Facts? Shmacts. It's only a movie

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Gene Seymour: "Lincoln" error on emancipation vote shines light on how films tell history


• He says Oscar chances for "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty" may be hurt after facts questioned


• He says films have long gotten history wrong but are useful in showing society's perceptions


• Seymour: It's art, not history, sometimes a vision, something we wish had been or could be

Editor's note: Gene Seymour is a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post.

(CNN) -- Everyone's a critic; I get that. But does everyone have to be a historian, too?

What audiences perceive as their inalienable right to challenge the accuracy and authenticity of movies seems to get much more exercised before the Academy Awards than at any other time of the year.

The latest challenge came Tuesday from Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, who said Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" misrepresented the way his predecessors in the 1865 House of Representatives voted on the 13th Amendment banning slavery. Courtney looked it up online and found in his research that all four Connecticut representatives voted for the amendment -- the movie shows two voting against. So in a letter to Spielberg's DreamWorks production office in Los Angeles, he asked DreamWorks for some form of correction. (DreamWorks hasn't been heard from yet.)

Gene Seymour

The film, considered a favorite for a best picture Oscar, places the back-and-forth struggle over the amendment in the forefront of its depiction of the 16th president, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Courtney, unlike most others who have complained about big-time Oscar contenders, isn't out to ruin anybody's chances. He says he likes everything else about the movie. He merely wants props restored to his home state. And he seems to have a good case.

But you can bet your annual subscription to US Weekly magazine that the chatterboxes who gossip about and/or handicap the Academy Awards are going to try using his complaint as further indication of "Lincoln's" slipping stature as a best picture shoo-in. Some of these pundits claim "Argo" is charging hard from behind since its unexpected wins at both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

And yet "Argo" has truthiness issues of its own. Director-star Ben Affleck even admitted before the movie's release last fall that his movie about the 1979 CIA rescue of State Department employees from Iran stretched certain details for dramatic effect. (Spoiler alert!) There was, for instance, no last-minute car chase on a Tehran tarmac as Americans tried to escape on a plane, and their check-in at the terminal wasn't in real life nearly the white-knuckle sequence of events you see in the film.

Others have said the movie misrepresents the Iranian people as completely unified in their support of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy. "Thirty-three million Iranians ... did not commit acts of murder and terrorism," Iranian commentator Kambiz Atabai wrote on The Daily Beast. "Thirty-three million Iranians did not chant 'Death to America!' or take Americans hostage."

But neither "Lincoln" nor "Argo" has reaped the whirlwind of criticism of Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" for its depiction of events leading up to the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden. Even before its limited release in December, the movie couldn't be discussed without referring to those accusing the movie of glorifying waterboarding of suspected terrorists or, at best, misleading audiences into believing that such so-called "enhanced interrogation" played a key role in guiding the United States to bin Laden.

Whatever critics or defenders say, the dispute alone is enough to make academy voters skittish about rewarding something that causes so much trouble.

You have to wonder: What is the big deal?

None of these films are documentaries and thus do not have the same obligations to fact. Yet one could argue that taking too many liberties with real life (whatever that means) could distort for generations the true story; that, indeed, what is enhanced for dramatic purposes becomes what everyone believes is what actually happened.

It's not so cut and dried. Consider D.W. Griffith's 1915 "The Birth of a Nation," regarded as the first great American film epic, whose glorification of the Ku Klux Klan makes contemporary audiences uneasy at best, infuriated at worst. Despite protests by the NAACP and other civil rights organizations, audiences generally agreed with President Woodrow Wilson's purported assessment of the movie: "It's like history written with lightning."

But society can change perception of art over time to the point of neutralizing, even transfiguring its original intent. No one now mistakes Griffith's movie as anything close to historic fact, but it could still be seen as a representation of a racist viewpoint that once held sway over much of America

Then there is John Ford, the great American director of such classic westerns as "Stagecoach" (1939), "The Searchers" (1956) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962). It was in the latter movie that Ford's aesthetic credo was put forth by a minor character, a journalist who discovers that the career-making triumph of a U.S. senator over an outlaw didn't happen as originally believed. The journalist chooses to keep things status quo. "This is the West, sir," he explains. "When legend becomes fact, print the legend." He might have added: "Because it makes a better story."

