Friday, March 05, 2010
Ghost Writer: glimpses of waterboarding
The glimpses of televised waterboarding will provoke gasps among the audience. But those who have no interest in the torture of hapless foreigners can forget international affairs and simply revel in the director’s dark enchantments. Mr Polanski has made a perfect film of Mr Harris’s intricate page-turner—one that will outlast his own present difficulties, and Mr Blair’s as well.
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Labels: extraordinary rendition, Polanski, torture, waterboarding
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Executive to implement extraordinary rendition
“We decline to create, on our own, a new cause of action against officers and employees of the federal government,” Chief Judge Dennis G. Jacobs wrote in a 59-page majority opinion joined by six other judges.
Judge Jacobs said that it was for the executive branch to “decide how to implement extraordinary rendition, and for the elected members of Congress — and not for us as judges — to decide whether an individual may seek compensation” from government officials for a constitutional violation.
Four judges issued dissenting opinions, in which they all joined, running a total of 117 pages. In one, Judge Guido Calabresi wrote, “I believe that when the history of this distinguished court is written, today’s majority decision will be viewed with dismay.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a former member of the Second Circuit appeals court, participated in the oral argument of the case last December, but was later elevated to the United States Supreme Court by President Obama and did not participate in the decision.
opinion
Labels: Dennis G. Jacobs, extraordinary rendition, Guido Calabresi, Maher Arar, opinion rehearing, Second Circuit appeals, Sonia Sotomayor, torture
Monday, December 15, 2008
No brave new world
John A Rizzo
New York Times on 14 Dec. 08:
Mr. Obama will soon face the same awful choices that confronted George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he could well be forced to accept a central feature of their anti-terrorist methods: extraordinary rendition. If the choice is between non-deniable aggressive questioning conducted by Americans and deniable torturous interrogations by foreigners acting on behalf of the United States, it is almost certain that as president Mr. Obama will choose the latter.
New York Times on 14 Dec. 08:
Mr. Obama will soon face the same awful choices that confronted George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he could well be forced to accept a central feature of their anti-terrorist methods: extraordinary rendition. If the choice is between non-deniable aggressive questioning conducted by Americans and deniable torturous interrogations by foreigners acting on behalf of the United States, it is almost certain that as president Mr. Obama will choose the latter.
Labels: black site, CIA, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, torture
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rodriguez had no authority to destroy tapes
Rizzo testifies in closed session
Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, said Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., head of the C.I.A.’s clandestine service at the time, had not “gotten authority from anyone” to destroy the tapes. “Matter of fact, it appears that he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed,” he said.
Mr. Hoekstra spoke after hearing testimony from John A. Rizzo, the C.I.A.’s top lawyer, who addressed the committee on Wednesday during a closed session lasting nearly four hours. Mr. Hoekstra did not provide details, including who may have told Mr. Rodriguez not to destroy the tapes. The lawmaker said it was important to have Mr. Rodriguez testify before the committee to get his version of events.
A lawyer for Mr. Rodriguez, Robert S. Bennett, challenged Mr. Hoekstra’s comments about what agency officials told his client. “Nobody, to our knowledge, ever instructed him not to destroy the tapes,” Mr. Bennett said. “Had the director or deputy director or general counsel told him not to destroy the tapes, they would not have been destroyed.” here
Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, said Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., head of the C.I.A.’s clandestine service at the time, had not “gotten authority from anyone” to destroy the tapes. “Matter of fact, it appears that he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed,” he said.
Mr. Hoekstra spoke after hearing testimony from John A. Rizzo, the C.I.A.’s top lawyer, who addressed the committee on Wednesday during a closed session lasting nearly four hours. Mr. Hoekstra did not provide details, including who may have told Mr. Rodriguez not to destroy the tapes. The lawmaker said it was important to have Mr. Rodriguez testify before the committee to get his version of events.
A lawyer for Mr. Rodriguez, Robert S. Bennett, challenged Mr. Hoekstra’s comments about what agency officials told his client. “Nobody, to our knowledge, ever instructed him not to destroy the tapes,” Mr. Bennett said. “Had the director or deputy director or general counsel told him not to destroy the tapes, they would not have been destroyed.” here
Labels: CIA, John Rizzo, Jose A. Rodriguez, tapes, Thailand, torture
Saturday, December 08, 2007
CIA detainees taken to Thailand for Interrogation
2005 Acting General Counsel John A Rizzo
Jose A. Rodriguez, Directorate of Operations
Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan, was taken to Thailand for part of his interrogation. Several former intelligence officials also said there was great concern that the tapes, which recorded hours of grueling interrogations, could have set off controversies about the legality of the interrogations and generate a backlash in the Middle East. here In February 2005, a federal judge in New York ordered the CIA to comply with the ACLU's request for documents related to the CIA's detainment and interrogation of suspected terrorists. The agency was told to delve into its operations files for any responsive documents to produce for in camera review. If the timing is right, that would put Rizzo, who oversees the litigation division that handles FOIA requests, right in the thick of things.Joe Palazzolo
By mid-2002, the CIA had worked out secret black-site deals with two countries, including Thailand and one Eastern European nation, current and former officials said. An estimated $100 million was tucked inside the classified annex of the first supplemental Afghanistan appropriation.
On March 28, 2002. Pakistani forces took Abu Zubaida, al Qaeda's operations chief, into custody and the CIA whisked him to the new black site in Thailand, which included underground interrogation cells, said several former and current intelligence officials. By Dana Priest, November 2, 2005 here
Jose A. Rodriguez, Directorate of Operations
Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan, was taken to Thailand for part of his interrogation. Several former intelligence officials also said there was great concern that the tapes, which recorded hours of grueling interrogations, could have set off controversies about the legality of the interrogations and generate a backlash in the Middle East. here In February 2005, a federal judge in New York ordered the CIA to comply with the ACLU's request for documents related to the CIA's detainment and interrogation of suspected terrorists. The agency was told to delve into its operations files for any responsive documents to produce for in camera review. If the timing is right, that would put Rizzo, who oversees the litigation division that handles FOIA requests, right in the thick of things.Joe Palazzolo
By mid-2002, the CIA had worked out secret black-site deals with two countries, including Thailand and one Eastern European nation, current and former officials said. An estimated $100 million was tucked inside the classified annex of the first supplemental Afghanistan appropriation.
On March 28, 2002. Pakistani forces took Abu Zubaida, al Qaeda's operations chief, into custody and the CIA whisked him to the new black site in Thailand, which included underground interrogation cells, said several former and current intelligence officials. By Dana Priest, November 2, 2005 here
Labels: Abu Zubaydah, CIA, detainee, detention, erased, flight, Jose A. Rodriguez, rendition, tapes, Thailand, torture
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