No Secret Why CIA is Now Romanticizing ‘Harsh Interrogation’ Techniques by Robert Crawford “The dark side — that’s what we do.” José Rodriguez, former head of the CIA’s clandestine service, used these words in a “60 Minutes” interview last Sunday to defend the use of water-boarding and other “harsh interrogation” techniques on suspected terrorists. His self-assurance [...]
Torture on Trial Legal and Humane Frameworks for Opposing Torture by: David Swanson Published in the May / June 2012 Humanist http://thehumanist.org/may-june-2012/torture-on-trial-legal-and-humane-frameworks-for-opposing-torture/ Cases come in by the thousands from all over the world. A man was beaten and whipped. A woman was beaten and raped. A boy was hooded with three empty sand [...]
Jamil el-Banna in 2007. The UK resident was seized in Gambia in 2002 and handed over to US authorities. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 April 2012 17.46 BST Article history The government is facing renewed pressure over its refusal to disclose Britain’s role in abducting terror suspects after the information tribunal ruled there [...]
Tony Blair said he was sure the rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhaj to Libya would be investigated. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Tony Blair has ‘no recollection’ of Libyan dissident’s rendition Blair, who was PM when Abdel Hakim Belhaj was handed to Gaddafi’s regime, defends Britain’s co-operation with Libya Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 April 2012 14.28 BST [...]
For decades there has developed an art or science in the investigation of different forms of torture. That of course follows a history of centuries o the use of the infliction of pain as a means to an end. As long as those who seek power at any cost [...]
Iraqi demonstrators hold pictures of missing relatives during a weekly protest against corruption. Photograph: Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images Ghaith Abdul-Ahad reports from Baghdad where families of innocent detainees face extortion from corrupt officials The walls of Um Hussein’s living room in Baghdad are hung with the portraits of her missing sons. There are four of them, and [...]
Understanding the US Torture State by Anthony Gregory, October 28, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse edited by Marjorie Cohn (New York University Press: 2011), 342 pages. When I was a child in Reagan’s America, a common theme in Cold War rhetoric was that the Soviets [...]
A Palestinian child, with hands chained, takes part in a protest calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. (REUTERS/Sharif Karim) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — An Israeli military court at Ofer detention center has dismissed all charges against a Palestinian man detained since 2009 after it emerged his confession was obtained through torture. A [...]
Here in Australia our slavish and sycophantic adoration of US world policies mean in the long run that we just as much as those in the US government who were responsible, believe just as passionately in torture as they do. It is a vicious circle that must be broken. The [...]
. Westerners are taught to believe that torture is not a practice of a ‘civilised’ government and therefore does not take place within their military and security establishments [GALLO/GETTY] Following the fall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, new allegations have emerged about the complicity of British and US officials in torture. Senior members of [...]
Westerners are taught to believe that torture is not a practice of a ‘civilised’ government and therefore does not take place within their military and security establishments [GALLO/GETTY] Following the fall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, new allegations have emerged about the complicity of British and US officials in torture. Senior members of the [...]
A shackled detainee is taken from a vehicle for interrogation at Camp Delta, at the Guantanamo base in Cuba in 2006. Photograph: Brennan Linsley/AP Ten years on from its creation, calls are mounting from legal and human rights experts for closure of the ‘torture’ centre on Cuba reddit this Ed Vulliamy in New York [...]
A secret US memo authorised the killing of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki for his alleged role in an al-Qaeda affiliate [EPA] The United States’ recent killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen has prompted renewed debate over the CIA’s predator drone programme. That the US government asserts the right to eliminate a terrorism suspect far from [...]
Former MI5 chief urges terrorist talks Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of MI5, attacked anti-terrorist laws passed under Labour. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Getty Images Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller says dialogue with terror groups, including al-Qaida, requires courage but ‘is necessary’ reddit this Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian, Tuesday 13 September 2011 Article history The former head [...]
Despite New Denials by Rumsfeld, Evidence Shows US Military Used Waterboarding-Style Torture Friday 5 August 2011 by: Jeffrey Kaye, Truthout | Report Former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, DC. Rumsfeld has recently denied knowledge of any waterboarding by US military personnel taking place at Guantanamo Bay. (Photo: Gage [...]
The US administration argues that Rumsfeld cannot be sued personally for his official conduct [EPA] A federal judge in the US has ruled that Donald Rumsfeld, the former defence secretary, can be sued by a former military contractor who was allegedly tortured and “unjustly” imprisoned in Iraq. Lawyers for the man, who is in his [...]
The document referred to can be seen and read at http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/interactive/2011/aug/04/mi6-torture-interrogation-policy-document A number of men said they were questioned by MI5 and MI6 officers after being tortured at Guantánamo Bay. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images A top-secret document revealing how MI6 and MI5 officers were allowed to extract information from prisoners being illegally tortured overseas [...]
Rumsfeld Iraq ‘torture‘ suit given go-ahead Former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been represented by the justice department Continue reading the main story Related Stories Bush ‘should face torture probe’ Rumsfeld defends US war in Iraq Profile: Donald Rumsfeld A US judge has ruled that a former American military contractor who claims he was tortured [...]
Progressives don’t need more reasons to be disappointed with President Barack Obama’s handling of the deficit talks, but here’s another failing that has not gotten much play: The administration has been so timid on defense cuts that some leading Republicans are now well to the president’s left on this issue. (Flickr/gregwest98) SHARE THIS STORY. [...]
Prosecute Bush *And* Obama for Torture John Glaser, July 27, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum A couple weeks ago, Human Right Watch issued a report calling for a criminal investigation of Bush administration officials for the illegal regime of torture and detainee mistreatment implemented following the attack of September 11th. The [...]
Protesters, both dressed in an orange overalls to depict detainees at the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo, Cuba, demonstrates outside Britain’s Houses of Parliament, where President Obama was to give an address May 25. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP Photo) The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations have called on President Obama to [...]
How Not to Make Friends in the Greater Middle East Washington’s Singular Accomplishment By Tom Engelhardt In the method, there is madness; in the comedy, nightmare; in the tragedy, farce. And despite everything, there’s still good news when it comes to what Americans can accomplish in the face of the impossible! No, not a debt-ceiling deal [...]
The four Kenyans who were given the go-ahead at the high court to sue the British government over alleged colonial atrocities committed during the Mau Mau uprising. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Four Kenyans who claimed they were tortured at the hands of colonial officials during the Mau Mau insurgency in the 1950s have won the right [...]
Emancipation Day for “Good Faith” Torturers? by Nat Hentoff This article appeared on Cato.org on July 13, 2011. PRINT PAGE CITE THIS Sans Serif Serif Share with your friends: ShareThis Both the Bush-Cheney and Obama administrations have strongly opposed the very idea of a comprehensive independent investigation of CIA “enhanced interrogations” at the agency’s [...]
United States: Investigate Bush, Other Top Officials for Torture Inquiry Into 2 Deaths in CIA Custody Insufficient JULY 11, 2011 George Bush © 2004 AP Images Donald Rumsfeld © 2004 AP Images Dick Cheney © 2006 AP Images George Tenet © 2004 Reuters RELATED MATERIALS: Getting Away with Torture MORE COVERAGE: Guardian UK: George W [...]
Transcript DANNY WOOD, FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS: A report released today by Human Rights Watch says there are grounds for President Barack Obama to order criminal investigations of former president George W. Bush, vice president Dick Cheney, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and CIA director George Tenet for ordering the use of torture, secret detention facilities, [...]