Or consider "My Darling Clementine," Ford's 1946 version of the Wyatt Earp saga. As the movie opens, the Earp brothers are herding cattle to Tombstone, Arizona, in 1882 when the youngest brother James is shot dead (in the back, of course) by the rustling Clanton family.

Three things, right off the bat are wrong: James was the eldest of the Earps, not the youngest, the Earp brothers never had any cattle either heading toward or ensconced within Tombstone's city limits and, though James' death is depicted as the spark that eventually led to the Earps' confrontation with the Clantons at the OK Corral, that famous gunfight actually occurred in 1881 -- if you're scoring, that's one year earlier. And the inaccuracies only begin there.

And yet the movie endures as one of Ford's best even after four movies about the same legend have been made, each claiming to be more faithful to historic fact than "Clementine." But "My Darling Clementine," a dream about a past that didn't exist, endures in collective memory. It may not be factual, but it's true to something; a vision, a state of mind, an aspiration to something we wish had been, or could be.

The most recent film about the legend, Lawrence Kasdan's "Wyatt Earp" (1994), is so faithful that you can barely remember anything about it.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gene Seymour.

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Tennis: No Serena, no Sharapova in tweaked Fed Cup

PARIS: The 2013 Fed Cup World Group gets underway on Saturday with the tournament missing marquee names Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova and with a late format tweak aimed at boosting the event's appeal.

Both Williams and Sharapova featured in the 2012 Fed Cup, partly to meet Olympic Games qualifying criteria, but will not be involved when the United States tackle Italy and Russia welcome Japan this weekend.

Williams, who has played just six ties since 1999, has a back injury while Sharapova, whose Fed Cup record stretches to a meagre three appearances since her 2008 debut, was left out of the Russian squad.

Their absences have cut the number of players from the top 10 competing in the four World Group One ties to just three -- number seven Sara Errani of Italy, eighth-ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and number nine Samantha Stosur of Australia.

Wary of the growing demands placed on time and physical endurance by the professional tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Thursday changes concerning dead rubbers in the tournament.

Under the new policy, if a tie is decided after the third singles rubber, the fourth singles rubber will not be played and the dead doubles rubber will be played instead.

However if the tie is only decided after the fourth singles rubber, the dead doubles rubber will still be played with a match tiebreak (first to 10 points) replacing the third set.

"The enhancement of the dead rubber policy came in response to requests from players, captains and National Associations following its successful introduction in Davis Cup," said ITF executive vice-president Juan Margets.

"This is part of the ITF's continued effort to make Fed Cup more player friendly, while maintaining a good spectator experience on the Sunday."

Former Wimbledon champion Kvitova leads defending champions Czech Republic against Australia in Ostrava where she will be playing her 14th Fed Cup tie since 2007.

However, she has struggled this season, a shock second round exit at the Australian Open followed by a quarter-final loss in Paris last week where she was second seed.

"My results are not exactly what I want them to be, but I still believe it will be OK. I know I can play tennis, and I like Fed Cup," said the 22-year-old.

In the absence of the Williams sisters, as well as Australian Open semi-finalist Sloane Stephens, the 17-time champions US will be led by world number 21 Varvara Lepchencko when they face Italy in Rimini.

Italy, with Errani and world number 16 Roberta Vinci likely to play singles and doubles, beat the US in the 2009 and 2010 finals.

Even without Sharapova, Russia, the four-time winners, should be too strong for Japan in Moscow.

Maria Kirilenko, at 13, Ekaterina Makarova, the world number 20, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 31st-ranked player and number 32 Elena Vesnina, are all higher up the WTA pecking order than Japan's top singles player Ayumi Morita, the world 57.

In Nis, 2012 runners-up Serbia, who are likely to be without world number 14 and former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic with a shoulder injury, tackle Slovakia.

