Report: CIA officer concerned they would wind up on 'wanted list,' before war crimes court --Report reveals agents' doubts about whether their actions were legal --Only two weeks' training for CIA interrogators 26 Aug 2009 New details about the treatment of terror suspects in the wake of 9/11 contradict old assurances from former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney that interrogators were "highly trained professionals" who well knew the boundaries of the law. Often, they had received barely two weeks' training and sometimes made up the rules as they went along. Torture details: 'We're going to kill your children.' ..."The debriefer entered the cell where Al-Nashiri sat shackled and racked the handgun once or twice close to Al-Nashiri's head. On what was probably the same day, the debriefer... revved the drill while the detainee stood naked and hooded." ... One officer expressed concern that one day officers would wind up on a 'wanted list' to appear before a war crimes court due to [their] activities.
Report Shows Tight C.I.A. Control on Interrogations --The harsh treatment began with the "attention slap," and for three prisoners of the nearly 100 who passed through the program, the endpoint was waterboarding. 26 Aug 2009 The Central Intelligence Agency’s secret interrogation program operated under strict rules, and the rules were dictated from Washington with the painstaking, eye-glazing detail beloved by any bureaucracy. Managers, doctors and lawyers not only set the program’s parameters but dictated every facet of a detainee’s daily routine, monitoring interrogations on an hour-by-hour basis. From their Washington offices, they obsessed over the smallest details... Lawyers at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, likewise, were immersed in the details of investigations.
CIA agents threatened child killing and rape 24 Aug 2009 The self-'confessed' mastermind of the September 11th bombings in the US was threatened with the deaths of his children by CIA interrogators. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was told if there were another terrorist attack in the US his children would be killed. According to a declassified document released by the US Justice Department, another suspect was told his mother would be raped in front of him. [How could KSM 'control' terror attacks on US soil? It wasn't KSM that ordered NORAD to 'stand down' on 9/11 and to 'pull' WTC 7 -- that was Bush and 'Lucky Larry.' Bush/Cheney controlled the terror attacks -- including the Fort Detrick anthrax attacks -- on US soil. --LRP]
Full text: CIA internal report on interrogation methods 25 Aug 2009 On Monday, the US Justice Department released a declassified version of a 2004 internal CIA report, entitled "Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities" (September 2001 - October 2003).
Deaths, Missing Detainees Still Blacked Out in New CIA Report --Inspector General Reportedly Discovered Three Died, Many Unaccounted For by CIA 25 Aug 2009 The CIA and the Obama Administration continue to keep secret some of the most shocking allegations involving the spy agency's interrogation program: three deaths and several other detainees prisoners whose whereabouts could not be determined, according to a former senior intelligence official who has read the full, unredacted version. Of the 109 pages in the 2004 report, 36 were completely blacked out in the version made public Monday, and another 30 were substantially redacted for "national security" reasons. The blacked-out portions hide the Inspector General's findings on the circumstances that led to the deaths of at least three of the detainees in the CIA's program, the official said.
Special prosecutor named to look into interrogations 25 Aug 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder appointed a special prosecutor Monday to determine whether CIA interrogators or contractors should be criminally investigated for the alleged torture of post-Sept. 11 terrorism prisoners. The announcement came shortly after the release of a 2004 CIA inspector general's report that documented abuses by interrogators who exceeded even the authority granted by the Bush administration Justice Department to use "enhanced interrogation techniques," including waterboarding, which is considered torture. Holder said that in appointing John Durham, a longtime federal prosecutor in Connecticut who also is investigating the CIA's destruction of videotapes of interrogations, he was following the recommendations of a still-secret report by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility.
Cheney Slams Obama Administration Decision --Strong Words From the Former VP on the Attorney General's Decision to Appoint a Prosecutor to Review CIA Interrogators 25 Aug 2009 Former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney slammed the Obama administration for its decision to appoint a prosecutor to review and investigate whether CIA interrogators violated U.S. torture statutes and questioned its ability to protect the nation's security.
Cheney Slams Obama Administration for Opening Investigation of CIA Interrogators 25 Aug 2009 Former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney slammed the Obama Administration for its decision to appoint a prosecutor to review and investigate whether CIA interrogators violated US torture statues and questioned its ability to protect the nation’s security.
Satire: Cheney: We Did Not Use Electric Drill to Force Tom Ridge to Increase Terror Alert --'That little snitch popped it up to orange alert without needing persuasion.' By R J Shulman 26 Aug 2009 Former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney lashed out at those that assert he used so-called enhanced interrogation to force former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to increase the national security-threat level before important elections. "That little snitch popped it up to orange alert without needing persuasion," Cheney said, "although, he did scream like a little girl when I showed him that Photoshopped picture of him and Larry Craig in Minneapolis." (Satire)
Rep. King On Probe: 'It's Bulls---' 25 Aug 2009 Long Island Rep. Pete King (R-Sociopath) tells Ben Smith over at Politico that "it's bulls---" that the Justice Department has decided to open an investigation -- however narrowly focused -- on CIA interrogation abuses. "It’s bulls***. It’s disgraceful," King said, adding that this is a "declaration of war against the CIA, and against common sense."
Republicans Denounce 'Witch Hunt' of CIA Interrogators 25 Aug 2009 Leading Republicans denounced Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s decision to appoint a prosecutor to investigate alleged abuses torture of roughly a dozen detainees prisoners under a Bush-era CIA policy, as top Democrats expressed mixed views on Monday's actions by the Obama administration and some worried that the Justice Department probe would not go far enough.
Barack Obama continues rendition 26 Aug 2009 The Obama administration will continue the Bush regime's policy of "extraordinary rendition" - sending terrorism suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation - but has pledged to closely monitor the program to ensure those held are not tortured, reports say. The decision will allow the US to continue the transfer of prisoners for interrogation to countries with a history of torture. The Obama administration was condemned yesterday by human rights groups who said promises from other countries of humane treatment was no protection against abuse. As a presidential candidate, US President Barack Obama had strongly suggested he might end the practice. [But, alas alak, Obama broke this promise, too. --LRP]
Top Iran reformist in alleged links with UK intelligence 25 Aug 2009 Saeed Hajjarian, a premier reformist strategist who was disabled in a 2000 assassination attempt, has been accused of having links with the British intelligence service. During the fourth round of the mass trials held for those arrested during Iran's post-election violence, the co-founder of Iran's main reformist party, the Islamic Participation Front, was linked to renowned political theorist John Keane, Open Society Institute's George Soros and German philosopher Jurgen Habermas. "Hajjarian has twice met with John Keane, the British mastermind connected to MI5," the prosecution said. Hajjarian, the prosecutor said, had met well-known philosopher and sociologist Jurgen Habermas, who is famous for the theory of Civil disobedience.
$2m witness payment, bogus forensic evidence and Pentagon memo blaming Iran: How Lockerbie bomber appeal threatened Scottish justice 24 Aug 2009 As the political furore over the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi engulfs three countries in bitter recriminations, The Mail on Sunday can now reveal the new and compelling evidence which he says would have proved his innocence. In a submission to the Court of Appeal running to thousands of words, Megrahi’s lawyers list 20 grounds of appeal which include: Details of a catalogue of deliberately undisclosed evidence at the original trial. Allegations of 'tampering' with evidence. A summary of how American intelligence agencies were convinced that Iran, not Libya, was involved but that their reports were not open to the 2001 trial.
Four US soldiers killed, making 2009 deadliest year for Nato in Afghanistan --Number of coalition deaths rises to 295, compared with 294 in whole of 2008 25 Aug 2009 Four US soldiers with the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force were killed today in Afghanistan, making 2009 the deadliest year for coalition troops since operations began. These latest deaths bring the number of Nato soldiers killed since the start of the year to 295. In 2008, there were 294 coalition deaths.
Afghanistan 'needs more US troops' [like a hole in the head or the light brown apple moth] 24 Aug 2009 US military commanders in Afghanistan have told the US special envoy to the region that they need more troops to bring security to the country, a report in The New York Times has said. The military chiefs gave their assessment to Richard Holbrooke during his visit to regional command centres in Afghanistan over the past two days, the newspaper reported on Sunday.
Massive truck bomb kills dozens in Kandahar 25 Aug 2009 A massive truck bomb has killed 36 civilians in the major Afghan city of Kandahar as violence by the 'insurgency' continues to intensify. The truck bomb ripped through 10 residential buildings near the offices of the Kandahar provincial council in the center of the city Tuesday night. More than five dozen people were also wounded.
Iraqi suspect: It cost $10,000 to pass checkpoints 24 Aug 2009 Attackers paid $10,000 to get a bomb-laden truck past checkpoints and next to the Iraqi Finance Ministry in last week's attacks, one of the suspected masterminds said in a confession broadcast Sunday. The attackers paid $10,000 to a [an Xe] facilitator who knew the Iraqi security forces manning the checkpoints on the roads from Muqdadiyah to the Finance Ministry, 57-year-old suspect, Wisam Ali Khazim Ibrahim, said.
Your tax dollars at work: Israel Makes Waves by Simulating an Earthquake --Experiment financed by DoD 25 Aug 2009 The Seismologic Division of the Ministry of National Infrastructure's Geophysical Institute will attempt to simulate an earthquake in the southern Negev on Thursday. The experiment, financed by the U.S. Defense Department, is a joint project with the University of Hawaii and is part of a scientific project intended to improve seismological and acoustic readings in Israel and its environs, up to a 1,000 km/621 mile radius.
Health scare sent to 1,800 veterans 25 Aug 2009 More than 1,800 Gulf War veterans were sent letters from the Veterans Administration this month informing them that they had Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal neurological disease. But at least some of the letters -- and the diagnoses -- were a mistake. Jim Bunker, president of the National Gulf War Resource Center, said VA officials told him the letters dated Aug. 12 were the result of a computer coding error that mistakenly labeled the veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Half of GPs refuse swine flu vaccine over testing fears --Of those who said they did not want to jab, 71 per cent said it was because of safety concerns. 25 Aug 2009 Up to half of family doctors do not want to be vaccinated against swine flu. GPs will be first in the line for the jabs when they become available but many will decline, even though they will be offering the vaccine to their patients. More than two thirds of those who will turn the jab down believe it has not been tested enough. A week ago, a poll of nurses showed that a third would turn down the opportunity of being vaccinated against swine flu.
Feds to launch massive propaganda campaign on 'safety' of swine flu vaccines --The federal government will spend about $16 million on outreach propaganda to convince people of the 'need' to get the swine flu vaccine. 25 Aug 2009 Federal authorities plan to launch a massive campaign in the coming weeks to convince Americans to get the swine flu vaccine and to erase any public skepticism about the flu's danger and the safety of immunizations. Even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has manufacturers working overtime to produce a vaccine for the swine flu by mid-October, government officials are concerned [!?!] that demand for immunization will not be high.
CDC's Advice: Swine Flu Shots for All 25 Aug 2009 The first swine flu precaution that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests for parents: As soon as a vaccine is available, try to get it for everyone in your family. "We're going to continue to stress that the vaccine is the most important thing that parents can do to protect their children," said Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman [We'll pass on the mercury-laden, squalene-filled, Polysorbate 80 cancer sticks, manufactured (along with the pandemic itself) with legal immunity granted on 17 July, to enhance Barack Opharma's corpora-terrorists' coffers.]
Swine flu could cause as many as 90,000 US deaths: WHouse --Epidemic's resurgence could 'produce infection of 30-50 percent of the US population this fall and winter' 24 Aug 2009 Swine flu could infect as much as half of the US population this fall and winter and cause up to 90,000 deaths, President Barack Obama's 'science' advisors warned Monday. Laying out a "plausible scenario" for the epidemic's impact in the United States, the report painted a grim picture of stress on the US health care system as it struggles to cope with a flood of flu patients.
Obama reappoints Bernanke as Fed chairman --Bernanke was selected as Federal Reserve chairman by George W Bush in 2005 24 Aug 2009 US President Barack Obama has awarded Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke a second term, charging him with steering the US economy out of the worst slump since the 1930s. Obama suddenly interrupted his vacation on the resort island of Martha's Vineyard to make the announcement on Tuesday, reasoning that Bernanke had led the Fed through "one of the worst financial crises that this nation and this world have ever faced.''
Fed Must Release Reports on Emergency Bank Loans, Judge Says 25 Aug 2009 The Federal Reserve must make records about emergency lending to financial institutions public within five days because it failed to convince a judge the documents should be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska rejected the central bank’s argument that the records aren’t covered by the law because their disclosure would harm borrowers' competitive positions.
Remember Me? Wall Street Repackages Toxic Debt 24 Aug 2009 Wall Street may have discovered a way out from under the bad debt and risky mortgages that have clogged the financial markets. The would-be solution probably sounds familiar: It's a lot like what got banks in trouble in the first place. In recent months investment banks have been repackaging old mortgage securities and offering to sell them as new products, a plan that's nearly identical to the complicated investment packages at the heart of the market's collapse.
'Stress' is shrinking polar bears 25 Aug 2009 Polar bears have shrunk over the last century, according to research. Scientists compared bear skulls from the early 20th Century with those from the latter half of the century. Their study, in the Journal of Zoology, describes changes in size and shape that could be linked an increase in pollution and the reduction in sea ice. Physical "stress" caused by pollutants in the bears' bodies, and the increased effort needed to find food, could limit the animals' growth, the team said. The researchers used the skulls as indicators of body size. The skulls from the later period were between two and 9% smaller.
With Bat Extinctions Looming, 1.5 Million Dead, Group Says Feds Must Make Saving Bats First Priority (Center for Biological Diversity) 24 Aug 2009 Mounting evidence that several species of bats have been all but eliminated from the Northeast due to a new disease known as white-nose syndrome prompted a conservation group to send a letter today to Sam Hamilton, the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, urging that action on the bat epidemic be his first priority.
Quick action! Bats Need Urgent Help, Contact Fish and Wildlife 24 Aug 2009 Bats are on a clear trajectory toward oblivion. For months, the Center for Biological Diversity has warned that the bat crisis is dire while calling for more funding to try to determine what, exactly, is killing America's bats -- and how the disease can be stopped. We spearheaded an effort to send a letter to every member of Congress, pleading for action and more resources for this wildlife catastrophe... Please send a message today urging Fish and Wildlife Service director Sam Hamilton to create a white-nose syndrome plan immediately to prevent the complete unraveling of America's bat populations.
Previous lead stories: 'We could get your mother in here. We can bring your family in here.' CIA told suspect his mother would be raped in front of him 24 Aug 2009 An internal CIA reported published today reveals a host of incidents in which its interrogators went far beyond acceptable bounds, such as threats against family members, including hinting that an [alleged] al-Qaida suspect's mother would be raped in front of him. Interrogators, questioning 'al-Qaida' and other suspects at Guantánamo and secret prisons round the world, took a power drill and a handgun into the interrogation room, and also staged a mock execution in a cell next door. The CIA document, which the agency fought for years to prevent publication of, says that Saudi terror suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was told that if he did not talk, "we could get your mother in here. We can bring your family in here". It added that the debriefer wanted Nashiri to infer that the "interrogation technique involves sexually abusing female relatives in front of the detainee".
Report: CIA Used Power Drills, Guns, Threats Against Children --Declassified Report Says --Then-Attorney General Knew One Suspect Waterboarded 119 Times 24 Aug 2009 CIA officers used power drills, mock executions and threats against children in often futile attempts to break [alleged] high-value al Qaeda targets, according to portions of a 2004 report by the CIA inspector general that was made public today. "We now have a document that the world can read that shows in excruciating and disgusting detail that the United States violated its own beliefs and turned to the dark side when it didn't have to," said Richard Clarke, a former national security official and now an ABC News consultant.
'The CIA hired Blackwater to conduct targeted killings in Afghanistan.' Death Squad: Blackwater Accused of Creating 'Killing Program' --A memo obtained by SPIEGEL indicates that cooperation between the CIA and private security firm Blackwater was deeper than previously known. SPIEGEL has uncovered further details about a plan to set up squads for targeted killings of suspected al-Qaida leadership in Afghanistan... In a memo obtained by SPIEGEL, two former employees describe details of cooperation between the firm and the intelligence agency that then-Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney asked the CIA not to disclose to the United States Congress. The intelligence service commissioned Blackwater and its subsidiaries to transport terror suspects from Guantanamo to interrogations at secret prison camps in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The paper identifies aircraft movements and unveils how the flights were disguised. The memo says: "The CIA hired Blackwater to conduct extraordinary renditions". And: "Blackwater flew the rendition targets from Fort Perry and Cuba to Kandahar, Afghanistan." Blackwater also supported the CIA with other controversial activities during the Bush years, the memo states. "The CIA hired Blackwater to conduct targeted killings in Afghanistan," it reads.
