Month: December 2007

  • News and Analysis (12/20/07)

    Rather than get slapped with a Congressional subpoena, the CIA willingly hands over documents relevant to the destroyed videotapes showing possible torture interrogations: CIA Will Release Videotape Documents (Associated Press/Google) Arab students begin eying Australia as their new hotspot for studying aboard after being fed up with extra visa delays and harassment at US airports:…

  • News and Analysis (12/19/07)

    As the Bush administration spars with Congress and a federal judge over conducting an independent inquiry into the destroyed CIA torture tapes, defense attorneys for suspected Al-Qai’da terrorists ask another fed judge to turn over remaining evidence on Abu Zubaydah’s interrogation and the NY Times reveals four top administration lawyers discussed what to do over…

  • News and Analysis (12/18/07)

    Confirming MFI’s skeptical analysis about the validity of Abu Zubayah’s information and supposed rank, disputes between the FBI and CIA emerge over the tortured Al-Qai’da suspect: FBI, CIA Debate Significance of Terror Suspect (Washington Post) Fighting from some Senators derails last-minute attempt to cram through intelligence law bill granting retroactive immunity to telecoms: Telecom Immunity…

  • News and Analysis (12/17/07)

    Political, economic and security interests, as well as a more open political system allow Russian Muslims the ability to make the sacred hajj pilgrimage to Mecca: Putin Opens Mecca Path for Muslims (New York Times) King Abdullah pardons the “Girl of Qatif” gang rape victim of a 200-lash sentence, but the so-called justice system that…

  • News and Analysis (12/16/07)

    Big brother’s tentacles reach out for more executive power as Bush seeks to transform the Judge Advocate Generals into a politicized tool for the administration, pushes the Justice Department to squelch investigations on the destruction of CIA videotapes, and deepen its relationship with telecoms to spy on Americans: Control Sought On Military Lawyers (Boston Globe)…

  • News and Analysis (12/14/07)

    Sami Al-Arian and his defense team beat back government abuse of the grand jury system meant to coerce him into testifying against other Muslim organizations: Judge Drops Contempt Citation Against Al-Arian (New York Sun) As a New York Times editorial demands Congress take stronger action on falsified Iraq intelligence, warrantless wiretapping, and torture, the House finally…

  • Torture Revisited – The Case of Abu Zubaydah, Waterboarding and Kiriakou

    Recently, the Washington Post and CNN featured stories story summarizing the statements of a former CIA case officer, John Kiriakou, who claimed waterboarding “probably saved lives”, but also said he believed it constitutes torture and that Americans can “do better.” While it is very pleasing to hear a former intelligence with field experience like Kiriakou’s…

  • News and Analysis (12/13/07)

    After flouting international and US domestic law for almost six years, political winds have finally shifted against the Bush administration and the CIA as the Senate widens its investigations of the destroyed videotapes… C.I.A. Agents Sense Shifting Support for Methods (New York Times) Former CIA Chiefs to be Asked About Torture Tapes (Reuters) …however, answering…

  • News and Analysis (12/12/07)

    A federal appeals court rules a clause in 1996 counterterrorism law banning “material support or resources” to State Department-designated terrorist organizations is unconstitutionally vague: Appeals Court Strikes Down Parts of Anti-Terrorism Law (Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle) CIA Director Mike Hayden claims ignorance on who authorized the destruction of videotapes containing footage of Gitmo detainees’ torture…

  • News and Analysis (12/11/07)

    A former CIA official’s allegation that waterboarding was approved by top officials from the White House, the NSC Council and the Justice Department heats up the debate about whether “enhanced interrogation techniques” is a euphemism for torture: Water-boarding as Torture – or Not (BBC News) Agent: Waterboarding OK’ed at the Top (Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle)…

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