Senior lawyers in the Obama administration are deeply divided over some of the counterterrorism powers they inherited from former President George W. Bush, according to interviews and a review of legal briefs.
The rift has been most pronounced between top lawyers in the State Department and the Pentagon, though it has also involved conflicts among career Justice Department lawyers and political appointees throughout the national security agencies.
The discussions, which shaped classified court briefs filed this month, have centered on how broadly to define the types of terrorism suspects who may be detained without trials as wartime prisoners.



After hours spent carefully preparing her cakes, Abrar Abdu stood stunned in silence before her oven. In...
Tamir Pardo, the former chief of Israel’s powerful Mossad intelligence agency, drew international attention on Monday...
Israeli authorities are using access to water as a weapon against Palestinians, including by systematically depriving...
An Israeli human rights group is demanding the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of...





























