A landmark congressional report released today sheds new light on the coordination among the Bush White House and other high level government officials in the creation and implementation of torture policies. The report was released by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ) after being declassified by the government and is a result of the committee’s two-year long investigation into the Department of Defense’s (DOD) role in the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody.
“Once again, we are presented with clear-cut evidence that the Bush administration’s highest ranking officials were not only complicit in the use of torture, but were actively engaged in its implementation. It is now time to act on this evidence,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “We can no longer pretend there is any doubt that crimes were committed and the Justice Department should respond accordingly. No one is above the law. An independent prosecutor must be appointed to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.”
Congressional Report Reaffirms Involvement Of High Level Bush Officials In Torture Policies
Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown
Last week, we pointed out that one of the newly released Bush-era memos inadvertently confirmed that the CIA held an al-Qaeda suspect [1] named Hassan Ghul in a secret prison and subjected him to what Bush administration lawyers called "enhanced interrogation techniques." The CIA has never acknowledged holding Ghul, and his whereabouts today are secret.
But Ghul is not the only such prisoner who remains missing. At least three dozen others who were held in the CIA's secret prisons overseas appear to be missing as well. Efforts by human rights organizations to track their whereabouts have been unsuccessful, and no foreign governments have acknowledged holding them.
Ancestor of T rex found in China
Fossils found in China may give clues to the evolution of Tyrannosaurus rex.
Uncovered near the city of Jiayuguan, the fossil finds come from a novel tyrannosaur dubbed Xiongguanlong baimoensis. The fossils date from the middle of the Cretaceous period, and may be a "missing link", tying the familiar big T rex to its much smaller ancestors.
Lieberman: U.S. to accept any Israeli policy decision
The Obama Administration will put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office.
"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets.
Report: Abusive tactics were used to find Iraq-al Qaida link
The Bush administration put relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official and a former Army psychiatrist.
No evidence has ever been found of operational ties between Osama bin Laden's terrorist network and Saddam's regime.
In Adopting Harsh Tactics, No Inquiry Into Past Use
In a series of high-level meetings in 2002, without a single dissent from cabinet members or lawmakers, the United States for the first time officially embraced the brutal methods of interrogation it had always condemned.
This extraordinary consensus was possible, an examination by The New York Times shows, largely because no one involved investigated the gruesome origins of the techniques they were approving with little debate.
Anderson firm unveils 100-mpg hybrid
Anderson-based Bright Automotive got attention from the media, members of Congress and the administration when it unveiled today a hybrid electric vehicle capable of achieving 100 miles per gallon.
TVNL Comment: And 150 MPG cars have been around for quite some time...but the public is not allowed to know this because the auto industry conspires with the energy industry to rob you blind! Water powered engines have been around since the 60s....andf you can bet your life you will not see them sold in our lifetime...unless "we" win!
Citizens can challenge state, local gun laws
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that private citizens can challenge state and local gun laws by invoking the constitutional right to bear arms - the first such ruling in the nation - but upheld a ban on firearms at gun shows at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
Were Other Congress People - Besides Harman - Also Blackmailed By Bush Administration?
We know that Jane Harman was blackmailed by the Bush Administration into supporting illegal spying on Americans.
But Dave Lindorff asks a really good question: was Harman the only Congress person blackmailed by the Bush Administration? Or were others blackmailed as well?
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