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Saturday, April 18, 2009

[chottala.com] Obama shields CIA officers over US 'torture'



 
Obama shields CIA officers over US 'torture'
By Stephen Collinson
AFP/File - Paul J. Richards*
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WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has assured CIA agents involved in tough terror interrogations they will not be prosecuted as he released graphic memos detailing methods approved by the Bush White House.

In documents published Thursday, George W. Bush-era legal officials argued that the tactics such as simulated drowning, face slapping, the use of insects to scare prisoners and sleep deprivation did not amount to torture.

"This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said.

"We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."

AFP/File - Paul J. Richards**
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The four memos offered a stunning glimpse inside the covert interrogation program introduced after the September 11 attacks in 2001, which critics say amounted to torture, and Obama said undermined America's moral authority.

The documents argued that a long list of coercive techniques did not equal torture since they did not inflict severe mental or physical pain.

Detailing methods used to question Al-Qaeda terror suspects, the memos reveal the use of dietary manipulation, forced nudity, facial and abdominal slaps, and the use of confined or "stress positions" for suspects.

In one technique known as "walling," interrogators could push a suspect against a false wall, so his shoulder blades make a slamming noise and lead him to think the impact is greater than in reality.

AFP/Getty Images/File***
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The memos also show interrogators asked for a ruling on whether the placing of a harmless insect in a cramped box with Al-Qaeda terror suspect Abu Zubaydah -- who had a bug phobia -- equated to torture.

The technique "certainly does not cause physical pain" and therefore could not be termed as torture and should be permissible, one of the memos said.

Similarly, techniques including waterboarding or simulated drowning, walling and sleep deprivation also fell short of torture, the memos said.

Another memo details a "prototypical interrogation," which begins with a detainee stripped of his clothes, shackled and hooded, "with the walling collar over his head and around his neck."

AFP - Ronaldo Schemidt****
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Human rights groups reacted with dismay to Obama's decision to shield interrogators from prosecution.

"The Department of Justice appears to be offering a get-out-of-jail-free card to individuals who, by US Attorney General Eric Holder's own estimation, were involved in acts of torture," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International.

In a statement, Obama said the tactics adopted by the administration of his predecessor "undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer."
He said he was releasing the documents to avoid "an inaccurate accounting of the past," which would "fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions taken by the United States."

"In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution," he said in a statement.

AFP/Graphic*****
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"The men and women of our intelligence community serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world," he said.

Dennis Blair, the director of National Intelligence, said the torture memos must be read in the context of the "horror" of the September 11 attacks.

"Those methods, read on a bright, sunny, safe day in April 2009, appear graphic and disturbing," he said. "But we will absolutely defend those who relied on these memos and those guidelines."

He pledged, however, that Washington would not use similar methods in the future.

A federal court had given the government until Thursday to either turn over the memos in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union or explain why they cannot be released.

AFP/Pool/File - Brennan Linsley******
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While slamming Obama's decision not to prosecute those carrying out the tactics, Human Rights Watch welcomed the possibility that those at the top of the chain of command could face justice.

"Notably, the president left open the possibility of prosecuting those higher up the chain who wrote the opinions and authorized the CIA to use abusive interrogation techniques and torture," the group said in a statement.

The memos were authored by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, who at the time were lawyers for Bush's Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. Bybee is currently a federal judge.

© AFP 2009 - Thursday, April 16, 2009 23h53 GMT (Updated Friday, April 17, 2009 8h55 GMT)



* File photo shows a US flag at Camp V inside Camp Delta at the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. US President Barack Obama has assured CIA agents involved in tough terror interrogations they will not be prosecuted as he released graphic memos detailing methods approved by the Bush White House.

** File photo shows a detainee being escorted by military guards at the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. US President Barack Obama has assured CIA agents involved in tough terror interrogations they will not be prosecuted as he released graphic memos detailing methods approved by the Bush White House.

*** The CIA symbol is shown on the floor of its headquarters in Langley, Virginia. President Barack Obama granted immunity to CIA officers involved in tough terror interrogations as he released graphic memos detailing harsh methods approved by ex-president George W. Bush.

**** US President Barack Obama in Mexico City. Civil rights groups reacted with dismay and disappointment over Obama's insistence that CIA officers not be prosecuted for the use of torture in "war on terror" interrogations.

***** Graphic showing interrogation techniques detailed by the CIA in a newly released Justice Department memo on the questioning of a top Al-Qaeda detainee in 2002.

****** A file photo of a guard leaning on a fencepost as a Guantanamo detainee jogs inside the exercise yard at Camp 5 detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. US President Barack Obama has assured CIA agents involved in tough terror interrogations they will not be prosecuted as he released graphic memos detailing methods approved by the Bush White House.

http://www.tolerance.ca/Article.aspx?ID=41025&L=en

Obama shields CIA officers over US 'torture'

Tolerance.ca - ‎Apr 17, 2009‎
The CIA symbol is shown on the floor of its headquarters in Langley, Virginia. President Barack Obama granted immunity to CIA officers involved in tough ...

The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means

guardian.co.uk - ‎10 hours ago‎
We can find its roots in various CIA studies of sensory deprivation and induced psychosis and "learned helplessness," some of them more than four decades ...


 



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Re: [chottala.com] Fake Sunita Paul: The International (Wo)man of Mystery



For building Bangladesh a lawful democratic country &  for building Bangladesh as Digital Bangladesh it requires to educate the people as sensible & understanding persons & for it requires to introduce a system for providing quality knowledge education nation wide to all people.. If the people of Bangladesh can be quality educated & quality expert in their respective work fields & perform their duty honestly.

The no body can do harm or misguide the world by writing false.. 

So now the main duty of every sensible person is to ask the Government. The political leaders & the education department for making the reformation in education system & in education courses & for introducing a system in education section to providing quality knowledge education for educating the people for understanding

What his job?

What needs to do?

Do correctly in time.. 

--- On Fri, 17/4/09, Lost Dream <lostadream@hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Lost Dream <lostadream@hotmail.com>
Subject: [chottala.com] Fake Sunita Paul: The International (Wo)man of Mystery
To: chottala@yahoogroups.com
Received: Friday, 17 April, 2009, 11:10 AM

 
 
Dear Respected Readers,
 
 
So Sunita Paul is fake and writing all negative about Bangladesh, its people, its culture, and history.  May I respectfully point out that there are many respectable Bangladesh citizens who spreads false information about Bangladesh, have you even wondered about those Bangladeshis, I guess not because they were from Bangldesh whereas Sunita is from India.
 
Maybe Sunita is biased, if she is then we should just avoid her writings and not make her famous with silly comments, instead we should counter her writings based on facts and not assumptions.
 
Kind regards.


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[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




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