torture

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House Passes Ban on CIA Waterboarding

Interrogations must meet Geneva standards under bill

(Newser) - The House of Representatives today approved a bill that would forbid the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods, including waterboarding, Reuters reports. The measure follows revelations that the agency destroyed tapes showing al Qaeda suspects subjected to simulated drowning. But the bill still has to pass the Senate, and has...

Congress Kept in Dark, CIA Chief Admits

Hayden backtracks after 'stunning' closed-door committee testimony

(Newser) - CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden acknowledged today that the agency did not inform Congress about the creation or destruction of videotapes of harsh interrogations of al-Qaeda detainees, the New York Times reports. “We could have done an awful lot better at keeping the committee alert and informed,” Hayden...

CIA Chief Sheds Little Light on Tapes

Hayden grilled by Senate panel, says videos predate him

(Newser) - Senators grilled CIA chief Michael Hayden for 90 minutes today, but his appearance behind closed doors shed little light on the agency's destruction of interrogation videotapes, the AP reports. Hayden's session was "useful and not yet complete," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller of the intelligence panel. Afterward, Hayden said...

Ex-CIA Agent: Waterboarding Useful Torture

He saw a key prisoner break in 35 seconds; intel saved many lives

(Newser) - The highly controversial use of waterboarding in terrorist interrogations has "probably saved lives" but is torture, a former CIA officer told ABC News last night and the Today show this morning. John Kiriakou watched a prisoner break down under waterboarding in 35 seconds, he said, and "from that...

Biden Calls for CIA Video Probe
Biden Calls for CIA Video Probe
Dec 10, 2007 3:00 AM CST

Biden Calls for CIA Video Probe

CIA chief to testify before Congress tomorrow

(Newser) - Sen. Joe Biden has called for Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special counsel to investigate the CIA's destruction of videos of interrogations of suspected terrorists. Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cited Mukasey's unwillingness, during confirmation hearings, to take a stand on whether waterboarding is...

Gitmo Inmate Charges 'Ruthless' Torture by CIA

Attorneys demand court safeguard evidence

(Newser) - Attorneys representing a former US resident detained in Guantanamo have demanded a court order preventing the CIA from destroying evidence of what they call "ruthless application" of "state-sanctioned torture" of their client. The court action details specific acts of torture of Majid Khan, 27, one of 14 so-called...

Chicago to Pay $20M in Cop Torture Cases

Inmates say police tortured them into confessions in '70s

(Newser) - The city of Chicago has agreed to pay almost $20 million to settle lawsuits by four black men who alleged they were tortured into false confessions by police, the New York Times reports. The settlement with the former death row inmates, pardoned in 2003, "speaks volumes about the seriousness...

CIA Uses Jordan to Detain, Interrogate Prisoners

At least 12 terror suspects have been held, possibly tortured

(Newser) - The CIA has been using the Jordanian spy agency to secretly hold, interrogate, and possibly torture terrorism suspects, reports the Washington Post. At least 12 suspects have been detained near Amman before being shipped to Guantanamo and other prisons, says the report, based on interviews with former prisoners and human...

The Cheney Behind Cheney
The Cheney Behind Cheney
Nov 25, 2007 3:19 PM CST

The Cheney Behind Cheney

VP's chief of staff is architect of some of his most extreme positions

(Newser) - A new book by former Bush insider Jack Goldstein, The Terror Presidency, spotlights David Addington, the reclusive counsel and key player to Dick Cheney. Called "Cheney's Cheney" in some circles, Addington has designed some of the White House's most controversial policies, including rendition, warrantless wiretapping, and the use of...

CIA Sat on Tapes of Al Qaeda Questionings

Agency told court no recordings existed during trial of Moussaoui

(Newser) - Though it twice declared otherwise in court, the CIA has three video and audio recordings of high-level al Qaeda interrogations, federal prosecutors revealed yesterday. The defense team for convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui requested the tapes, but the CIA denied their existence. The tapes probably won’t undo Moussaoui’s conviction—...