- AFP/xq

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Alleged cop killer: I have no family, 'I'm terminating yours'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Police believe former cop Christopher Jordan Dorner shot three officers, killing one


• This was days after he allegedly killed two people, one a retired LAPD officer's daughter


• In an 11-page manifesto, Dorner promises "war" on police and their families


• The suspect's truck is found burnt in a mountainous area 100 miles east of L.A.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A former Los Angeles cop with military training vowed war against other men in blue Thursday, leaving one officer dead days after he allegedly killed two other people to begin a wave of retribution for being fired, police said.

The focus of the intensive, expansive manhunt is Christopher Jordan Dorner, a 270-pound former Navy lieutenant who has professed his venom against LAPD officers he claimed ruined his life by forcing him out of his dream job.

Dorner blames one retired officer for bungling his appeal to get his job back in an 11-page manifesto, in which he also complained of mistreatment by the LAPD. In that letter -- provided to CNN by an LAPD source -- he vowed to wage a war targeting police officers and their families, whoever and wherever they are.

"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," Dorner wrote.

"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours."

Authorities believe he followed through on his threats early Thursday by shooting a Riverside, California, police officer and two others. A day earlier, Irvine police named Dorner a suspect in the double slayings Sunday of a woman -- identified by Los Angeles police as the daughter of a retired LAPD officer -- and her fiance.

"My opinion of the suspect is unprintable," said Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz, hours after one of his officers was killed. "The manifesto, I think, speaks for itself (as) evidence of a depraved and abandoned mind and heart."

The violence, as well as Dorner's background as a police officer and expert marksman, left police on edge around Southern California.

In Torrance, LAPD officers guarding one of Dorner's alleged targets mistakenly opened fire on a blue pickup truck that resembled one Dorner was thought to be driving, said Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck.

The gunfire left two people wounded, Beck said. Torrance police also fired on another blue pickup, but no one was injured in that incident, according to a senior law enforcement source.

In downtown Los Angeles, police wearing body armor patrolled outside their own iconic headquarters.

Police have good reason to be fearful, the chief said.

"Of course, he knows what he's doing. We trained him," Beck said. "He was also a member of the armed forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary, especially to the officers involved."

The manhunt for Dorner spanned hundreds of miles and numerous counties. By Thursday afternoon, it was largely centered around Big Bear Lake -- about 100 miles east of Los Angeles -- where authorities found the truck the suspect allegedly used in the Riverside shooting.

Police confirmed that the vehicle, which was burnt out when it was found, belonged to Dorner by its vehicle identification number, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said.

This discovery spurred more officers to converge on the area to conduct beefed up patrols, staff checkpoints and go to every residence in the mountain community. McMahon acknowledged it is possible the fire was set as a diversionary tactic, though law enforcement isn't taking any changes.

"He could be anywhere at this point, and that's why we're searching door to door," the sheriff said.

1 cop dies in 'cowardly ambush'

It all started Sunday when Dorner allegedly killed two people in Irvine, according to police.

Police identified the victims as Monica Quan and her fiance Keith Lawrence.

Quan, 27, was the daughter of retired Los Angeles police Officer Randal Quan, LAPD Officer Tenesha Dobine told CNN. In his manifesto, Dorner said Quan handled his appeal.

On Tuesday, Dorner checked into the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites on San Diego's large naval base, Cmdr. Brad Fagan said.

Dorner likely had access to the hotel because he'd been honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve, said the Navy spokesman. Having retired February 1 as a lieutenant, Dorner worked with mobile inshore undersea warfare units and provided security on oil platforms in Iraq, according to Pentagon records. He was rated as a rifle marksman and pistol expert.

"He did not physically check out" Wednesday as expected, Fagan told reporters.

Police in San Diego say a man who could have been Dorner tried to hijack a boat there on Wednesday. Someone later found a wallet containing Dorner's identification and an LAPD detective's badge near the San Diego airport, according to police. It was unclear whether the badge was legitimate.

By about 1 a.m. Thursday, the scene had shifted about 100 miles north to Corona, California.

There, a pair of LAPD officers on a protection detail were flagged down by a citizen who reported seeing the suspect's vehicle, LAPD Deputy Chief Jose Perez said.

