Former NSA official allegedly leaked material to media

The indictment of a former U.S. intelligence official accused of leaking secrets to the media marks an attempt by the Obama administration to disrupt a type of transaction that has persisted for decades in Washington, routinely triggering criminal referrals but rarely ending up in court.

2005 destruction of interrogation tapes caused concern at CIA, e-mails show

The 2005 destruction of 92 videotapes documenting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects at secret CIA prisons immediately prompted concern at agency headquarters that the decision was not adequately cleared and may have been improper, according to newly released documents.

U.N. investigators blame Musharraf government, security lapses for Bhutto death

UNITED NATIONS -- The military government of then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf failed to fulfill its responsibility to protect former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in the hours leading up to her December 2007 assassination or to vigorously investigate her killing by a 15-year-old suicide bomber, according to a U.N. fact-finding commission report released Thursday.

Senators on key panel express confidence in cybersecurity nominee

Members of a key Senate committee expressed confidence Thursday that the director of the nation's largest electronic-spying agency would be confirmed as head of a new organization that will coordinate U.S. military cyber-capabilities.

U.S. retreat from Afghan valley marks recognition of blunder

KORENGAL VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN -- It was as if the five years of almost ceaseless firefights and ambushes had been a misunderstanding -- a tragic, bloody misunderstanding.

Deputy Director Kappes to leave CIA

CIA Deputy Director Stephen R. Kappes, a veteran spy who has played a major role in overseeing the agency's counterterrorism operations since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will retire in May and be replaced by the service's top analyst, CIA officials said Wednesday.

NSA director to testify at Senate hearing on cyber command unit

In an effort to protect the military's computer networks, the Obama administration is planning to put the leader of the nation's largest electronic spying agency in charge of a new military organization capable of launching attacks against enemy networks and power grids.

U.S. and Pakistan adapt their approach on divisive issue of North Waziristan

RAZMAK, PAKISTAN -- A few miles from this isolated garrison town, a shallow, east-west gorge marks the administrative border between South and North Waziristan. In U.S. eyes, it is also the dividing line between the good Pakistan that cooperates with American counterterrorism goals and the intransigent one that charts its own course.

Public angered over Pakistani airstrike after reports of 71 civilian deaths

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN -- Public anger rose Tuesday over a weekend airstrike by Pakistan's military, which it said targeted insurgents but which a government official and villagers said killed more than 70 civilians.

Science books address string theory, advanced computing, history of the universe

NATURAL COMPUTING

Lawmakers, advocates push administration for appointments to privacy board

Lawmakers and privacy advocates are stepping up the pressure on the Obama administration to fill the five vacant seats on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a panel created in 2004 to ensure that executive branch counterterrorism policies protect Americans' civil liberties.

U.S. looks to nonnuclear weapons to use as deterrent

As the White House pushes for cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, the Pentagon is developing a weapon to help fill the gap: missiles armed with conventional warheads that could strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.