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    Sept. 11 Plea Deal Includes Lifetime Gag Order on C.I.A. Torture Secrets

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    The clause is included in a disputed plea agreement between a Pentagon official and the man accused of planning the attacks that killed 3,000 people.Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the prisoner at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who is accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks, has agreed to never disclose secret aspects of his torture by the C.I.A. if he is allowed to plead guilty rather than face a death-penalty trial.The clause was included in the latest portions of his deal to be unsealed at a federal appeals court in Washington. A three-judge panel is considering whether former Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III lawfully withdrew from a plea agreement with Mr. Mohammed in the capital case against five men who are accused of conspiring in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000.The C.I.A. has never taken a public position on whether it supports the deal, and the agency declined to comment on Friday. But the latest disclosure makes clear that Mr. Mohammed would not be allowed to publicly identify people, places and other details from his time in the agency’s secret prisons overseas from 2003 to 2006.It has been publicly known for years that Mr. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times by the C.I.A. It has also been revealed that waterboarding was done by a three-person interrogation team led by Bruce Jessen and James E. Mitchell, two former contract psychologists for the agency. Details of Mr. Mohammed’s violent treatment, including rectal abuse, have emerged in court filings and leaks.But the agency has protected the names of other people who worked in the “black site” prisons, notably medical staff, guards and other intelligence agency employees. That includes the people who questioned Mr. Mohammed hundreds of times as he was shuttled between prisons in Afghanistan, Poland and other locations, which the C.I.A. has not acknowledged as former black sites.Now, a recently unredacted paragraph in Mr. Mohammed’s 20-page settlement says he agreed not to disclose “any form, in any manner, or by any means” information about his “capture, detention, confinement of himself or others” while in U.S. custody.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Justice Dept. Charges 2 Men in Deadly Drone Attack on U.S. Soldiers

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      The men are accused of supplying key parts in Iranian drones that killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens of others at an American military base in Jordan.The Justice Department has charged two men with illegally supplying parts used in an Iranian-backed militia’s drone attack in January that killed three U.S. service members and injured more than 40 others at an American military base in Jordan, federal prosecutors in Boston announced on Monday.Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 42, a dual U.S.-Iranian national of Natick, Mass., and Mohammad Abedini, 38, of Tehran, were charged with conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components to Iran, violating American export control and sanctions laws.Mr. Abedini was also charged with providing material support, resulting in death, to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military that the U.S. has designated a foreign terrorist organization.Mr. Sadeghi was arrested on Monday and made an initial appearance in the federal court in Boston. Mr. Abedini was arrested, also on Monday, in Italy by Italian authorities at the request of the United States.Iran has made serious advances in the design and production of military drones in recent years, and has stepped up its transfer to terrorist groups across the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah.Iran has used its drone program to build its global importance and increase weapons sales but has suffered setbacks in its confrontation with Israel. In April, Iran launched an attack on Israel that largely failed. Israel intercepted most of the roughly 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Bob Fernandez, Who Survived Pearl Harbor as a Teenager, Dies at 100

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      Mr. Fernandez was a 17-year-old sailor aboard the U.S.S. Curtiss when Japanese forces attacked. He had recently canceled a trip to Hawaii for the 83rd anniversary of the bombing.Robert Louie Fernandez, one of the last known American survivors of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, died on Wednesday, just days after the 83rd anniversary of the attack, in Lodi, Calif. He was 100.Mr. Fernandez, known as Uncle Bob to friends, family and even some strangers, died at the home of his nephew Joe Guthrie, who confirmed the death. “I promised him 10 years ago that he could die in my home, and that’s what he did,” said Mr. Guthrie, who became his uncle’s caretaker in 2022, after his dementia diagnosis. “He died loved and happy.” Born in San Jose, Calif., in 1924, Mr. Fernandez enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1941, when he was 17 years old. He was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Curtiss at the Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where he served as a mess cook and ammunition loader, according to military records. In a video biography filmed in 2016, Mr. Fernandez said he had joined the Navy to see the world. “I just thought I was going to go dancing all the time, have a good time,” he said, adding: “What did I do? I got caught in a war.”Mr. Fernandez had planned a trip to Hawaii for an event last Saturday commemorating the 83rd anniversary of the bombing, but his health started to deteriorate a few weeks ago, according to his family.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      No Evidence Drones in Northeast Are a Threat, Officials Say

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      Numerous sightings of flying objects in recent weeks have raised alarm, but federal law enforcement officials say that at least some were manned aircraft, such as airplanes or helicopters.After reviewing thousands of tips, federal law enforcement officials on Saturday reaffirmed that mysterious drones spotted in the Northeast in recent weeks pose no national security threat and in most cases are not even drones.Investigators reviewing video footage and interviews with witnesses have so far determined that at least some of the roaming objects were manned aircraft, such as airplanes or helicopters, that were misidentified as drones, according to officials from the F.B.I., Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity on Saturday because they were not authorized to speak publicly.Federal officials have received nearly 5,000 tips on drone sightings in recent weeks and deemed only 100 of them worthy of further investigation, an F.BI. official said.The rise of the drone sightings have caused alarm in communities across the Northeast. Here, what appear to be multiple drones over Bernardsville, N.J., earlier this month.Brian Glenn, via Associated PressThe U.S. officials said they had confirmed drone sightings over military bases in New Jersey, including Picatinny Arsenal, but they had no evidence the devices were operated by a foreign government or authority. U.S. national security officials have not been able to identify the operators of the drones.The rise of the drone sightings have caused alarm in communities in the Northeast as residents have increasingly looked to the sky with a cellphone in hand, hoping to learn more about the floating devices. State and local leaders have accused the Biden administration of not taking the drone sightings seriously. The airborne devices have captured the attention of Americans 22 months after a giant Chinese spy balloon drifted over the United States, causing a diplomatic crisis. President Biden eventually ordered it shot down.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Syrian Rebel Groups Launch Largest Offensive in Years

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      Scores of people were killed after forces opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad overtook a Syrian military base, a monitoring group reported.Syrian opposition forces have launched an offensive in western Aleppo district that has killed at least 89 people and overtaken a Syrian military base, a monitoring group based in Britain reported on Wednesday.The attacks are the most notable escalation in the Syrian conflict in years, expert say. Fighters from various rebel factions, including a group linked to Al Qaeda called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had advanced by Wednesday to within about six miles of Aleppo and taken over weapons and vehicles previously held by forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to the monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Opposition factions announced on the Telegram messaging app that they had taken Base 46, the largest Syrian government base in the area, as well as tanks, and had captured members of the pro-government forces on Wednesday. They also announced that they had taken over a number of villages in the countryside west of Aleppo district.“In the matter of about 10 hours, a wide spectrum of armed opposition groups have managed to get to within about four or five kilometers now of Aleppo city, which is of gigantic significance,” Charles Lister, the director of Middle East Institute’s Syria and counterterrorism programs, said on Wednesday.The Syrian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The attacks are believed to be the first major effort since 2020 by the rebel groups to take territory, when Turkey, which sided with the opposition forces, and Russia, which is Syria’s ally, brokered a cease-fire to halt fighting in the Idlib region.The recent escalation is part of increasing volatility in the region, experts say.“Pro-regime militias have been upping their attacks in the area, trying to deter the rebels because Israel has been weakening the Syrian regime’s allies like Hezbollah and Iran,” said Natasha Hall, a senior fellow with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The success of the offensive thus far shows the vulnerability of the Syrian government and the growing prowess of the various opposition factions, experts say.“Years ago, an offense of this size would have been pushed back by the regime,” Mr. Lister said. But opposition forces like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which traces its origins from the Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, have invested heavily in resources and training for night operations. “That basically levels the playing field,” he added.Dr. Mustafa Aledou, a pharmacist and program manager for MedGlobal, a Chicago-based nonprofit, lives in Idlib city and said he was less than 20 miles from the attacks.His family woke early in the morning to the sound of bombing, he said.“We can hear the explosions,” he said. “We can hear the attacks in the battle in the frontline between the fighting forces.”The local authorities announced the closure of schools and large markets because of the fighting.Milana Mazaeva More

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      Behind the Tactical Gains Against Iran, a Longer-Term Worry

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      Experts inside and outside the Biden administration fear that Iran may conclude it has only one defense left: racing for an atomic weapon.When Israeli fighter jets roared off the runways on Friday night, on a thousand-mile run to Iran, they headed for two major sets of targets: the air defenses that protect Tehran, including Iran’s leadership, and the giant fuel mixers that make propellant for Iran’s missile fleet.Israel’s military leaders, in calls with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and other senior American officials, had concluded that taking out the air defenses would make Iran’s leaders fearful that Tehran itself could not be defended. That feeling of vulnerability was already high, after Israel decimated the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah, Tehran’s proxy forces that could strike Israel, over the past month.The surprise element for the Iranians was a set of strikes that hit a dozen or so fuel mixers, and took out the air defenses that protected several critical oil and petrochemical refineries, according to a senior U.S. official and two Israeli defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.Without the capability to mix fuel, Iran cannot produce more of the type of ballistic missiles that its forces fired on Israel on Oct. 1, the immediate provocation for Israel’s strike. And it could take more than a year to replace them from Chinese and other suppliers.By Saturday, American and Israeli officials were claiming a major success, but lurking behind the satisfaction with the tactical gains lies a longer-term worry. With Iran’s Russian-produced air defenses in smoldering piles, many fear the Iranian leaders may conclude they have only one defense left: racing for an atomic weapon.That is just what American strategists have been desperately trying to avoid for a quarter-century, using sabotage, cyberattacks and diplomacy to keep Tehran from crossing the threshold to become a full nuclear-armed power.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Israel Struck Air Defenses Around Critical Iranian Energy Sites, Officials Say

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      Israel’s attacks on Iran early Saturday destroyed air-defense systems set up to protect several critical oil and petrochemical refineries, as well as systems guarding a large gas field and a major port in southern Iran, according to three Iranian officials and three senior Israeli defense officials.The sites targeted by Israel, according to the officials, included defenses at the sprawling Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical complex, in Khuzestan Province; at the major economic port Bandar Imam Khomeini, adjacent to it; and at the Abadan oil refinery. Air-defense systems were also struck in Ilam Province, at the refinery for the gas field, called Tange Bijar, said the officials, one of them with Iran’s oil ministry.The Iranian and Israeli officials familiar with the attacks spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.Israel’s destruction of the air-defense systems has raised deep alarm in Iran, the three Iranian officials said, as critical energy and economic hubs are now vulnerable to future attacks if the cycle of retaliation between Iran and Israel continues.“Israel is sending a clear message to us,” said Hamid Hosseini, an expert on Iran’s oil and gas industry and a member of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce. “This can have very serious economic consequences for Iran, and now that we understand the stakes we need to act wise and not continue the tensions.”Iran’s military announced that four soldiers working with air defenses were killed in Israel’s attacks. The Iranian media said the casualty numbers would probably increase.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In North Carolina Town Hall, Trump Makes a Series of Promises to Appeal to Veterans

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      At the end of his town hall in North Carolina on Friday, former President Donald J. Trump was asked by a former Air Force pilot whether he would create a panel to keep “woke generals” out of the Defense Department.Mr. Trump not only agreed, but also went a step further. “I’m going to put you on that task force,” he said, to cheers from the crowd.The remark was the last in a series of promises the former president made as he answered preselected questions from voters in Fayetteville, N.C., an area with a large military population. It’s a dynamic that happens often at Mr. Trump’s events, in which he makes direct commitments on small and large issues to appeal to and energize his specific audience.He promised that his proposed missile defense system, an American clone of Israel’s Iron Dome, would be made in North Carolina. He pledged to raise military pay. And before taking a question, he promised to restore the name of nearby Fort Liberty, the largest U.S. military base, back to Fort Bragg, which honored a Confederate general from a slave-owning family. The name was changed in June 2023 as part of the U.S. military’s examination of its history with race.Attendees cheered as Mr. Trump arrived for the town hall at Crown Arena in Fayetteville, N.C.Kent Nishimura for The New York TimesSitting onstage at the Crown Arena in front of several thousand people, many of whom said they were active-duty military service members or veterans, Mr. Trump took eight questions from audience members. Like the event’s moderator, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida and a veteran, the participants teed him up to offer lines from his stump speech. Many of the questions echoed his exaggerated and false claims about immigration, approved of his vow to conduct massive deportations of undocumented immigrants and acknowledged his fear-inspiring predictions of global war.All Mr. Trump had to do, largely, was agree. He repeated his false claims that Democrats cheated in the 2020 election and made familiar attacks against the media.Mr. Trump earlier in the day toured parts of Georgia hit by Hurricane Helene, and he claimed that reporters were doing little to cover the storm and the Biden administration’s response.Ms. Luna, a proud and combative ally of Mr. Trump, took the ball and ran with it, and claimed that the administration’s response was intentional. “I do believe that they’ve intentionally, this is my opinion, not helped out those residents, because it’s red communities that are impacted,” she said. More

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      Arthur J. Gregg, Trailblazing Army Officer, Is Dead at 96

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      The first Black officer to achieve the rank of lieutenant general, he lived to see an Army post in Virginia renamed in his honor.Arthur J. Gregg, the first African American Army officer to reach the rank of lieutenant general and the only person in modern history to have a military base named for him in his lifetime, died on Aug. 22. He was 96.The Army announced the death on its website, but did not cite a cause or say where he died.In April 2023, Fort Lee in Virginia was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of General Gregg, who in 1977 became the Army’s first Black three-star general, and Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley, who was the highest-ranking Black woman to serve as an Army officer in World War II.The new name was recommended by a congressional commission charged with rechristening nine military bases named for Confederate officers, as part of a national self-examination around race set off by the murder of George Floyd in 2020.Fort Lee was named for Robert E. Lee, one of eight Virginians at the outbreak of the Civil War who were West Point graduates and U.S. Army colonels. Among them, the renaming commission noted, only Lee chose to take up arms against the United States. “The main difference” separating Lee from the others “was that Lee and his family enslaved other humans,” the commission’s report stated.Fort Gregg-Adams, about 30 miles south of Richmond, has long been a hub of Army logistics, the field in which General Gregg made his 35-year military career. He commanded a 3,700-soldier logistics battalion in Vietnam, based in Cam Ranh Bay, and rose to be deputy chief of staff for logistics for the Army, overseeing support services around the world.He was posted to Fort Lee as a young officer in 1950 to train in logistics. Although President Harry S. Truman had ordered the desegregation of the military two years earlier, the facts on the ground had changed little.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More