The officers chased the vehicle and caught up to it on an Interstate 15 off-ramp.

"The officers were fired upon with a shoulder weapon," Perez said, with one of them suffering a "graze wound" to his head. The police returned fire, while the suspect set off once again.

About 20 minutes later, two police officers were in their car at a stop light in Riverside when Dorner allegedly pulled up beside them.

That driver unleashed "multiple rounds" from a rifle at the officers, riddling the cop car with bullets and leaving a 34-year-old officer, who had been on the Riverside force for 11 years, dead, according to Diaz. The other officer, 27, was "seriously wounded but we expect a full recovery," the Riverside police chief said.

It was "a cowardly ambush," said Diaz, claiming Dorner has "no connection" to his city.

A good Samaritan picked up one of their police radios and called dispatchers to send help, Riverside police said.

KTLA: Manhunt for former cop after officers shot

Suspect calls attacks 'a necessary evil'

In addition to posting his manifesto online, Dorner reached out directly to CNN, mailing a parcel to AC360 anchor Anderson Cooper's office at CNN in New York.

The package arrived on February 1 and was opened by Cooper's assistant. Inside was a hand-labeled DVD, accompanied by a yellow Post-it note reading, in part, "I never lied" -- apparently in reference to his 2008 dismissal from the LAPD.

The package also contained a coin wrapped in duct tape. The tape bears the hand-written inscription: "Thanks, but no thanks, Will Bratton." It also had letters that may be read as "IMOA", which could be a commonly used Internet abbreviation for "Imagine a More Open America," or "1 MOA," or perhaps one minute of angle, implying he was notably accurate with a firearm.

The coin is a souvenir medallion from former LAPD Chief William Bratton, of a type often given out as keepsakes. This one, though, was shot through with bullet holes: three bullet holes to the center and another shot nicked off the top.

The editorial staff of AC360 and CNN management were made aware of the package Thursday. Upon learning of its existence, they alerted Bratton and law enforcement.

Bratton headed the LAPD at the time Dorner was dismissed.

Dorner challenged his firing for years, losing at every turn. First, the police department's Board of Rights rejected his appeal. Then, in October 2011, a judge ruled against his appeal, according to court records.

Beck, the Los Angeles police chief, said Thursday that Dorner's case had been "thoroughly reviewed" and said the department would not apologize to Dorner or clear his name.

But as his manifesto shows, Dorner is showing no sign of relenting.

He complained he had been railroaded out of the department after reporting police brutality by another officer. Dorner also complained of a continuing culture of racism and brutality in the LAPD.

Attacks on other police officers and their families, he said, are "a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name."

KCBS: Riverside officer fatally shot

"Look your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead," Dorner wrote.

Such a chilling warning prompted Los Angeles police to set up 40 protective details in an effort to safeguard people listed in Dorner's letter, Beck said.

The chief acknowledged that this effort was taxing the department, which has been placed under tactical alert, meaning all officers must stay on duty.

"It's extremely, extremely manpower intensive," Beck said. "But the safety of my employees, people that come on the job to protect the lives of strangers, is extremely important to me. And I will expend whatever resource is necessary."

KABC: Former cop shoots three officers

CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton, Sara Weisfeldt, Barbara Starr, Pete Janos, Mallory Simon and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.

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Despite adoption ban, N.J. couple brings home Russian tot

(CBS News) FREEHOLD, N.J. -- It's been about a month since Russian President Vladimir Putin banned Americans from adopting Russian children. It was widely seen as a retaliation for a new U.S. law targeting Russians who have violated human rights. At the time, 1,000 American families were in the middle of the adoption process.

CBS News first met Robert and Kim Summers a month ago. They were just weeks away from picking up their new son Preston from a Russian orphanage, when Putin announced the ban.

Foreign adoptions by Americans down 7 percent
U.S. family in limbo after Russia adoption ban

"I cannot put into words how my wife and I feel right now," Robert said at the time. "And we ask Putin, please, consider alternate means, but don't let these children suffer. Please. That's all we ask."

