Closing Guantanamo

Stanley Kutler / Truthdig Nov 1, 2008 The U.S. government’s failure to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center for alleged terrorists continues to haunt and color our standing in the world. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Note to McCain: Ease Off on the POW Talk

Staff / Truthdig Aug 23, 2008 Patriotism and sacrifice for one's country usually make for reliable go-to topics for politicians, but according to Talking Points Memo, John McCain's detractors and admirers alike are starting to suggest that the Republican presidential hopeful and his campaign honchos dial it down a bit on the subject of McCain's time as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Did Hezbollah Win?

Staff / Truthdig Jul 20, 2008 Link TV's Mosaic Intelligence Report is back with an in-depth look at the recent prisoner swap between Lebanon and Israel, comparing and contrasting how the leaders and people of both nations viewed the exchange and investigating what it might mean for Hezbollah and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in particular. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dramatic Return for the Living and the Dead

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Jul 18, 2008 Yesterday [July 16] was the last day of the 2006 Lebanon war, the final chapter of Israel's folly and Hizbollah's hubris, a grisly day of corpse-swapping and refrigerated body parts and coffin after bleak wooden coffin on trucks crossing the Israeli border, which left old Ali Ahmed al-Sfeir and his wife, Wahde, stooped and broken with grief. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

McCain, Obama Rebuke Clark

Staff / Truthdig Jun 30, 2008 Monday brought yet another round of political Mad Libs, which proceeds as follows: 1. (Insert surrogate name here), adviser to (candidate)'s presidential campaign, slams (rival candidate) for lack/excess of (personal quality) on (major media outlet); 2. (Rival candidate) blasts (surrogate), hints that such antics reveal opposition's true character; 3. (Candidate) distances self from (surrogate), who goes on to apologize and perhaps step down; 4. Repeat as necessary. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Where Is the Outrage?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig May 28, 2008 Are we Americans truly savages or merely tone-deaf in matters of morality, and therefore more guilty of terminal indifference than venality? It's a question demanding an answer in response to the publication of a 370-page report on U.S. complicity in torture. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The Tortured Law on Torture

Robert Scheer / Truthdig May 14, 2008 Ah, yes, those torture confessions have proved so useful. That, at least, was the claim of our president in justifying one of the most egregious assaults ever on this nation's commitment to the rule of law. But now comes news that charges have been dropped against the so-called Sept. 11 attacks' 20th hijacker, one of dozens so identified, because the "evidence" he supplied under torture and later recanted is not credible enough to go to trial. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

McCain Votes Against Torture Ban

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2008 Sen. John McCain has established himself as an outspoken critic of torture, which makes his vote Wednesday against the Feinstein Amendment, which would set limits on the types of interrogation techniques used by American intelligence agencies, all the more puzzling -- or, in the case of The Atlantic columnist Andrew Sullivan, heartbreaking. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Senate Votes to Outlaw Waterboarding

Staff / Truthdig Feb 14, 2008 The House of Representatives and Senate have now both signaled their disapproval of the CIA's use of waterboarding by voting for a ban on any techniques but the 19 officially approved by the Army, but President Bush has already, in turn, signaled his intent to veto any legislation that would rule out harsh interrogation methods. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Six 9/11 Suspects May Face Death Penalty

Staff / Truthdig Feb 12, 2008 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the purported mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay are facing official charges from the Pentagon that could result in the death penalty. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Army Officer Cleared in Abu Ghraib Case

Staff / Truthdig Jan 12, 2008 The disgrace brought on the U.S. by members of the military who participated in the abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison will likely linger for some time, but one of the key Army figures involved in the case, Lt. Col. Steven Jordan (pictured), has been cleared of any serious charges from the 2003 scandal. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush and Karzai Nix Taliban’s Hostages Deal

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2007 Joining forces for a press conference at Camp David on Monday, President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai refused the Taliban's proposal for a prisoner swap. The Taliban says it will free the 21 surviving South Korean Christians kidnapped in Afghanistan on July 19 if captive Taliban members are released. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )