Citizen Cartwright

Democrats' toughness at issue

Public concern is increasing about President Obama's handling of national security, according to a new poll by the Democratic group Democracy Corps and the progressive nonprofit Third Way.

Sixty percent of Americans believe the United States is on the wrong track, according to the poll. And people rate Democrats at about the same level as Republicans — an erosion of an advantage Democrats have had.

"We would not want the election to be held today, with this poll," says Democracy Corps' chief pollster Stan Greenberg. "If the election were held today, this would be a 'change' election."

Lindsey Graham's reach across the aisle

The South Carolina Republican senator says he'll help President Obama close the Guantanamo prison if Obama accepts his proposal to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators in a military tribunal rather than a civilian court.

And he and retiring Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., have written to both parties' Senate leaders calling for monthly bipartisan lunches to "facilitate a constructive dialogue between the political parties."

Of course, Graham already has been taking heat back home for working with the other side on climate change.

Drumbeat continues on threat of cyberterrorism

FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a speech to security professionals on Thursday that militant groups, other countries and criminal gangs targeting government and private computer networks are an increasing threat to the nation's security.

"Terrorists have shown a clear interest in pursuing hacking skills and they will either train their own recruits or hire outsiders with an eye toward combining physical attacks with cyberattacks," he said.

A cyberattack could have as much impact as a "well-placed bomb," he said.

Iraqi election violence

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says bombings and political assassinations in the runup to this weekend's parliamentary elections don't foreshadow a return of terrorism and sectarian violence.

"I am not afraid of terrorism spreading or returning again, because we have an army, police and adequate security forces, and there is national unity that took hold following national reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites," he says.

Counterterrorism: Dots still unconnected

Coordination and communication among the agencies that are supposed to take the lead in planning the fight against terrorism still are lacking, according to a report on the National Counterterrorism Center by the Project on National Security Reform.

Afghan security

In what's being described as his most optimistic assessment yet, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal says the security situation in Afghanistan is no longer deteriorating.

Terror threats

The government may kill American citizens overseas who are participating in terrorist activities threatening the United States, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said in his second day of congressional testimony, this time to the House Intelligence Committee.

Blair also said the country is at risk of a crippling cyber attack.

Terrorism and politics

Republicans increasingly see President Obama's terrorism policies as a winning issue in the November elections, Bloomberg says.

The administration has a “blind spot when it comes to prosecuting” the war on terror, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., said in a speech Wednesday.

Intel officials: Get ready for an al Qaeda attack

Terrorists are being deployed for an attack on the United States in the next three to six months, CIA Director Leon Panetta and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

Bush administration 'torture' memos

Lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who provided the legal basis for waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques, will be cleared of professional misconduct allegations in a forthcoming report by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, Newsweek says.