Despite the ban, the Summers decided to travel to Russia. They weren't sure whether they would return to the U.S. with their child.

"We did not know. We just prayed and kept the faith and just kept believing that, you know, all of our efforts would pay off," said Kim.

It was mid-January when they visited Preston in his orphanage outside Moscow. They finalized his paperwork and went to pick up his passport at a Russian government office.

U.S. family in limbo after Russia adoption ban
Russia seeks to reassure U.S. adoptive parents
Foreign adoptions by Americans down 7 percent

"She looked at it and she said in Russian, 'Americans? I thought there was a ban on Americans. How could we give them this passport?'" Kim recalled.

"We held our breath and I gasped for air and I said, oh no. Please, don't let us go through all this and we're going to have problems," Robert said.

Robert and Kim Summers.

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CBS News

The Summers returned the next day and found out the ban did not apply to them because a judge had already signed off on their adoption before the law was passed.

Five days later, they left Russia and brought Preston home.

"Robert and I looked at each other and we said, it's over, it's over. And I can't even tell you the relief. And how elated we are," said Kim. "I completely understand when a mother says that she takes one look at her newborn child and is instantly in love with that child. I'm in love with him. I'm in love with him, and I do believe he's in love with us, too."

The State Department estimates just 50 American families, whose adoptions have been approved by judges, will be allowed to leave Russia with their new children. The Summers consider themselves blessed to be among them.

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Cop Shooting Rampage: Dorner's Truck Found

The truck owned and driven by suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner during his alleged rampage through the Los Angeles area was found deserted and in flames on the side of Bear Mountain, Calif., this afternoon.

Heavily armed SWAT team members descended onto Bear Mountain from a helicopter manned with snipers today to investigate the fire. The San Bernadino Sheriff's Department confirmed the car was Dorner's.

Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, is believed to have killed one police officer and injured two others early this morning in Riverside, Calif. He is also accused of killing two civilians on Sunday after releasing a scathing "manifesto" alleging grievances committed by the police department while he worked for it and warning of coming violence toward cops.

Read More About Chris Dorner's Allegations Against the LAPD

Heavily armed officers spent much of Thursday searching for signs of Dorner, investigating multiple false leads into his whereabouts and broadcasting his license plate and vehicle description across the California Highway System.

Around 3:45 p.m. ET, police responded to Bear Mountain, where two fires were reported, and set up a staging area in the parking lot of a ski resort. They did not immediately investigate the fires, but sent a small team of heavily armed officers up in the helicopter to descend down the mountain toward the fire.

Christopher Dorner: Ex-Cop Wanted in Killing Spree Watch Video

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Missing Ohio Mother: Manhunt for Ex-Boyfriend Watch Video

The officers, carrying machine guns and searching the mountain for any sign of Dorner, eventually made it to the vehicle and identified it as belonging to Dorner. They have not yet found Dorner.

Late this afternoon, CNN announced that Dorner had sent a package containing his manifesto and a DVD to its offices.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

Police officers across Southern California were on the defensive today, scaling back their public exposure, no longer responding to "barking-dog calls" and donning tactical gear outdoors.

Police departments have stationed officers in tactical gear outside police departments, stopped answering low-level calls and pulled motorcycle patrols off the road in order to protect officers who might be targets of Dorner's alleged rampage.

"We've made certain modifications of our deployments, our deviations today, and I want to leave it at that, and also to our responses," said Chief Sergio Diaz of the police department in Riverside, Calif., where the officers were shot. "We are concentrating on calls for service that are of a high priority, threats to public safety, we're not going to go on barking dog calls today."

Sgt. Rudy Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department said Dorner is "believed to be armed and extremely dangerous."

Early Thursday morning, before they believe he shot at any police officers, Dorner allegedly went to a yacht club near San Diego, where police say he attempted to steal a boat and flee to Mexico.

He aborted the attempted theft when the boat's propeller became entangled in a rope, law enforcement officials said. It was then that he is believed to have headed to Riverside, where he allegedly shot two police officers.

