CIA Shifts Reasons for Torture Secrets
Last month, the CIA told a federal court judge it could not abide by a court order and turn over detailed documents about the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes because it would compromise the integrity of a special prosecutor’s criminal investigation into the matter. U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein responded by demanding a […]
Yoo, Rumsfeld and the Torture of Prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan
On Jan. 17, 2003, Mary Walker, the Air Force general counsel, received an urgent memo from the Pentagon’s top attorney. Attached to the classified document was a set of directives drafted two days earlier by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. “Establish a working group within the Department of Defense to assess the legal, policy and […]
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Win of Iran’s Election Sparks Riots
Ahmadinejad has been re-elected as president of Iran with a substantial poll win. With 80 % of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had 65% of the vote against 32% for his main rival Mousavi. Mousavi had claimed victory earlier, at the closing of the polls and has complained about large scale voting irregularities. Nobody was expecting […]
UN Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution on North Korea
Opinion by Gilbert Mercier, News Junkie Editor The UN Security council, today, unanimously adopted Resolution 1874. The 15 members body strongly condemned the 25 May nuclear test conducted by North Korea in ” violation and flagrant disregard” of previous resolutions ( 1695 & 1718). It also demanded that North Korea, “not conduct any further nuclear […]
ACLU Files Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of Secret Documents On Torture
On Thursday, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in New York seeking the disclosure of still-secret records relating to the torture of prisoners held by the US overseas. The requested documents include legal memos authored by John Yoo & Steven Bradbury as well as document sent by the Bush administration to the CIA. The government has […]
