorist attacks and hostage takings from 2005 to 2021, along with the families of those killed in attacks. They brought their claims under the Antiterrorism Act of 1990, which allows victims of terrorism to seek damages in U.S. courts, including against companies and individuals that aid and abet terrorism. Ericsson said it would “zealously defend against” the suit. “Any effort to connect Ericsson to the actions described in the complaint will fail on the merits,” the company said. The terror victims accused Ericsson of paying money to terrorist factions that controlled swaths of Iraq, in a bid to stop them from hampering its business. The financing ultimately aided a campaign of kidnapping, torture, bombing and murder, they said. The company and its U.S. subsidiary “funded the terrorists to leave them alone,” the victims said in their legal complaint.

ISIS Praises Devastation in Ukraine, Accuses West of Defaming Putin, and Welcomes ‘Great War’ Ahead  (Bridget Johnson, HSToday)
The terror group called the suffering and war divine intervention and a “great sign,” while claiming West is spreading “lies and fabrications” about Russian president.

Top Experts Raise Questions Regarding Legal Basis of Zawahiri Strike  (Just Security)
We asked members of our board of editors to assess the US government’s strongest argument for the legal basis for the strike and any significant weaknesses or flaws in that argument. We invited them to consider international and domestic law.