Many people — ordinary citizens and high-ranking government officials alike — tacitly view the torture issue as a moral dilemma. They acknowledge that the practice is morally repugnant, but they also assume that it is a fast and effective method for securing vital information that cannot otherwise be obtained.
Prompted by the release of the Hollywood film “Zero Dark Thirty,” the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative Washington think tank, hosted a panel a few weeks back on the subject of “enhanced interrogation techniques” (EITs). The panelists were three high-ranking officials of the Central Intelligence Agency from the administration of George W. Bush. Gen. Michael […]
This film is riveting. It is a fictional look at the hunt for and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden, the man who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Jessica Chastain rightfully won the best actress in a drama at the Golden Globes. She has also […]
With the opening of “Zero Dark Thirty” this week, many have condemned the depiction of torture in the film — and debates have resurfaced about the “enhanced interrogation” of suspected terrorists by the United States to find Osama bin Laden. What gets left out of these discussions is the role that a deplorable espionage tactic played in […]
On 2 March, the UN Human Rights Council released an extensive report (over 200 pages) covering extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians by armed parties in Libya. The report details activity undertaken by pro and anti-Gaddafi forces, as well as NATO’s air campaign. As most would agree, the Human Rights Council […]
News from Libya that torture is occurring in state and militia-administered detention facilities is horrific, but should be of little surprise. Amnesty International’s recent statements assert that torture is a wide-spread practice in Libya and has resulted in several deaths. The statements further that no investigations are occurring. Add to these statements a recent announcement by Medecins Sans […]
As in other countries swept up by the “Arab Spring” movement which was initially born in Tunisia following the immolation of Mohamed Bou’azizi, a simple fruit seller driven to despair by the repressive and corrupt Tunisian regime; the Media has been playing an important role in the coverage of Yemen’s very own uprising. Used by […]
Remember when everyone in power claimed that prosecuting terrorists in federal court would inevitably lead to a breakdown in national security? That by providing accused terrorists with constitutional rights like habeas corpus we would be advancing our own undoing? While there are still those that agree with that position, it is also important to note […]
Lynndie England became infamous around the world in 2004, when photos of her and other U.S. soldiers humiliating and torturing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison became public. In 2005, the then 22-year-old England received a three-year sentence for her role in the abuses. She was paroled after 521 days of serving her term and […]
A recent Facebook video has documented prisoner abuse by the Pakistani Army. This, needless to say, will not help Pakistan’s efforts to stem its Taliban insurgency in the Northwest Frontier Province, nor will it help America’s mission in the region. Regardless of the morality of torturing and abusing prisoners of war (and, to put it […]
Myanmar – There seems to be a lot in the news lately concerning the “hermit kingdom” of the south. On Monday, the Burmese PM met with U.S. Senator Jim Webb, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. Webb, in a continuation of the new pragmatic Obama foreign policy for SE Asia, […]
This past week at the UN-backed Tribunal in Cambodia, survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s infamous Tuol Sleng ‘S-21’ facility gave chilling accounts of the tortures they endured and witnessed – and in two cases, how their artwork saved them. The testimony comes as part of the trial of the former head of internal security and […]
The re-release of a May 2004 internal CIA report on the agency’s secret detention and interrogation program was again delayed this afternoon, CNN reports. The document has been requested by the ACLU as part of its ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. It is a report regarding then CIA inspector general John L. Helgerson’s May […]