What every American should be made to learn about the IG Torture Report

I wrote earlier today about Eric Holder's decision to "review" whether criminal prosecutions are warranted in connection with the torture of Terrorism suspects -- that can be read here -- but I want to write separately about the release today of the 200 Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins - via Digg, Glenn Greenwald
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Posted by: Posted by Derek Hawkins - Aug 24, 2009 - 6:21 PM PDT
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Derek Hawkins - Aug 25, 2009 - 11:16 AM PDT
Derek Hawkins
4.0
by Derek Hawkins - Aug. 25, 2009

Greenwald lets the details of "enhanced interrogation" speak for themselves. This is his signature topic, and he has a catalogue of earlier posts to link and cross reference. He got too excited with the title -- "should be made" was a poor choice of words -- and he payed for it, promising in one of his updates that he wasn't proposing legislation to compel citizens to read the IG report.

Manifestly, none of this happened by accident. As the IG Report continuously notes, all of these methods were severe departures from long-standing More »

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Fabrice Florin
3.7
by Fabrice Florin - Aug. 25, 2009

Thoughtful perspective on the CIA's Inspector General Report, which outlines in great detail the inhumane treatment of detainees by CIA interrogators. This blog post quotes numerous excerpts from this report, and presents useful context to help us understand the implications of these abuses. Informative and insightful opinion.

Americans who want to justify or endorse the torture we engaged in should be required to know what was actually done — not hide behind the comforting myth that ... More »

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Jim Lang
4.0
by Jim Lang - Aug. 25, 2009

Greenwald highlights the atrocities committed by interrogators in our name by reproducing with minimal comment relevant portions of the CIA Inspector General's report -- very powerful and sickening. He doesn't take the same care in attributing the blame to policies of high government officials, assuming instead that we all understand that. That, I believe, weakens his point that interrogators alone shouldn't be prosecuted when the policies that they were carrying out were approved at the highest levels of the government.

I share Greenwald's revulsion and believe myself that the Bush administration set the tone for the most egregious abuses and specifically approved some interrogation techniques that are illegal and immoral. However, I believe that in this article, Greenwald fails to tie up loose ends regarding administration responsibility (while in linked articles expending a large number of words lambasting his critics). Too bad.

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Dwight Rousu
4.8
by Dwight Rousu - Aug. 25, 2009

Greenwald provides excerpts of the report and advances the argument that the higher ups who butchered U.S. laws and ethics should be prosecuted.

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Chris Finnie
3.5
by Chris Finnie - Aug. 25, 2009

More an expose than a piece of journalism, Greenwald indulges in some justified outrage. Still, his emotional response somewhat undermines the strength of his argument--which he doesn't actually present a conclusion until the second update.

See Full Review » (11 answers)

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  • Did they work?

    That question has been among the most hotly disputed issues at the center of the continuing controversy over the CIA’s interrogation of suspected terrorists. The report ...
    Posted by Derek Hawkins
  • Prosecutor to Investigate CIA Abuse Allegations

    Attorney general is poised to name John Durham, a career Justice Dept. prosecutor, to lead probe of possible anti-torture violations, sources say.
    Posted by Derek Hawkins