President Eisenhower’s warned us about the growing threat from the powerful military-industrial complex – and it’s threat to our prosperity – 50 years ago.As NPR notes:On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about …
Posts Tagged ‘Guantánamo Bay’
“All In All It Appears That Eisenhower’s Worst Fears Have Been Realized And His Remarkable And Unique Warnings Given For Naught”
January 20th, 2011 |
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UK PM Cameron challenges Bush’s water boarding saved lives claim
November 11th, 2010 |
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Prime Minister David Cameron has challenged former US President George Bush”s claim that the use of water-boarding saved British lives. In his book Decision Point, published this week, Bush said the use of the technique – a kind of simulated drowning – on terror suspects “helped break up plots” to attack Heathrow and Canary Wharf. [...]
Wikileaks: Wiki Gaga
June 10th, 2010 |
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No technology can protect whistle-blowers from themselves
MUCH can be lost because of the loose talk of a 22-year-old. Wikileaks, an international publishing service for whistle-blowers, goes to extraordinary lengths to protect its sources, but it cannot control them. At the end of May the American army arrested Bradley Manning, who was said to be the source of a leaked video, shown on Wikileaks, revealing how soldiers in an Apache helicopter killed unarmed civilians in Iraq. Mr Manning, an intelligence analyst, apparently betrayed himself by boasting of his actions to a stranger in an e-mail. The case is a reminder that Wikileaks is only as robust as the humans who use it.
Julian Assange, an Australian former hacker, founded the service in 2007. It now has perhaps 800 volunteer technologists, activists and lawyers around the world. Media groups such as the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times provide legal advice. In addition to the Iraq footage, it has published evidence of corruption in Kenya, financial improprieties in Iceland, procedures for detainees in Guantanamo Bay and a string of Sarah Palin’s e-mails. It has been so well run that Daniel Ellsberg, an ex-Pentagon analyst who leaked an internal history of the Vietnam war in 1971, assumed on first sight that it was a honeypot run by American intelligence. …
Guantanamo prison stays despite Obama’s deadline
January 22nd, 2010 |
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US President Barack Obama’s self-imposed deadline to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorist suspects arrived Friday with 196 detainees still at the US naval base on the south-eastern coast of Cuba.
In Washington, the justice department announced late Thursday that two Algerians, Hasan Zemiri and Adil Hadi al-Jazairi bin Hamlili, were transferred from Guantanamo Bay [...]
A year later, Obama falters on pledge to shut Guantanamo
January 14th, 2010 |
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When President Barack Obama took office, one of his first acts was to order within a year the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison for holding suspects in the war on terrorism. The directive, which came two days after his inauguration, was welcomed worldwide after years of allegations that the prison violated civil rights.
Obama said [...]
Torture Is Continuing Under the Obama Administration, Creating More Terrorists and Further Destabilizing the Economy
January 11th, 2010 |
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As I pointed out in May 2008:The U.S. has imprisoned 2,500 children since 9/11 as “enemy combatants”, in violation of the Geneva Convention against classifying children as POWs …Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Seymour Hersh says that the U.S. Governm…
Supreme Court Ruling Means Torture May Return
December 14th, 2009 |
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The Supreme Court has just ruled that four Guantanamo prisoners cannot sue the government for torture. The Center for Constitutional Rights notes:It is an awful day for the rule of law and common decency when the Supreme Court lets stand such an inhuma…
Can Nobel Prize Winner Obama At LEAST Stop the Torture?
December 11th, 2009 |
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On Thursday, President Obama said: We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend.Presumably, complying with American and international law are some of the ideals that we fight to defend.Torture is a violation of both inte…
Former Gitmo detainee vows to drag Musharraf to court for illegal imprisonment
November 7th, 2009 |
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A former prisoner, who was kept behind bars at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay for six years, has vowed to lodge a criminal case against former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf for arresting him illegally.
Sami El-Haj, who is a journalist by profession and works for leading Arab television channel Al-Jazeera, said he is [...]
Afghanistan not In danger of falling to Taliban, says Obama’’s NSA
October 5th, 2009 |
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Afghanistan is not in imminent danger of falling to the Taliban, President Barack Obama’’s national security adviser, Lt. Gen. James Jones said Sunday as he downplayed worries that the insurgency could set up a renewed sanctuary for Al Qaeda.
