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NEWS ABOUT: torture memo

torture memo stories: 40 news summaries

1 - 20 of 40 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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OPINION

'Monstrous Liar' Cheney Manipulates the Media

Former VP's defense of torture full of half-truths, falsehoods: Froomkin

Aug 31, 09 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Since leaving government, Dick Cheney has realized that TV and newspapers will report anything he says, writes Dan Froomkin for the Huffington Post, even though "he is a monstrous liar”—remember Saddam's WMDs? "After years of speaking in whispers, operating by proxy, and leaving as few fingerprints... More »

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Dick Cheney • CIA • torture • waterboarding • harsh interrogation • torture memo • enhanced interrogation techniques

Holder to Probe CIA Torture Cases: Officials

Special prosecutor will pursue agents who
took things 'too far'

Aug 9, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Attorney General Eric Holder is planning to name a special prosecutor to probe cases of alleged CIA torture of terror suspects, the Los Angeles Times reports. Insiders say the narrowly focused inquiry will aim to determine "whether people went beyond the techniques that were authorized" in the so-called torture... More »

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CIA • torture • abuse • interrogation • waterboarding • inquiry • criminal investigation • Eric Holder • torture memo

 Yoo Fights Back on Torture 


Jul 27, 09 7:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that... More »

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Bush administration • Department of Justice • surveillance • warrantless wiretapping • waterboarding • John Yoo • torture memo

(Newser) - If ex-Justice Department hand John Yoo thought he could fade into obscurity after writing infamous memos justifying the government’s use of torture and warrantless wiretapping, he was wrong. An Australian comedian crashed his class at Chapman University School of Law in California last week, dressed up like a detainee... More »

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California • torture • prank • John Yoo • comedian • torture memo • Chaser%u2019s War on Everything • warantless wiretap

Terrorist Can Sue Over Torture Memos: Judge

Ruling on Padilla may open door against former Justice lawyer

Jun 13, 09 5:10 PM CDT
(AP) - A convicted terrorist can sue a former Bush administration lawyer for drafting the legal theories that led to his alleged torture, ruled a federal judge who said he was trying to balance a clash between war and the defense of personal freedoms. The order by judge Jeffrey White of San... More »

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Jose Padilla • lawsuit • terrorist • John Yoo • torture memo

OPINION

 5 Judges Obama 
 Never Considered 

We guarantee Obama never considered any of these schmucks

May 26, 09 11:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama probably never sat down to consider the worst possible contenders for David Souter’s Supreme Court vacancy. But the guys at The Stimulist did. Here are the top (bottom?) five judges who never had a shot:
  • Myron Steele: Used his government email address to send a lewd
... More »

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Barack Obama • comedy • justice • US Supreme Court • torture memo

ANALYSIS

You Can't See It, But Cheney's Pants Are on Fire

Ex-veep's speech full of torture distortions

May 22, 09 10:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - In his full-on assault on the president's conterterrorism policies yesterday, Dick Cheney deployed an arsenal of “omissions, exaggerations and misstatements,” charge Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel of McClatchy. Among them:
  • Cheney claimed that harsh interrogations yielded vital, attack-preventing information and quoted Adm. Dennis Blair, director of national
... More »

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Dick Cheney • torture • Abu Ghraib • intelligence • Guantanamo Bay • Guantanamo prisoners • torture memo • Dennis Blair

Pelosi Backtracks on CIA Claims

Speakers shifts focus
to Bush administration
after Panetta rebuff

May 16, 09 2:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi retreated yesterday from her claim the CIA lied to Congress about its interrogation program and shifted the blame to the Bush administration, Politico reports. The speaker said her criticism is "separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe.... More »

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Nancy Pelosi • CIA • torture • waterboarding • harsh interrogation • Leon Panetta • torture memo

analysis

 Pelosi Raises 
 Stakes in 
 Torture Debate 

Speaker puts herself at center of storm over Bush policies

May 15, 09 5:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Whether by accident or design, Nancy Pelosi has turned the debate on the Bush administration's anti-terror program into a high-stakes game of brinksmanship, Dan Balz writes in the Washington Post. Pelosi's declaration yesterday that the CIA lied to Congress amounts to "a declaration of war," Balz writes, setting... More »

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Bush administration • Nancy Pelosi • War on Terror • CIA • torture • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • harsh interrogation • torture memo • Jay-ZTV

OPINION

 Cheney Might 
 Be Right 
 on Torture 

Despite his record, Cheney might be telling the truth this time

May 12, 09 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's hard to believe a word Dick Cheney says but that doesn't mean his claims that "enhanced interrogation" saved lives should be dismissed out of hand, Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post. The former vice president has been loudly defending the program, and it would be a mistake... More »

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Dick Cheney • CIA • torture • interrogation techniques • harsh interrogation • torture memo

Torture Memos Raise
Sleep Deprivation Concerns

CIA tries to hold onto interrogation method

May 10, 09 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sleep deprivation has drawn fresh scrutiny with President Obama's release of secret CIA memos on interrogation methods, reports the Los Angeles Times. Depriving detainees of sleep was a central strategy in drawing information from suspected terrorists, and is one of the banned tactics that the CIA tried hardest to keep.... More »

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CIA • sleep deprivation • waterboarding • torture memo

(Newser) - Lawyers for US soldiers convicted of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison say the recently released CIA memos prove their clients were just following orders, the Times of London reports. Some of the dozen soldiers who were convicted plan to appeal, arguing that the Bush administration kept quiet during... More »

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Abu Ghraib • appeal • US military • soldier • Lynndie England • Iraq war • criminal trial • torture memo • Charles Graner

OPINION

 We're All to Blame for Torture 

Tactics are no surprise; let's not dump our guilt on CIA

Apr 28, 09 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Suddenly, Democrats in Congress are calling for the prosecution of CIA agents for torture. But that torture was never a secret, and when it was politically prudent, Democrats had no problem backing it—and neither did many Americans, writes Naomi Wolf in the Guardian. We’ve all got “blood... More »

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Congress • CIA • torture • guilt • scapegoat • torture memo • blame

(Newser) - Republican calls for the selective release of memos on torture techniques is a naked political ploy, Greg Sargent writes on the Plum Line. “The emerging official position of the GOP on torture is that the only classified information about torture that should be released is that which can bolster... More »

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War on Terror • Dick Cheney • Department of Justice • American media • interrogation techniques • Obama administration • torture memo

 Obama Approval 
 at 69%; US Split 
 Over Memos 

Strong partisan divide over their release, probe talk

Apr 26, 09 9:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - As he nears the 100-day mark, President Obama’s approval ratings remain high at 69%, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds—but the recent release of torture memos has sparked a major partisan split. Just over half of those polled back the release; three-quarters of Dems support it, while about... More »

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poll • Washington Post ABC poll • approval ratings • Obama administration • torture memo • President Obama • 100 days

(Newser) - The outrage on Capitol Hill against Bush-era interrogation policies is nothing more than a disingenuous “circus,” former CIA chief Porter Goss writes in the Washington Post. Goss, also a former congressman, says he and other senior lawmakers were briefed more than once about CIA tactics. “I... More »

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Bush administration • national security • CIA • interrogation techniques • Porter Goss • torture memo • CIA director

Bybee Rues Signature on Torture Memos

Friends say he
regrets way the legal opinions were used

Apr 25, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jay Bybee has told friends and colleagues that he regrets his role as one of the authors of the so-called torture memos, the Washington Post reports. Most notably, Bybee, who's now a federal judge, signed off on the 2002 memo that authorized waterboarding. "I've heard him express regret at... More »

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Bush administration • Department of Justice • interrogation techniques • federal judges • US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals • torture memo • Jay Bybee • Office of Legal Counsel

ANALYSIS

Waterboarding Isn't Easier 2nd Time, or 183rd

Turns out the body never gets used to simulated drowning

Apr 24, 09 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Like many other forms of torture, waterboarding doesn’t get any easier with repeated exposure. After multiple sessions of the simulated drowning technique, accused al-Qaeda plotters Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah would at best have been able to slightly modify their response, explains Brian Palmer in Slate. The experience... More »

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CIA • torture • Guantanamo Bay • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed • intestines • waterboarding • Abu Zubaydah • detainees • torture memo

Reid Resists Torture Commission

Senate leader rejects Pelosi, joins Obama in opposing panel

Apr 24, 09 2:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Harry Reid will back President Obama in resisting calls to immediately create an independent commission to probe the CIA's harsh interrogation program, the New York Times reports. The majority leader, backed by other top Senate Democrats, said it would be "very unwise" to start establishing commissions or tribunals before... More »

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Nancy Pelosi • CIA • torture • politics • Harry Reid • Senate Democrats • Obama administration • torture memo • truth commission

Torture Memos Bear Me Out: Abu Ghraib Boss

She long held that interrogation techniques were under orders

Apr 23, 09 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - A retired colonel who helped run Abu Ghraib prison long asserted that she and her troops were just following orders in the prisoner interrogations that sparked a global outcry. Now, Janis Karpinski tells CNN, the release of torture memos has finally proven her case. “When they were first released... More »

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CIA • torture • Abu Ghraib • interrogation techniques • torture memo • Janis Karpinski

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