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11 Apr 2011 10:59

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World: Key differences in style: The Bush CIA vs. the Obama CIA

  • Bush The CIA became known for its heavy detention and interrogation policies — and drew lots of controversy for some of them, like bringing detainees to Guantanamo Bay and stuff.
  • Obama Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, the CIA has largely left this strategy behind. “The CIA is out of the detention and interrogation business,” said one U.S. official not speaking on the record. source
  • » Whaddya mean you don’t want to talk? A great example of this is the case of Umar Patek, the main suspect in a 2002 nightclub bombing in Indonesia that killed 202 people. Seven of those people were Americans — and Patek himself possesses a wealth of knowledge about groups linked to al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia. But the CIA has taken a hands-off approach to Patek. They haven’t even bothered to interrogate him. That’s the key thing here — while the CIA certainly has a bunch of detainees from the Bush era that they don’t know what to do with, they’re not actively trying to pick up any new ones, it seems.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Oct 2010 11:12

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U.S.: Judge: Government can’t use major witness in civilian terror trial

  • whatJust before the start of a domestic terror trial in New York City, a judge said the prosecution could not use a key witness.
  • whyApparently the government learned about the witness from the defendant himself during a crazy interrogation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Nov 2009 12:18

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U.S., World: The U.S. still has an operational secret prison in Afghanistan

  • The black jail was the most dangerous and fearful place. They don’t let the ICRC officials or any other civilians see or communicate with the people they keep there. Because I did not know what time it was, I did not know when to pray.
  • Detained Kandahar spare-parts dealer Hamidullah • Describing the scary situation he faced when he was held at a secret prison at the Bagram Air Base. Hamidullah, who doesn’t use a last name, faced a windowless concrete cell lit by a single light bulb and twice-daily interrogation sessions – the only contact he had with the outside world. Obama had shut many of these secret prisons down in January, but his order only applied to those run by the CIA. This prison is run by Special Ops forces. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2009 10:00

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U.S.: Slow morning? Read this CIA report on interrogation abuses

Ignore your boss. Ignore your job. Get a cup of Joe and read through a heavily-redacted report. Sounds like our kind of morning. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2009 18:12

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Politics, U.S.: Dick Cheney rebuffs criticism from CIA leader Leon Panetta

  • I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted. The important
    thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the past eight years.
  • Former Vice President Dick Cheney • On CIA head Leon Panetta’s calling out of Cheney for apparent questionable motives in his sudden re-emergence into the public eye. We want to see which of these old guys would win in a no-holds-barred cage match. We’re guessing Cheney because he would probably start biting first. By the way, John McCain has Cheney’s back in this case. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2009 10:35

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Politics, U.S.: The CIA’s Leon Panetta: What’s up with Dick Cheney’s motives?

  • When you read behind it, it’s almost as if he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that’s dangerous politics.
  • CIA Director Leon Panetta • Criticizing former Vice President Dick Cheney for his approach to politics. In other news, Panetta fired Mitchell Jessen & Associates, the psychologist-led firm that suggested they start using the harsh interrogation techniques Cheney supports. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

21 May 2009 22:01

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Politics, U.S.: Visualized key points of Cheney’s vein-poppin’ speech

Cheney text cloud
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 May 2009 21:13

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U.S.: Nancy Pelosi: I knew about waterboarding, but they lied to Congress

  • The House Speaker is informed of harsh interrogation techniques by the C.I.A., including the use of waterboarding, the cruelest form of punishment ever. source
  • Pelosi, on the hot seat about what she knew, admits this much but says they were dishonest about the extent of the interrogation methods to Congress. Hm. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Apr 2009 20:28

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U.S.: Obama administration: The CIA was bad, but we won’t punish them

  • The decision The Obama administration chose not to prosecute CIA officials who admitted to harsh interrogation tactics against terror suspects during the Bush administration, a controversial decision but one the Obama administration is standing behind. source
  • The decision The Obama administration chose not to prosecute CIA officials who admitted to harsh interrogation tactics against terror suspects during the Bush administration, a controversial decision but one the Obama administration is standing behind.
  • The gory details The tactics used – and more importantly, signed off on – during the Bush administration include slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding (which is not as fun as the name suggests) and leaving suspects naked in cold rooms for long periods. source
  • The decision The Obama administration chose not to prosecute CIA officials who admitted to harsh interrogation tactics against terror suspects during the Bush administration, a controversial decision but one the Obama administration is standing behind.
  • The gory details The tactics used – and more importantly, signed off on – during the Bush administration include slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding (which is not as fun as the name suggests) and leaving suspects naked in cold rooms for long periods.
  • Critics rebuffed Obama, while understanding the concerns of human rights organizations and critical of the interrogation methods, nevertheless defended the decision. “Nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past,” he said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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