Favorite In May, 2013, the Washington Post’s Greg Miller reported that the head of the CIA’s clandestine service was being shifted out of that position as a result of “a management shake-up” by then-Director John Brennan. As Miller documented, this official – whom the paper did not name because she was a covert agent at the…
All posts tagged torture
The Rise of Trump Shows the Danger and Sham of Compelled Journalistic “Neutrality”
Favorite (updated below) As Donald Trump’s campaign predictably moves from toxic rhetoric targeting the most marginalized minorities to threats and use of violence, there is a growing sense that American institutions have been too lax about resisting it. Political scientist Brendan Nyhan on Sunday posted a widely cited Twitter essay voicing this concern, arguing that “Trump’s rise represents a…
Russian Activists and Journalists Attacked at Chechen Border
Favorite Activists from one of Russia’s most prominent rights groups, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, were beaten by masked men as they attempted to bring a group of journalists into Chechnya today. The ambush was carried out by about 20 men who beat the activists and journalists with sticks and set their vehicles…
Egypt Bars Journalist From Leaving Country as Crackdown on Dissent Widens
Favorite One of Egypt’s leading investigative journalists, Hossam Bahgat, was prevented from boarding a flight to Jordan today when officials at Cairo International Airport informed him that his name had been added to a list of citizens barred from traveling abroad. Bahgat, who was detained and interrogated for three days in November by military intelligence…
U.S. First Shields Its Torturers and War Criminals From Prosecution, Now Officially Honors Them
Favorite As vice president, Dick Cheney was a prime architect of the worldwide torture regime implemented by the U.S. government (which extended far beyond waterboarding), as well as the invasion and destruction of Iraq, which caused the deaths of at least 500,000 people and more likely over a million. As such, he is one of the…
Bush White House’s Repeated Torture Denials Led CIA Torturers to Seek Repeated Reassurances
Favorite The Bush administration was so adamant in its public statements against torture that CIA officials repeatedly sought reassurances that the White House officials who had given them permission to torture in the first place hadn’t changed their minds. In a July 29, 2003, White House meeting that included Vice President Dick Cheney and National…
Torture If You Must, But Do Not Under Any Circumstances Call the New York Times
Favorite Monday’s guilty verdict in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling on espionage charges — for talking to a newspaper reporter — is the latest milepost on the dark and dismal path Barack Obama has traveled since his inaugural promises to usher in a “new era of openness.” Far from rejecting the authoritarian…
Torture, ‘Meet the Press’ and Cheney’s Quest for Revenge
Favorite Dick Cheney gave no ground in his “Meet the Press” interview on Sunday, but he did something arguably even better: He bared his twisted soul. Parrying questions from Chuck Todd with what he must have figured were winning talking points about the 9/11 terror attacks, Cheney unwittingly demonstrated how profoundly he has renounced fundamental…
For CIA, Truth about Torture Was an Existential Threat
Favorite For the CIA officials involved in torture, one thing was clear from the very beginning: The only way they would be forgiven for what they did was if they could show it had saved lives. It was the heart of their rationale. It was vital to public acceptance. It was how they would avoid prosecution.…
12 Things to Keep in Mind When You Read the Torture Report
Favorite The Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report will be released “in a matter of days,” a committee staffer tells The Intercept. The report, a review of brutal CIA interrogation methods during the presidency of George W. Bush, has been the subject of a contentious back-and-forth, with U.S. intelligence agencies and the White House on one…