"He pointed a handgun at the victim [at the yacht club] and demanded the boat," said Lt. David Rohowits of the San Diego Police Department.

Police say the rifle marksman shot at four officers in two incidents overnight, hitting three of them: one in Corona, Calif., and the two in Riverside, Calif.

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Bring drones out of the shadows

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• John Brennan's confirmation hearing is a chance to ask about drone program, author says


• Sarah Holewinski: Brennan is one of a few officials who knows full story on drones


• She says senators need to ask about damage drone program does to civilians, U.S. reputation


• Holewinski: CIA should hand over drone program to Defense Department

Editor's note: Sarah Holewinski is executive director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict, which advocates protections for civilians affected by armed conflict. She was a member of the White House AIDS policy team in President Bill Clinton's second term.

(CNN) -- The president's pick for CIA director -- John Brennan -- is one of a handful of U.S. officials who understands America's covert drone campaign inside and out.

Nearly everyone else is in the dark about the whos, wheres and whys of the program, including most members of Congress. But Brennan is also one of the few U.S. officials who's stood in front of a public audience and tried to explain the targeting of terrorists outside recognized battlefields. And while overseeing a massive use of lethal force, Brennan is also known inside the administration as a moderating voice in the fight against terrorism.

Sarah Holewinski

The fact is, Brennan's personal views are as opaque as the drone campaign itself. He may assume leadership of the CIA and decide a clandestine agency should not conduct what is an obvious military operation (a stance I and many others would fully support); after all, a veteran of the CIA may believe the agency should get back to gritty intelligence gathering.

Or, maybe Brennan believes that when it comes to the fight against al Qaeda, the public and its Congress should trust the executive office to protect the American people by whatever means it sees fit.

One way or the other, this week's Senate confirmation hearings should be an opportunity to bring Brennan's views out of the shadows, along with the basic attributes and justifications of the covert drone campaign. The man, the machine and the policy are inextricably linked.

Bergen: John Brennan, America's drone warrior

U.S. officials have consistently claimed that offering too many details about the covert drone program could threaten national security. Fair enough; some classification for national security is understandable. But the secrecy surrounding covert drone use is unduly excessive and not in keeping with the transparent government President Barack Obama promised.

Since the bulk of Brennan's hearing will be behind closed doors, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has no reason to shy away from asking tough questions about the drone program. It matters that Congress is there to represent the American people. On their behalf, Congress has a duty to ensure the use of lethal force beyond our borders is being considered and carried out responsibly, with due consideration for the harm it may inflict on civilian populations.

Talk Back: Should U.S. be able to kill American terrorist suspects without trial?

Senators might ask a very basic question to Brennan, one that is seldom clearly answered by the administration: "What impact is the drone campaign against al Qaeda and its associates having?"

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's choice for CIA director, has been deeply involved in the U.S. drone program.

This is a fundamental question of accountability any U.S. official involved in setting or carrying out counterterrorism policy should be able to answer. That answer may describe a dwindling kill list, but it must also put forward facts about what impact drones are having on civilians living under them.

U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq learned that the positive or negative impacts of an operation on the local population are an important metric of mission effectiveness. Commanders worked hard to reverse anti-American sentiment caused by a seemingly callous U.S. attitude toward civilian deaths and injuries. In the case of counterterrorism operations, palpable anger toward America would be antithetical to the goal of decreasing the number of terrorists and those who support their cause.

As it stands, it's unclear whether anyone, including Brennan, knows what negative consequences are emerging on the ground because of remote drones.

Rather, claims of low civilian casualties and drone precision capabilities paint a picture of extreme effectiveness in taking out terrorists while sparing civilians. It's true that a drone is precise, meaning it will hit what it is aimed at -- a building, a bunker or a person. But there are valid concerns about whether the target hit is the right one.

Opinion: When are drone killings illegal?

Remote drones likely rely on sources that may be questionable such as video and cell phone intercepts to identify a target. Civilians may be mistakenly targeted as combatants and counted as such because there are no ground troops to conduct a battle damage assessment, interview witnesses or properly identify bodies.

Civilians may also get caught up in so-called "signature strikes" in which operators target individuals based on behavior, not on known identity. This is legally questionable but also has real ramifications for civilians living under drones.

If a civilian in Pakistan doesn't know what behavior makes him a target for U.S. drones, he cannot fully protect himself and his family. If a drone harms his family, even mistakenly, our research shows they won't receive an apology, explanation or any help from the United States. Certainly there will be no love lost for America.

Any deaths and injuries are compounded by psychological trauma, displacement and fear and suspicion among neighbors. One Pakistani told us, "We fear that the drones will strike us again. ... My aged parents are often in a state of fear. We are depressed, anxious and constantly remembering our deceased family members."

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, recently noted, "What scares me about drone strikes is how they are perceived around the world. ... (T)he resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes ... is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who've never seen one or seen the effects of one."

The drone program needs to come out of the shadows, with explanations about who is a civilian, who is a target, and how drone operators distinguish between the two.

The CIA should get out of the drone operation business, handing it over to the Defense Department, which has a culture of learning lessons, accountability to Congress and a new openness about civilian protection after 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Drone operators should be trained in civilian protection best practices, and any civilian harmed should receive recognition and help for their losses, in accordance with the values American policymakers have espoused about humanity even during times of war.

The Senate may confirm Brennan as head of the CIA. It should also confirm where he stands on government accountability for lethal force and the CIA's role in the remote drone program.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sarah Holewinski.

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Canadians protest Tunisian opposition chief's death

MONTREAL: Hundreds of people gathered late Wednesday in Montreal to express their outrage over the shooting death of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid.

The protesters, mostly youths, held candles and some wrapped themselves in Tunisian flags under bitterly cold temperatures.

The Tunisian Collective of Canada, which backed the Arab Spring movement that triggered the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime two years ago, accused Tunisia's current government of failing to "combat corruption and criminals."

"Tunisian justice remains hostage to executive power," the group said, calling on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into Belaid's death.

Belaid, whose funeral will be on Friday after the main weekly prayers, was a populist known for his iconic smile and black moustache.

A lawyer who spoke with the working class accent of northwestern Tunisia, he defended human rights, was jailed under Ben Ali and ex-president Habib Bourguiba, and was a member of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's defence team.

His death sparked deadly protests, attacks on offices of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party and pledges for a new government of technocrats.

- AFP/xq

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Obama agrees to give drone documents to Congress

By Lesa Jansen, CNN

updated 8:27 PM EST, Wed February 6, 2013

The U.S. MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft vehicle has been used to take out key targets in the war on terror.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The move comes on the eve of confirmation hearings for CIA director nominee John Brennan


• The drone program has been shrouded in secrecy, which has been criticized by senators


• The policy paper will go to congressional intelligence committees

Washington (CNN) -- Amid new controversy over his administration's targeted killing of American citizens overseas by drones, President Barack Obama has yielded to demands that he turn over to Congress classified Justice Department legal advice seeking to justify the policy, an administration official said.

The president's move comes on the eve of confirmation hearings Thursday for his CIA director nominee John Brennan and amid complaints from senators, including several Democrats, about secrecy surrounding the drone policy.

"Today, as part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters, the president directed the Department of Justice to provide the congressional Intelligence committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related to the subject of the Department of Justice White Paper," an administration official said.

The 16-page white paper -- titled "Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qaida or an Associated Force" -- is a policy paper rather than an official legal document.

Memo backs U.S. using lethal force against Americans overseas

The president, the official said, was turning over the information because he believes the scrutiny and debate is healthy.

Opinion: Bring drones out of the shadows

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Sequestration already cutting into national defense

(CBS News) WASHINGTON -- There is a much bigger Washington fiscal crisis coming in three weeks, when automatic, across-the-board budget cuts go into effect unless Congress finds another way. In Washington lingo, the budget cuts are called sequestration, and they're already cutting into national defense.

Watch: Scott Pelley speaks with President Barack Obama about sequestration, at left.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the 5,000 crew members of the aircraft carrier Truman got the word: they will not be leaving their home port of Norfolk, Va., for the Persian Gulf this Friday, as planned.

