An Interview With Marjorie Cohn About Targeted Killings

By Dennis Bernstein Feb 9, 2013 We have a global battlefield, where if there is someone, anywhere, who might be associated with Al-Qaida, according to a high government official, then Obama can authorize on Terror Tuesday who he is going to kill after consulting with counterterrorism guru John Brennan. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Defending John Yoo

Staff / Truthdig May 27, 2009 What was behind The Philadelphia Inquirer's decision to give torture memo draftsman John Yoo a platform to air his views as a columnist? The paper's publisher, Brian Tierney, endorses Yoo to WHYY's "Radio Times" host Marty Moss-Coane, while fellow guest and Philadelphia Daily News journalist Will Bunch offers a different take on George W. Bush's erstwhile legal adviser. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Armitage on Torture, ‘AWOL’ Congress

Staff / Truthdig Apr 18, 2009 Now that the Department of Justice has released the latest stunning Bush-era torture memos, this Al-Jazeera English interview with former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in which he admits that the Bush administration flouted the Geneva Conventions and that he probably should have resigned, is even more alarming. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.N. Human Rights Investigator Accuses Israel of War Crimes

Staff / Truthdig Mar 20, 2009 Richard Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, writes in his annual report that Israeli actions during the recent offensive in Gaza constitute war crimes. Falk, who was denied entry to the region by Israel, says Hamas' human rights record should also be investigated. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israel’s ‘Wanton Destruction’

Staff / Truthdig Mar 6, 2009 Human rights investigators are adding yet another alleged war crime to existing accusations of Israel's war-time exuberance, as Amnesty International officials believe Israel's military forces engaged in "wanton destruction" of civilian homes during the bloody assault on Gaza. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

No End to the Savagery in Afghanistan

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Nov 16, 2008 Back in Afghanistan, the mind turns to the small matter of savagery. Not the routine cruelty of war, but the deliberate inhumanity with which we behave. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Feith Interrogated About Interrogation Methods

Staff / Truthdig Jul 17, 2008 In this clip from Thursday's House Judiciary Committee hearing about prisoner interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay, former Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith gets into a tense round of questioning with Rep. Keith Ellison about what former Attorney General John Ashcroft did or didn't tell him about interrogation vis-à-vis the Third Geneva Convention. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The President’s Right to Poke Out Eyes

Staff / Truthdig Apr 8, 2008 More shocking details are emerging from the 2003 81-page memo by former Justice Department senior lawyer John Yoo, who determined that the commander in chief can order poking out of eyes, slitting of body parts and throwing acid at prisoners, and none of that would constitute torture because it would not result in "death, organ failure or serious impairment of bodily functions." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Legacy of Legitimizing Torture

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Aug 29, 2007 President Bush lamented Alberto Gonzales' resignation and insisted that the "good name" of the attorney general had been besmirched for partisan purposes. Good name? Robert Scheer reviews the highlights (or, rather, the low points) of Gonzales' tenure and looks at the troubling legacy he leaves behind. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Bush Clarifies Official Position on Torture (Kind of)

Staff / Truthdig Jul 21, 2007 Were the CIA to potentially, maybe, have a detention and interrogation program it would now have to adhere to President Bush's new executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees. It's still unclear whether water-boarding remains on the menu. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Shutting Down Guantanamo

Staff / Truthdig Apr 25, 2007 Jumana Musa, advocacy director for domestic human rights and international justice at Amnesty International, speaks with Truthdig about the war on human rights, why conditions at Guantanamo have only gotten worse and why she has hope for the future. Dig deeper ( 18 Min. Read )