9/11 Families on Need to Prosecute Guantanamo Detainees in Federal Court

This ACLU video features family members of 9/11 victims calling for federal trials of terrorism suspects. Reportedly, news about the transfers of some of the Guantanamo detainees for trial is due by the end of the week.

Bush DOJ Official Daniel Levin "Not Opposed" to Torture Investigations

Originally posted at Firedoglake



Some days it appears that torture is a dead issue in America. But at other times, events occur that belie such pessimism. One such event was the admission by Daniel Levin, author of one of the Bush administration's infamous torture memos, that criminal investigations of Bush officials for their role in the implementation of torture was acceptable to him.

Here's the full statement, made last week during an American University/Washington College of Law conference on professional ethics and the torture memos (video):

“I personally am not opposed to criminal investigation of the conduct of myself and others during the period in question, because I think any government employee is appropriately subject to investigation of their conduct while they are serving in the government.”

Daniel Levin, as then Acting Assistant Attorney General, was the author of the December 30, 2004 Memorandum to then Deputy Attorney General James Comey, which took up the issue of the legal standards surrounding the CIA's use of torture techniques, previously allowed by opinions written in August 2002, and signed by previous Deputy Attorney General Jay Bybee. But these opinions were heavily ghostwritten by John Yoo, with assistance from Cheney's counsel, David Addington. (Addington's role was a matter of some caviling, as noted by Marcy Wheeler last May.) Levin famously critiqued a number of the conclusions in the Yoo/Bybee memos regarding torture, but as David Cole pointed out in his recently published book, The Torture Memos, the Levin memo "did not change anything with respect to the bottom line.... [it] was more an exercise in public relations than in law."

Reportedly, Levin also told the AU panel "he would support the creation of an independent commission to review the Bush torture policies."

The Alliance for Justice (AFJ), in a November 9 press release,  coupled the Levin admission with news of John Yoo's withdrawal from this week's Federalist Society convention. Yoo was due to speak at a November 12 panel on "the role of government lawyers in the war on terror," along with his civil defense attorney, Miguel Estrada. (Yoo is being sued by former supposed "dirty bomber" and torture victim, Jose Padilla.) AFJ had planned a demonstration outside the Convention the day of Yoo's participation.

The President of the Federalist Society said Yoo canceled because of "a scheduling conflict." Yoo himself won't comment, but AFJ president Nan Aron, said:

John Yoo’s withdrawal from the Federalist Society Convention shows that pressure is building to hold accountable those who provided legal cover for torture....

AFJ intends to follow through with their D.C. demonstration at the Mayflower Hotel, site of the Federalist Society convention, on November 12, as part of National Torture Accountability Day. AFJ has been conducting a petition campaign aimed at getting Obama Attorney General Eric Holder to release the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility report on the torture memos. It's widely believed the OPR report is highly critical of the actions of the Bush Administration attorneys, and its footnotes and appendices may be a gold mine for anti-torture researchers and lawyers.

Meanwhile, the news on the other side of the torture fence, if you will, is not so good. Al Jazeera just published a well-documented article describing the ongoing abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo prison:

Authorities at the prison deny mistreating the inmates, but interviews with former detainees, letters from current prisoners and sworn testimony from independent medical experts who have visited the prison have painted a disturbing picture of psychological and physical abuse very much at odds with White House rhetoric on prisoner treatment....

According to the letter, prison authorities inflict "humiliating punishments" on inmates and prisoners face "intentional mental and physical harm".

"The situation is worsening with the advent of the new management," the prisoner writes, noting... that the new rules were imposed in January this year. Conditions, he says, "do not fit the lowest standard of human living".

Meanwhile, the Center for Constitutional Rights has joined psychologist Trudy Bond in pressing a licensure complaint in the State of Louisiana against Colonel Larry James, a former chief psychologist of the Guantanamo Behavioral Science Consultation Teams (BSCTs), who has been accused of participation in torture at that facility. The facts behind the case have been described well in a couple of articles recently. Despite plenty of evidence of unethical and illegal conduct, the Louisiana Board of Examiners refuses to even investigate James (who has meanwhile decamped to the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University in Ohio, where he serves as dean).

The James case deserves a wider hearing in the court of public opinion, because, as Yoo's withdrawal from the Federalist Society Convention, and Levin's acceptance of investigations indicate, exposure and political protest are necessary if accountability for torture and other war crimes is going to ever be a reality. As a society, we cannot let the fact of U.S. use of torture slip out of the public eye. That is what the torturers want more than anything.

We cannot let that happen, because as the activities at Guantanamo even recently demonstrate, brutality and inhumanity once unleashed threaten the underpinnings of legality and morality in a society. We've been to the precipice. Let us decisively step back. That will only happen when wide-ranging investigations, open access to government documentation, and criminal prosecutions occur.

Leonard Cohen's New Song

"It's like they tore away the blind and said 'We're going to let this man live'."

Leonard Cohen's new song, from a concert in Durham, NC on November 3, 2009. Some are calling it "Feels So Good" or "That Other Blues Song," but according to Greg Mitchell (for whom H/T for this link), the song is untitled. Whatever it's title, it sure sounds great!

Arar Decision Cripples Torture Rendition Suits

Originally posted at Firedoglake

The Toronto Globe and Mail succinctly summed up the November 2 decision to dismiss the Maher Arar case, delivered en banc by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit:

Victims of extraordinary rendition have no recourse to sue Washington for torture suffered overseas, appellate court rules

"No recourse." Americans should ponder the meaning of this decision, which explicitly places state interests above individual rights, even when such rights include not being sent to a country that will torture that individual. That such torture was done at the behest of the U.S. government, with written questions given to the torturers, only exacerbates the issue.

Maher Arar was a Syrian-born Canadian who was seized by U.S. authorities at Kennedy International Airport (following upon a bogus RCMP tip), held for thirteen days, and then, with U.S. connivance, and despite the fact Canada said it would accept Mr. Arar, rendered via a CIA jet to Syria for interrogation and torture. He was released in 2003, and the Canadian government, which ascertained Mr. Arar had no connections with terrorism, apologized and forked over a multi-million dollar settlement.

Mr. Arar has tried to find justice in the U.S. courts, and released the following statement after the Second Circuit decision:

“After seven years of pain and hard struggle it was my hope that the court system would listen to my plea and act as an independent body from the executive branch. Unfortunately, this recent decision and decisions taken on other similar cases, prove that the court system in the United States has become more or less a tool that the executive branch can easily manipulate through unfounded allegations and fear mongering. If anything, this decision is a loss to all Americans and to the rule of law.”

"Justice Denied: Voices from Guantanamo"

Ateqah Khaki from the ACLU's National Security Project conducted these interviews when many of the Guantanamo detainees were in London for a special Ramadan dinner hosted by Cage Prisoners.



The men in the video above were held at Guantánamo for years without charge, denied any meaningful opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention. But now they are finally free. This is their story.

Produced for the ACLU by Joel P. Engardio and Ateqah Khaki
Directed, Edited and Written by Joel P. Engardio
Production Assistance by Laila G. Nazarali and Maryam Hassan

For more information visit:
http://www.aclu.org
http://www.cageprisoners.com

Blogger on Interrogations Looking for Study Volunteers

Matt Semel, over at the blog HUMINT, is asking for volunteers for a study on interrogations he is conducting. Here's a link to a blog posting on it. Please don't contact me, but if you are interested, and I believe he's looking for individuals with interrogation experience, then contact him through his blog.

ACLU on Mohammed Jawad (Post-Gitmo), Also Appendix M

The following is taken from ACLU's Blog of Rights, a site that should be on everyone's daily stop of websites:

Life after Gitmo

Today, the Los Angeles Times reports on the struggle of former Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad to readjust to freedom after spending roughly a third of his life in detention. In August, as a result of the ACLU’s habeas corpus petition on behalf of Jawad, he was finally released and sent home to Afghanistan after six-and-a-half-years in U.S. custody.

While in U.S. custody, Jawad, one of the youngest prisoners held at Guantánamo, was held in solitary confinement and subjected to the infamous “frequent flyer” sleep deprivation program. He attempted suicide in December 2003 by repeatedly slamming his head against his cell wall. Two judges — first his military commission judge, then a federal judge — ruled that evidence gleaned through Jawad’s torture and coercion was inadmissible.

The LA Times story sheds light on the difficulties of adjusting to life after Guantánamo:

[Jawad]…suffers from frequent headaches, he says, and often rests during the day. Prison memories haunt him, something doctors warn may never end. He worries about those left behind, his de facto family. He’s out and they’re not, and that’s a source of guilt. Though the Obama administration has said it will close Guantánamo, hundreds of detainees remain there and at Bagram.

He asks a reporter to tell President Obama, the United Nations, someone, to help them. “People there are sick,” he says. “They should be treated. They should be freed.”

As his anger rises, his uncle tells him not to think about the lost years.

But it spills out. He talks about having his hands bound behind his back and being forced to eat like a dog, being kicked, beaten and pepper-sprayed and subjected to excessive heat, loud noise, solitary confinement.

After a year, Guantánamo records show, Jawad tried to commit suicide by banging his head against his cell wall repeatedly.

“I was tortured and faced many problems,” he says. “They also play with your mind.”

In spite of this, Jawad has hope for the future. The article states that Jawad wants to be a doctor and “[h]e wants to resume his education, he says, even if it means sitting with 13-year-olds at tiny desks.” Jawad goes on to state, “That’s my dream… I don’t know if it’s possible. But that’s my dream.”

The story also quotes one of Jawad’s military lawyers, Eric Montalvo, as saying, “We need to do more than just dump him on the corner with a bus ticket after seven years and say, ‘Have a nice day.’”

Promptly and justly handling the cases of remaining prisoners is one part of the Guantánamo challenge. Honestly confronting the crimes committed in America’s name at the notorious prison camp is another. Americans deserve to know who authorized, condoned and encouraged the abuse and torture of detainees like Jawad; let Attorney General Eric Holder know that you stand with the ACLU and support a thorough investigation of torture crimes.

In other ACLU-related news, check out this article at truthout, "Obama Urged to Fully Comply with Anti-torture Treaty":

The fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture passed last week with little fanfare and virtually no press attention from the mainstream media here.

But according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "U.S. policy continues to fall short of ensuring full compliance with the treaty."

For example, the organisation said that an appendix to the Army Field Manual (AFM) can still facilitate cruel treatment of prisoners and detainees at home and abroad.

The Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT) is the most comprehensive international human rights treaty dealing exclusively with the issues of torture and abuse. It came into effect in 1987, and has been ratified by 146 countries....

After taking office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order prohibiting torture. But under an appendix to the 2006 revised U.S. Army Field Manual - the most recent edition - practices considered incompatible with CAT and international law are still allowed. These include force-feeding, psychological torture, sleep and sensory deprivation.

And under Appendix M to the AFM, detainees can be "separated" or held in isolation from other detainees for 30 days, or longer with authorisation, and allowed only four hours of continuous sleep per night over 30 days, which can be prolonged upon approval.

Bravo to the ACLU for all their great work, and a special thanks from this activist, who has made opposition to use of the current Army Field Manual as a template for interrogation, for reasons noted by the ACLU and amplified in articles of my own, a central component of my anti-torture writing.

Renee Fleming sings "Das Wunder der Heliane"

Das Wunder der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane), 1927, Erich Wolfgang Korngold

At seven minutes long, the aria builds into something incredibly beautiful. Enjoy!

Per Obama: Torture Evidence Is "Protected" Against Release

This is what a Nobel Prize gives you the chutzpah to do. From Jason Leopold at Truthout:

On Thursday, the House approved a Department of Homeland Security spending bill that included a provision to amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and grant Defense Secretary Robert Gates the authority to withhold "protected documents" that, if released, would endanger the lives of US soldiers or government employees deployed outside of the country.

According to the bill, the phrase "protected documents" refers to photographs taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009, and involves "the treatment of individuals engaged, captured or detained" in the so-called "war on terror." Photographs that Gates determines would endanger troops and government employees could be withheld for three years.

Leopold quotes Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter as saying "the language was quietly reinserted in recent weeks, 'apparently under direct orders from the administration.'" The bill's language is a cover for Obama, who was otherwise threatening an administration petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the release of the controversial, unseen "torture photos."

Will we hear much protest from the progressive blogosphere? Not likely, as the torture issue slips off the radar, and the trudging submission of the progressive punditry to Democratic Party faux-ameliorism continues (there are exceptions, and you know who they are). Millions more on unemployment. Wall Street dances in blue chips. War continues apace, and the torture industry revs up for more high-tech adventures in breaking individuals down. No pictures of war. Nothing messy. Just bright baubles, Nobel Prizes, and proud words about equality... some day. No one in a position of power must lose a wink of sleep: that's how change is measured in America these days.

Congress Fails, But Justice Speaks Out

Meanwhile, over in Great Britain, per the UK Guardian, some very welcome news:

In a devastating judgment, two senior judges roundly dismissed the [British] foreign secretary's claims that disclosing... evidence would harm national security and threaten the UK's vital intelligence-sharing arrangements with the US.

In what they described as an "unprecedented" and "exceptional" case, to which the Guardian is a party, they ordered the release of a seven-paragraph summary of what the CIA told British officials – and maybe ministers – about Ethiopian-born [Binyam] Mohamed before he was secretly interrogated by an MI5 officer in 2002.

"The suppression of reports of wrongdoing by officials in circumstances which cannot in any way affect national security is inimical to the rule of law," Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones ruled. "Championing the rule of law, not subordinating it, is the cornerstone of democracy."

Readers might remember the case of Binyam Mohamed, who was seized by the United States in Pakistan in 2002, secretly renditioned to Morocco, and later held at Bagram and Guantanamo "terror" prisons, suffering torture in all these sites. He is one of the plaintiffs in the Jeppesen case, a suit brought by the ACLU. That case engendered a decision last summer by the Ninth Circuit Court, which was one of the last legal victories in the U.S. in the struggle for accountability for torture.

In 2007, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against Jeppesen DataPlan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company, on behalf of five victims of the United States government's unlawful "extraordinary rendition" program. The suit charges that Jeppesen knowingly participated by providing critical flight planning and logistical support services to aircraft and crews used by the CIA to forcibly disappear these five men to detention and interrogation. Shortly after the suit was filed, the government intervened and inappropriately asserted the "state secrets privilege," claiming further litigation would undermine national security interests, even though much of the evidence needed to try the case was already available to the public. In April 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court dismissal of the case, ruling that the government must invoke the state secrets privilege with respect to specific evidence, not to dismiss the entire suit. The case is remanded back to district court, providing the first opportunity for Bush-era torture victims to have their day in court.