By Nic Robertson, Paul Cruickshank and Jomana Karadsheh reporting from Tripoli, Libya
A senior Libyan official told CNN that the U.S. is flying surveillance missions with drones over suspected jihadist training camps in eastern Libya because of concerns over rising activity by al Qaeda and like-minded groups in the region but said that to the best of his knowledge, they had not been used to fire missiles at militant training camps in the area.
The revelation follows a failed attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi on Tuesday night, which a shadowy jihadist group claimed was to avenge the death of al Qaeda No. 2 Abu Yahya al-Libi.
The official said that one militant commander operating in Derna, Abdulbasit Azuz, had complained that a drone strike had targeted his training camp in the east of Libya. Last month, there were reports of explosions outside the Derna area in the vicinity of the camps, according to a different source. FULL POST
By Suzanne Kelly
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wants more government employees to be subject to an enhanced lie detector test as a deterrent to leaking classified information, an intelligence source told CNN Thursday.
RECOMMENDED: "Avalanche of leaks"
As he briefs top intelligence lawmakers who are outraged over a series of recent leaks of classified information, Clapper wants to widen the numbers of people across government agencies who would be required to take the “Counterintelligence Polygraph,” the source said.
The move would be aimed at government employees who hold top-secret clearance, including employees at the 16 intelligence agencies he oversees, but also at other departments, such as State and Defense, which have employees with access to similar information, according to the intelligence source. But the scope of Clapper's efforts would not include White House officials who also are privy to classified information. FULL POST
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Thursday that the United States was "reaching the limits of our patience" with Pakistan over militants that attack U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan from havens within its borders.
"It's extremely important that Pakistan take action to prevent this kind of safe haven," he said during an unannounced visit to Kabul, and that militants cannot use the country as a "safety net" from which to attack U.S. soldiers.
"We have made that very, very clear time and time again, and we will continue to do that," he said.
Most Americans say that the U.S. does not have a responsibility to do something about the fighting in Syria, although the number calling for U.S. action in that country has grown from 25% in February to 33% now, according to a new national poll.
According to a CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday, six in ten continue to oppose any American intervention to halt the fighting between government and anti-government forces in Syria.
The belief that Syria is not the responsibility of the U.S. crosses party lines in the survey – 57% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans say the U.S. should take no role. Gender sometimes plays a role in public opinion of foreign issues, but in this instance, men and women agree, with 61% in each group saying that the U.S. has no responsibility to take any action in Syria.
By the CNN Wire Staff
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned a NATO airstrike this week that a provincial official says killed women and children, in a statement that came just as U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived Thursday in Kabul for talks.
A provincial official has said among the dead in the airstrike were civilians, while the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said initial reports revealed only two injuries.
ISAF is aware of the claims of civilian casualties and was looking into what took place, a spokesman for the coalition said.