Retired Gen. James Jones made the comments after eight U.S. soldiers were killed near the Pakistan border [...]
Photos of “9/11 plotter” hit web
September 10th, 2009 |
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The first images of alleged al-Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay have appeared on the internet. Mohammed appears with a long beard and wearing a white robe in the photos, taken in July by the Red Cross at the U.S. detention center in Cuba.
“U.S. supports transfer of Hague convicts”
August 27th, 2009 |
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Serbia has received clear approval from the U.S. to have Serbia citizens convicted by the Hague Tribunal transferred to serve their time in Serbia. According to Justice Minister Snežana Malović, this approval has nothing to do with the so-called “secret deal†to have convicts from Guantanamo Bay transferred to Serbia as well.
Iranian ex-MPs challenge Khamenei
August 14th, 2009 |
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A group of former Iranian MPs has appealed to a powerful clerical panel to investigate if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is fit to rule.
The call was made to the Assembly of Experts, which under Iranian law has the power to remove the supreme leader.
The letter denounces the crackdown on protests after June’s disputed election and the trials which followed.
Meanwhile a senior cleric has said a reformist leader should be prosecuted for alleging protesters had been raped.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said defeated election candidate Mehdi Karroubi’s remarks boosted Iran’s enemies, particularly the US and Israel.
Mr Karroubi has alleged that some protesters – male and female – were raped while detained in prison. He has also said that some were tortured to death.
"We expect the Islamic system to show an appropriate response to this"
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami
Officials have denied the rape allegations, but have admitted that abuses have taken place.
During his sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Khatami said Mr Karroubi’s claims were "full of libel, a total slander against the Islamic system" and he demanded he be prosecuted.
"We expect the Islamic system to show an appropriate response to this," Ayatollah Khatami said.
In earlier remarks reported by the Iranian ILNA news agency, he said: "If someone libels the system by saying that rape takes place in prisons, then he must either prove it or, if he cannot, then the system must press charges and the public prosecutor must act."
Former MPs’ letter
The content of the letter from the group of former MPs appeared on several opposition websites. The reports did name any of the group, nor say how many had signed the letter.
Addressed to former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, who heads the Assembly of Experts, it demands "a legal probe on the basis of Article 111 of the constitution, which is a responsibility of the Assembly of Experts".
The article says that if the supreme leader "becomes incapable of fulfilling his constitutional duties" he will be dismissed.
The letter denounced the recent trials of protesters held in Tehran as a "Stalinesque court".
It also said Kahrizak prison near Tehran, where much of the alleged abuse of detainees took place, was worse than the US facilities at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
There has so far been no response from the assembly to the letter.
However, correspondents say that even if the call is ignored, it is the most direct challenge to Ayatollah Khamenei so far.
The letter breaks a taboo among Iran’s political classes against openly challenging the supreme leader, whose position has long been unquestioned, analysts say.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won June’s poll, but opposition leaders and their supporters claimed the election had been rigged. Security forces crushed the mass protests that followed.
Hundreds were arrested and opposition leaders say 69 protesters died – more than double the official figure of about 30 fatalities.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
MI6 ‘is not complicit’ in torture
August 10th, 2009 |
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By Gordon Corera
BBC Security Correspondent
The head of MI6 has told the BBC there is no torture and "no complicity in torture" by the British secret service.
Sir John Scarlett said his officers were committed to human rights and liberal democracy, but also had to protect the UK against terrorism.
There has been growing concern about the role of the intelligence services in the mistreatment of suspects abroad.
The Joint Human Rights Committee of MPs and peers recently called for an independent inquiry into the matter.
In a highly critical report, the committee said there was now a "disturbing number of credible allegations" of British complicity in torture.
These allegations include the rendition and alleged abuse of British resident Binyam Mohamed from Pakistan to Morocco, prior to being taken to Guantanamo Bay.
However, the committee said it was unable to draw conclusions about the involvement of British officers because ministers and the head of the domestic security service MI5 refused to testify at parliamentary hearings on the claims.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating the role of MI5 in Mr Mohamed’s case.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has also said it has grave concerns that British officers were complicit in torture.
Independence
Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s programme MI6: A Century in Shadows, Sir John Scarlett defended the actions of his organisation, the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6.
