Obama Aims to Improve America’s Interrogation Record

Staff / Truthdig Aug 25, 2009 Monday saw more than one move on the part of Team Obama to deal with U.S. intelligence agencies' treatment of terror suspects: In addition to Attorney General Eric Holder's bid to take a second look into certain CIA-related cases from years past, President Obama has approved the formation of an integrated interrogation central command called the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Report: CIA Wielded Gun, Power Drill in Interrogation

Staff / Truthdig Aug 22, 2009 Another account describing the CIA's alleged use of harsh interrogation techniques has come to light, according to a Newsweek magazine report about the intelligence agency's treatment of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a suspect in the 2000 bombing of the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney Memoir in the Works

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2009 Former Vice President Dick Cheney maintained an elusive stance, to say the least, during his years in the White House, but since leaving office he's made himself more visible and vocal on the public stage. For his next act, he's working on a memoir -- but somehow the term tell-all doesn't quite seem to fit the bill in this particular case. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Left, Right & Center’: Is Torture a Partisan Issue?

Staff / Truthdig May 23, 2009 Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been reasserting himself, for good or ill, in the public sphere this week. President Obama was ready with his own take on torture, aka "extreme interrogation" methods. Is this a media-enabled setup or a legitimate face-off between executive powers past and present? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney and the Iraq-Torture Link

Joe Conason / Truthdig May 21, 2009 Defending their record in office these past eight years, figures from the last administration seem especially touchy on the subject of torture. Led by the former vice president, Dick Cheney, they have argued that there was no torture, preferring more vague and delicate terms such as "enhanced interrogation" or simply "the program." Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

A Truth Commission Beckons

Marie Cocco / Truthdig May 19, 2009 The partisan firefight over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's incendiary allegation that the CIA lied to Congress about its use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- torture -- is a blessing. It turns the compelling case for a public inquiry into the Bush administration's policies toward terrorism detainees into an urgent necessity. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Newt vs. Nancy

Staff / Truthdig May 15, 2009 Nancy Pelosi has made herself vulnerable to attacks after appearing to venture into Equivocation Land this week in her public tussle with the CIA over when she knew the U.S. was employing what we call "torture" on suspected terrorists. Enter Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, stage right, to do his part to bring Pelosi down from her vaunted position. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama Reneges on Torture Photo Release

Staff / Truthdig May 14, 2009 On Wednesday, President Barack Obama went back on his administration's previous plan to release photos reportedly showing prisoner abuse at American military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Team Obama may also follow in the Bushies' footsteps by detaining some prisoners "on U.S. soil" and "indefinitely and without trial," according to The Wall Street Journal. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pelosi Sticks By Her Waterboarding Denial

Staff / Truthdig May 9, 2009 Despite evidence, helpfully provided by the CIA, to the contrary, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still insists she wasn't aware that waterboarding would be on the menu of the Bush administration's interrogation techniques when she was briefed in secret in 2002. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Jon Stewart Inflicts Discomfort on Cliff May

Staff / Truthdig Apr 29, 2009 Cliff May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was clearly on the defensive as he took the hot seat during Tuesday's "Daily Show" with the unenviable task of debating whether or not waterboarding is torture, whether American officials have to follow the Geneva Conventions under all circumstances, and whether President Truman was a war criminal. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Krugman on Bybee and the ‘Apparatchiks’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 27, 2009 Clearly, Paul Krugman, pictured above, is no fan of federal Judge Jay Bybee, legislative enabler of the "enhanced interrogation technique" that's become one shameful symbol of the past eight years: waterboarding. You know it's not good when Newt Gingrich is held up as a paragon of a bygone, and preferable, brand of Republicanism. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Torture’s Paradigm Shift

Staff / Truthdig Apr 22, 2009 In their effort to build a "new paradigm" for dealing with enemy prisoners, senior Bush administration officials, according to a report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee, suppressed or ignored conflicting legal opinions to ensure that "aggressive interrogation techniques" (torture) would be available to interrogators. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )