This Congressional Research Service report outlines the background and history of recent Navy irregular warfare and counterterrorism activities, a number of which may pose critical oversight issues for Congress.

The war on terror may be over, but it's left behind a terrible human rights legacy--and Barack Obama has done very little about it, says James Traub, a fellow at the Center on International Cooperation.

News of planned military trials for five 9/11 suspects underscores the Obama administration's need to more forcefully defend the necessity of military tribunals if they are to have legitimacy at home and abroad, says CFR's Matthew Waxman.

American drones have changed everything for al-Qaeda and its local allies in Pakistan, becoming a fact of life in a secret war that is far from over, writes Foreign Policy's Pir Zubair Shah.

This Congressional Research Service report details the background and issues surrounding Special Operations Forces (SOF), elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified.

The CIA's drone program, while successful, has been largely unpopular in Pakistan. But drone strikes are decreasing since they peaked in 2010. Peter Bergen and Jennifer Rowland of CNN ask: Is it because of politics or because we're running out of real targets?

The Washington Post profiles the head of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, who for six years has been architect of the agency's drone campaign, and has led its pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Surly and profane, he has outlasted three CIA directors and served two presidents.

This Congressional Research Service report provides an overview of Special Operations Forces, elite military units with special training that can infiltrate into hostile territory to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified.

Ed Husain discusses the Toulouse shootings and the need for Jews and Muslims to demonstrate togetherness against a common enemy.

The government of the brittle, one-party state remains dug in against a determined but fractured opposition. Expert Joshua Landis discusses the fault lines in the Syria uprising.

In the New York media, fighting and personalities in the FBI and NYPD are frequently covered like a dysfunctional celebrity marriage, with perceived betrayal and reconciliation spilling into the news, writes Adam Goldman of the Associated Press.

John McCain, Joseph I. Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believe President Obama should "resist the short-sighted calls for additional troop reductions" in Afghanistan.

Matthew Kroenig and Barry Pavel examine the potential of deterrence to help thwart future terrorist attacks.

Obama's targeted drone strikes--even on Americans--aren't illegal, writes Jack Goldsmith for Foreign Policy. In fact, he writes, there's a solid legal foundation and a number of checks and balances upholding his right to take out terrorists.

Sectarian divisions have boosted al-Qaeda in Iraq, a longstanding threat to Iraqi stability. This Backgrounder profiles the group and discusses its growing role in the unrest in neighboring Syria.

The killing of Afghan civilians and the Taliban's suspension of peace talks have complicated the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. CFR's Stephen Biddle discusses U.S. choices.

Reports that Pakistan-based militant groups may be moving to unite could help clarify U.S. talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. But CFR's Daniel Markey calls it a tricky game, complicated by unclear U.S. intentions in the region.

Admiral William H. McRaven, U.S. Navy, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, gave this testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 6, 2012.

Attorney General Eric Holder gave these remarks regarding targeted killing at at Northwestern University School of Law on March 5, 2012.

Matthew C. Waxman discusses U.S. attorney general Eric Holder's address providing the Obama administration's legal rationale for targeted killings of certain al Qaeda suspects--including U.S. citizens.