At the start of the first hearing on a lawsuit challenging the Homeland Battlefield Act, a federal judge appeared to be “extremely skeptical” that those pursuing the challenge had grounds to sue the US government. However, by the end of the hearing, the judge acknowledged plaintiffs had made some strong arguments on why there was reason to be concerned about the Act, which passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on New Year’s Eve last year.

Guidelines for how long officials at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), a “clearinghouse” for terrorism established after the September 11^th attacks, are being expanded to allow for the retention of information on US citizens with no ties to terrorism.

The expanded guidelines allow for the NCTC to hold information for up to five years instead of 180 days, which was the requirement for information on US citizens not suspected of terrorism.

The Obama Administration recently announced that it would begin an “interagency process” to implement commitments made on human rights before the UN Human Rights Council just over a year ago. Coinciding with the announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) put out a report on how the administration has done so far.

The report highlighted key areas of criminal justice, national security and immigration where the US must make improvements. It put forward “concrete ways that the Obama administration” could “make tangible progress in protecting and promoting human rights.” It also suggested how the administration could address “very serious violations” of human rights.”

A former FBI informant, who was tasked with secretly infiltrating southern California mosques, admits in many cases civil rights groups are correct in their concern that Muslims are being unfairly targeted. He told The Guardian “the way the FBI conducts their operations it is all about the entrapment.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) continued its challenge against the CIA’s withholding of information on the agency’s use of drones to carry out “targeted killings.” The case centers on whether it is lawful for the CIA to “refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records about a program that has already been acknowledged and discussed by the President, the then-CIA director and many other government officials in scores of public statements.” In this instance, the court has allowed the CIA to give what is called a Glomar response and “neither confirm or deny” the records exist.

A policy speech given by Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday asserted the Executive Branch’s supposed legal authority to kill US citizens abroad without charge or trial if they are deemed to pose an “imminent threat” and be “senior operators” of al-Qaeda or a group loosely affiliated to al-Qaeda. The speech has sparked a backlash, especially since it argued that US citizens have a right under the Constitution to due process but not judicial process. Since there is a review board that makes a decision on whether to order the killing of individuals believed to be a threat, the argument is that this is a process and so, if a citizen is killed, it is okay because that citizen would have been given his or her due.

The release of “newly obtained documents” that clearly show the New York Police Department engaged in ethnic profiling and explicitly targeted Muslims seems to have become a weekly event. Each week, the Associated Press has some “secret files” that make it even more clear how illicit the acts of the NYPD were in the surveillance of communities. And each week Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and others come out and defend the spying as necessary.

Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a major policy speech at Northwestern University in Chicago that laid out what he and the Obama Administration consider to be the legal justification for counterterrorism policies. Of particular significance were arguments justifying the use of lethal force to kill US citizens suspected of terrorism without charge or trial.

A Pentagon commander announced that the US has special forces teams in Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and, more significantly, India.

BBC News reports there are teams currently “deployed to help India with their counter-terrorism” operations, according to US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Robert Willard.

Willard says the US and India are working to “contain” a Pakistan-based militant group known as Lashkar-e-Taiba, that is believed to be responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing his morning on a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that grants the military the authority to indefinitely detain US citizens without charge or trial. The hearing was on legislation proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would clarify that no authority permits the indefinite detention of US citizens.