"Our officers are as committed to the values and the human rights values of liberal democracy as anybody else," he said.
"They also have the responsibility of protecting the country against terrorism and these issues need to be debated and understood in that context," he added.
He denied that British intelligence services had been compromised by their close relationship with counterparts in the US.
"Our American allies know that we are our own service, that we are here to work for the British interests and the United Kingdom. We’re an independent service working to our own laws – nobody else’s – and to our own values."
He insisted there has been "no torture and there is no complicity with torture".
‘No regrets’
Sir John also discussed the controversy over the reliability of intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
At the time, he was the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, which had ownership of the 2002 dossier which contained the controversial claim that Saddam Hussein would be able to deploy weapons of mass destruction "within 45 minutes".
The newly launched Iraq Inquiry is expected to revisit the question of how the intelligence was presented in the dossier.
Citing the earlier Butler inquiry’s findings on the matter, Sir John acknowledged that "a number of the reports and reporting lines proved to be unreliable and had to be withdrawn".
"This of course is a regular issue in any kind of intelligence work and if you have lines, reporting chains if you like, then of course there are issues about how you validate them," he said.
Sir John said he had no regrets over the issue, but conceded that the episode had been "a difficult time for the service".
He will step down as the head of MI6 in November.
MI6: A Century in the Shadowsis a three part series for Radio 4.
The final episode,New Enemies,will be broadcast on Monday 10 August at 0900 BST and 2130 BST or listen again via iPlayer.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
MPs demand British torture investigation
August 4th, 2009 |
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A parliamentary committee has called for an independent inquiry into claims of UK security services’ complicity in the torture of terrorism suspects.
The Joint Human Rights Committee of MPs and peers said it was unable to establish whether British officers were involved in mistreatment of suspects.
It also criticised ministers and the head of MI5 for refusing to testify to a parliamentary probe into the claims.
A spokesman said the government would neither solicit nor encourage torture.
In a highly critical report, the joint parliamentary committee said there was now a "disturbing number of credible allegations" of British complicity in torture.
These allegations include the rendition and alleged abuse of British resident Binyam Mohammed from Pakistan to Morocco, prior to being taken to Guantanamo Bay.
"It is unacceptable both for Ministers to refuse to answer policy questions about the Security Services, and for the Director General of MI5 to answer questions from the press but not from a Parliamentary committee"
Andrew Dismore, committee chairman
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the role of one MI5 officer in Mr Mohamed’s case.
Last week the High Court revealed that the same officer visited Morocco three times during the period that Mr Mohamed says he was being secretly tortured there.
The committee also looked at other cases where British men, two of whom have been convicted of terror offences, say they were visited by British intelligence officers while they were detained and allegedly mistreated by Pakistani authorities.
But in all the cases, the parliamentary committee said it could not get to the facts because too many questions were not being properly answered.
It said that both the foreign secretary and home secretary, as well as the director general of MI5, had declined to give evidence on what was known about torture or mistreatment.
The ministers appeared "determined to avoid parliamentary scrutiny", said the report, and had batted away important questions with standardised answers.
Committee chairman Andrew Dismore MP said: "The allegations we have heard about UK complicity in torture are extremely serious.
"It is unacceptable both for ministers to refuse to answer policy questions about the Security Services, and for the director general of MI5 to answer questions from the press but not from a Parliamentary committee."
Revised guidance due
The prime minister has pledged to publish revised guidance to intelligence officers but Mr Dismore added: "General assertions of non-complicity are no longer an adequate response to the many detailed allegations.
"A more obvious case of outsourcing of torture, a more obvious case of passive rendition, I cannot imagine"
David Davis MP
Torture complicity: Key cases"An independent inquiry is the only way to get to the bottom of these stories, clear the air and make recommendations for the future conduct and management of the security services.
"The recent allegations should be a wake-up call to Ministers that the current arrangements are not satisfactory. We look to the Government to respond positively to our recommendations and not to continue to hide behind their wall of secrecy."
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "We also call on the government urgently to clarify what legally constitutes complicity in torture.
"All credible allegations of complicity in torture should be thoroughly investigated if public trust is to be restored."
A spokesman for the government rejected the call for an independent inquiry, saying that oversight was already sufficient.
"The government unreservedly condemns the use of torture as a matter of fundamental principle and works hard with its international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice worldwide," said the spokesman.
