FPA’s Must Reads (April 26 to May 3)

A U.S. special forces Soldier watches over a simulated detainee during Operation Serpent Catfish as part of Emerald Warrior 2013 at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi May 1, 2013. Emerald Warrior is an annual two-week joint/combined tactical exercise sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command designed to leverage lessons learned from operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Griffin, U.S. Air Force/Released)

The Guantánamo Memoirs of Mohamedou Ould Slahi
By Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Slate

Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian accused of being a member of Al Qaeda and held at GTMO by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists. Slate publishes his three-part memoires for the first time.

Bring Up the Bodies
By Nicholas Schmidle
The New Yorker

On the heels of the conflict in Kosovo, the Hague set out to prosecute the offenders, only to find many of them swept up into political parties. But with the KLA remaining a fearsome presence in the country and thousands of bodies still missing, can anyone muster up the proof to prove Kosovo’s leaders committed treacherous war crimes?

The Prophets of Oak Ridge
By Dan Zak
Washington Post

Last summer, three peace activists — a nun, a painter and a drifter — snuke into Y-12, once said to be one of the most secure nuclear sites in the United States. Their reasons weren’t threatening, but their trial has been underlied by the fear on many analysts minds: If it’s so easy to penetrate these “secure” facilities, what is the likelihood of terrorists pulling the same stint and succeeding?

Beirut’s Bastille
By Sulome Anderson
Foreign Policy

Lebanon’s largest prison, Roumieh, houses 3,700 inmates, has a track record of human rights violations, and, as of late, has been making headlines for its riots. It is perhaps, as Anderson points out, a microcosm of Lebanon in the most depressing of ways — hurt by corruption and a neglegent state.

Boom, Bust or What?
By Adam Davidson
The New York Times Magazine

Summers, former Treasury Secretary, and Hubbard, the shoulda-been Treasury Secretary had Romney won, have helped define economic policy for decades, each one on a different side of the aisel. Davidson gets them in one room, trying to see if they can find a “grand solution” for the U.S. economy.

Blogs

Jaws, Nuclear Weapons, and Cyber War by Franz-Stefan Gady
Pillage, Plunder, and Western Hypocrisy by Tim LaRocco
The ATT, the NRA, and the Politics of Treaty Ratification by Scott Monje
Time For Some American Shock and Awe in Syria by Sarwar Kashmeri
A Candid Discussion with Trita Parsi by Reza Akhlaghi