The Dimension of a topological space

M.S.R. D. Johnso

The Obama Administration and the Press: Leak Investigations and Surveillance in Post-9/11 America

U.S. President Barack Obama came into office pledging open government, but he has fallen short of his promise. Journalists and transparency advocates say the White House curbs routine disclosure of information and deploys its own media to evade scrutiny by the press. Aggressive prosecution of leakers of classified information and broad electronic surveillance programs deter government sources from speaking to journalists

Fixing FISA for Long War: Regulating Warrantless Surveillance in the Age of Terrorism

[Excerpt] “The English poet W.H. Auden once claimed that “Peeping Toms are never praised, like novelists or bird watchers, for the keenness of their observations.” Perhaps Auden would have modified his maxim had he lived in the age of terrorism. A certain degree of government surveillance of even intimate communications is expected, encouraged, and indeed praised when the government’s efforts lead to the prevention of catastrophe. However, it is also expected that the government will minimize these intrusions, will conduct surveillance only on legitimate targets, and will follow the procedural safeguards that the representatives of the people have enacted in their name. As the Bush Administration has recently discovered, where these caveats are (or are perceived to have been) disrespected, government surveillance is perceived to degenerate into an illegitimate invasion of privacy and arbitrary abuse of power. On December 16, 2005, the New York Times revealed that, shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, the White House surreptitiously authorized the National Security Agency (“NSA”) to conduct surveillance on Americans inside the United States. This search for evidence of terrorist activity without first obtaining a court-approved warrant was in apparent violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) and in possible abrogation of the Fourth Amendment. […] In this article, assuming that the warrantless searches are necessary and that strict compliance with FISA in its current form would inhibit the collection of intelligence vital to national security, I will suggest amendments to FISA that would create a new independent body, appointed by the FISC, with the power to review the NSA’s warrantless searches and with the standing to challenge the constitutionality of individual searches before the FISC. Where an individual’s constitutional rights have been violated, the agency would be able to collect damages on his behalf and to move for an injunction on continued surveillance. I will also suggest statutory limitations restricting the admissibility of evidence gathered through warrantless surveillance in criminal prosecutions. Before I offer any suggestions for the amendment of FISA, however, I will describe in further detail the purpose and relevant provisions of the law to be amended and the deficiencies of the Administration’s legal justifications for bypassing those provisions. Because the Administration believes that the President has the inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches pursuant to his power as Commander-in-Chief, it does not believe that amendments to FISA (or even FISA itself) are necessary. Thus, in Part II of this article, I will briefly sketch the historical circumstances which led Congress to believe why it was necessary and proper to enact FISA, outline the provisions of FISA which are relevant to this article, and describe the contours of the NSA program to the extent that they have been made public. In Part III, I will suggest why the Administration’s arguments regarding the legality of the domestic surveillance program lack merit. Finally, in Part IV, I will offer suggestions for the amendment of FISA

Overview and Operation of U.S. Financial Sanctions, Including the Example of Iran

Financial sanctions are increasingly being used in the mix of international economic sanctions being employed by the United Nations, regional entities, and individual countries, including the United States. These financial sanctions have become more focused and effective as the tools and techniques have improved significantly for tracing and identifying the financial transactions of terrorists, weapons proliferators, human rights violators, drug cartels, and others. These sanctions can not only freeze financial assets and prohibit or limit financial transactions, but they also impede trade by making it difficult to pay for the export or import of goods and services. In spite of this growing impact of financial sanctions, these sanctions are not well understood outside of a small group of experts. This article provides an introduction to the mechanics and operation of U.S. financial sanctions, and it illustrates their use against Iran

Interrogation or Experimentation? Assessing Non-Consensual Human Experimentation During the War on Terror

The prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation has long been considered sacrosanct. It traces its legal roots to the Nuremberg trials although the ethical foundations dig much deeper. It prohibits all forms of medical and scientific experimentation on non-consenting individuals. The prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation is now well established in both national and international law. Despite its status as a fundamental and non-derogable norm, the prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation was called into question during the War on Terror by the CIA’s treatment of “high-value detainees.” Seeking to acquire actionable intelligence, the CIA tested the “theory of learned helplessness” on these detainees by subjecting them to a series of enhanced interrogation techniques. This Article revisits the prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation to determine whether the CIA’s treatment of detainees violated international law. It examines the historical record that gave rise to the prohibition and its eventual codification in international law. It then considers the application of this norm to the CIA’s treatment of high-value detainees by examining Salim v. Mitchell , a lawsuit brought by detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. This Article concludes that the CIA breached the prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation when it conducted systematic studies on these detainees to validate the theory of learned helplessness