"The government has already made clear it is committed to publishing guidance to intelligence officers as well as asking the Intelligence and Security Committee to consider new developments on detention and rendition."
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hillary Clinton Pressured British Government To Not Reveal Details Of Gitmo Detainee’s Treatment
July 30th, 2009 |
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Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, warned David Miliband that America would consider cutting security co-operation with the UK if a British court releases information about a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, two judges have been told.
…
Guantanamo inmate to be released
July 30th, 2009 |
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The Obama administration says it will release Mohammed Jawad, who has been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp since 2002.
Earlier this month officials admitted that there was no military case for Mr Jawad’s continued detention.
But government lawyers had said they wished to keep him in detention pending a possible criminal prosecution.
The decision could set a precedent leading to the release of other Guantanamo inmates.
Torture
Mr Jawad was arrested in Afghanistan in December 2002, after being accused of throwing a grenade at a jeep and injuring two US soldiers and their interpreter.
His lawyers say he was 12 years old at the time of his arrest, although Pentagon officials say a bone scan indicates that he was actually 17.
Shortly after his arrest, he was transported to the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, where he is still being held.
MOHAMMED JAWAD- Charged in Afghanistan in December 2002 for allegedly attacking a US military jeep
- Claims his confession was obtained using torture
- US government’s case against him described by a judge as "riddled with holes"
His lawyers campaigned for his release, arguing that his confession had been obtained by Afghan officials using torture.
In October 2008, a military judge ruled the confession inadmissible and on 16 July, Judge Huvelle described the US government’s case against Mr Jawad as "an outrage" that was "riddled with holes".
On Friday US authorities said they no longer considered him to be a military prisoner.
But they also said that they intended to construct a criminal case against Mr Jawad, and that he should remain in detention while they did so.
The administration’s U-turn means that Mr Jawad will now be sent back home to Afghanistan.
Officials say it will take three weeks for him to be transferred, although his lawyers are demanding his immediate transfer.
Obama pledge
"After seven years of injustice this was a victory for the rule of law," said Major Eric Montalvo, a lawyer for Mr Jawad.
"Finally we’ve turned the corner on Guantanamo," he told the BBC’s Jonathan Beale in Washington.
Observers say the decision could mean that other Guantanamo detainees will also be released.
Shortly after entering the White House, US President Barack Obama pledged to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Since making the pledge, administration officials have been reviewing the case files of Guantanamo detainees in an attempt to determine which prisoners should face criminal trials, which should face military commissions, which should be released and which can neither be tried nor released.
Mr Obama said he wanted the camp closed by January 2010. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ireland to take Guantanamo men
July 29th, 2009 |
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The Irish government has said it will allow two inmates being freed from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to live in Ireland.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern made the announcement on Wednesday after a meeting with US Ambassador Dan Rooney.
Mr Ahern says Irish officials visited Washington and Guantanamo last week and identified two men who could be resettled in Ireland within the next two months.
The men are understood to be Uzbeks.
It comes six months after President Barack Obama asked European countries to help find new homes for released inmates.
So far, few countries have agreed to take ex-Guantanamo prisoners who say they cannot return safely to their homelands.
Persecution
Amnesty International in Ireland has been running a campaign for Uzbek national Oybek Jamoldinivich Jabbarov to be allowed to come to Ireland.
He has been cleared for release from Guantanamo, but cannot return to Uzbekistan for fear of torture and persecution.
His lawyer, Michael Mone, told a US congressional committee hearing last year that Mr Jabbarov was living with his elderly mother and pregnant wife as refugees in northern Afghanistan when he was captured in 2001 and later transferred to the detention centre on Cuba.
The Uzbek had not been involved in fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance and was most likely handed over for a bounty, he said.
In June, Ireland’s then Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said they had told US authorities Ireland would accept two detainees to help close the detention facility, and two Uzbek nationals had been identified by the US.
The men will probably be given "leave to remain" status in Ireland.
Amnesty International said that Mr Jabbarov’s wife and child were in a refugee camp in Pakistan and that he would be able to apply for them to join him.
US President Barak Obama has said Guantanamo Bay prison will close by 22 January 2010.
It was set up in January 2002 to hold suspects deemed to be "enemy combatants". </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.