Their deployment is being postponed due to the looming budget crisis. Vice Admiral Mark Fox says that means the U.S. will have only one -- instead of the normal two -- aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.

Vice Admiral Mark Fox

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CBS News

"What it does change is the opportunity to have additional capability immediately," Fox says. "There will be additional time, distance associated with bringing another vessel over if that's required."

Fox says the move will save "in the hundreds of millions of dollars."

The postponement of the Truman's deployment -- along with that of a guided missile cruiser -- is the most visible effect of the threat of automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, compounded by the absence of a new budget for fiscal year 2013. It's a double-whammy which has a normally affable Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hot under the collar.

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"This is not a game," he declared Wednesday in a farewell speech at Georgetown University. "This is reality."

If sequestration takes effect at the beginning of March, Panetta says the Department of Defense will have to cut $46 billion in the remaining seven months of the fiscal year.

"We will furlough as many as 800,000 D.O.D. civilians around the country for up to 22 days," he said Wednesday. "They could face a 20 percent cut in their salary. You don't think that's going to impact on our economy?"

The cuts will not affect combat operations in Afghanistan. But troops in the field would take a hit in the pocket. A planned pay raise could be cut nearly in half.

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NTSB to Challenge 787 Battery Tests

The National Transportation Safety Board will publicly question at a news conference planned for Thursday morning in Washington whether the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing adequately tested the lithium batteries that have caught fire on Dreamliners in the U.S. and Japan, ABC News has learned exclusively from a government source.

The NTSB will say its investigation into the fire on the 787 at Boston's Logan Field showed gaps between what happened with the battery in testing and what happened with the battery confiscated by the NTSB in Boston, a source told ABC News.

The NTSB investigation followed the mid-January announcement that the FAA ordered the grounding of all Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until their U.S. operator proved that batteries on the planes are safe.

The pre-certification test results were found to be different than what happened during NTSB investigation, the source said. The agency, charged with investigating civil aviation accidents in the U.S., is expected to question whether the Boeing tests certified by the FAA were "robust enough."

The NTSB told ABC News that its investigation is looking at the battery failure and what caused it, as well as the certification processes, emphasizing that the FAA has been "very cooperative in allowing our investigators access to the certification review that they are undertaking on their own."

Akio Kon/Bloomberg/Getty Images

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Both the airplane maker and the FAA are responsible for the testing, the government source said.

This morning, the chairwoman of the NTSB, Deborah Hersman, told reporters at a breakfast briefing that the initial investigation into the batteries found "multiple cells where we saw uncontrolled chemical chain reaction," including short circuiting and thermal runaway, "and those features are not what we would have expected to see in a brand new battery, in a brand new airplane.

"We're evaluating assessments that were made, whether or not those assessments were accurate, whether they were complied with and whether more needs to be done," Hersman said. "We want to make sure the design is robust, that the oversight, the manufacturing process, that those are all adequate -- and so that will be a part of our continuing investigation to determine the failure modes, what may have caused it and what can mitigate against that in the future."

The lithium batteries, one power source for the 787, have never before been used in commercial airliners and were a source of concern from the beginning because of they operate at high temperature.

"I would not want to categorically say that these batteries are not safe," Hersman said. "Any new technology, any new design, there are going to be some inherent risks. ... I would say that, in the past, the NTSB have expressed concerns about the risks and recommended mitigation measures."

Hersman added that the fire seen on board the JAL Dreamliner in Boston in "shows us some risks that were not addressed."

In a statement to ABC News, Boeing said: "Lithium ion batteries were selected after a careful review of available alternatives because they best met the performance and design objectives of the 787. We've used them successfully in other applications, such as satellites, for nearly a decade, and they are used on other aircraft, spacecraft and naval vessels.

"With that said," Boeing added, "we constantly challenge our assumptions and decisions across all of our products when new information becomes available. Nothing we learned during the design of the 787 or since has led us to change our fundamental assessment of the technology. It merits emphasis that the 787 has extensive protections in place to ensure the ability for safe flight to continue even in the presence of a battery failure."

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