Bush Criticizes Mukasey Inquisitors

Senators asked AG nominee 'unfair questions' on torture

(Newser) - Interrogation techniques held the spotlight today as President Bush accused Senate Democrats of asking attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey "unfair" questions about waterboarding and torture. Bush claimed Mukasey "doesn't know whether we use that technique or not," and lauded the candidate for not telling "an enemy...

Mukasey Calls Waterboarding 'Repugnant,' Dodges Legality

AG nominee's 'massive hedge' worries critics

(Newser) - Attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey frustrated senators on both sides of the aisle by again refusing to specify whether he considers waterboarding a form of torture, calling it only "repugnant," CNN reports. "Hypotheticals are different from real life," Mukasey wrote to confirmation committee members yesterday, adding...

What's Torture? Don't Ask a Med Student

25% would inject saline in detainee who thinks it's lethal, says study

(Newser) - Many medical students don't know the Geneva conventions enough to identify torture techniques, Time reports. More than a third say it's okay to threaten removal of a prisoner's food or water, and more than 25% would inject a saline solution into a detainee who believes it's lethal. A recent study...

Mukasey Hits Resistance on Torture
Mukasey Hits Resistance
on Torture
Oct 27, 2007 6:47 AM CDT

Mukasey Hits Resistance on Torture

Dems balk over AG nominee's refusal to rule out waterboarding

(Newser) - If AG nominee Michael Mukasey doesn't clarify his views on which interrogation techniques are constitutional, Democratic senators say they may oppose his confirmation. Proceedings that were expected to be smooth sailing ran into trouble this week when Mukasey, who has denounced the use of torture, declined to specify whether he...

FBI Probes Terror Cases Muddied by CIA

Data culled by torture may be tossed out of court, feds fear

(Newser) - The FBI is probing Guantanamo Bay cases that the CIA has muddied by using torture, the Los Angeles Times reports. Up to 300 FBI agents are now interviewing Al Qaeda chiefs, including mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, seeking data that's admissable in court. Says one expert, "I think there's no...

UK Probes Charges That CIA Used Brit Prison for Torture

(Newser) - British officials will investigate persistent claims that the CIA secretly interrogated terrorism suspects at a UK prison in the Indian Ocean, the Guardian reports. Authorities have repeatedly questioned American officials, who deny the reports. But an organization representing detainees insists the claims are true, adding that the British may be...

Mukasey Silent on Torture, Vocal on Spying

AG nominee's testimony a "massive hedge," says Democratic senator

(Newser) - Michael Mukasey remained mum today on whether interrogation methods such as waterboarding constitute torture. But the president’s nominee for attorney general spoke out in favor of the White House’s eavesdropping program, the NY Times reports, frustrating and confusing Democrats on the second day of his confirmation hearings. Mukasey...

Myanmar Junta: 'You Are No Longer Monks'

Prisoners recount abject conditions after peaceful protests

(Newser) - Buddhist monks rounded up in protests in Myanmar faced torturous conditions, a recent detainee told Reuters. During days of interrogation, monks were beaten and denied medical treatment, water, and toilets. Prisoners were stripped of their iconic robes. “You are no longer a monk,” a guard told the prisoner,...

WWII Vets Slam US 'Torture' Techniques

Vet says chess, ping-pong were old grilling tricks

(Newser) - Silent for 60 years, a handful of WWII vets are admitting their old interrogation tricks — and slamming alleged torture techniques used by the US today. Almost two dozen ex-fighters met for a ceremony by the Potomac yesterday, the Washington Post reports, but one refused the award, protesting the Iraq...

Bush Reiterates: US Doesn’t 'Torture People'

President denies breaking law in wake of document revelations

(Newser) - Faced with newly disclosed Justice Department memos, President Bush once again denied the US tortures detainees, saying today that interrogation techniques save American lives, comply with “international obligations” and are fully disclosed to “appropriate members” of Congress. He said of detainees, “you bet we are going to...

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