Some Colorado lawmakers laud withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by end of year

Two Colorado congressional leaders who opposed the Iraq War from the beginning praised today’s announcement by President Barack Obama that American troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year.

“Having opposed the original Iraq war authorization in 2002, I am pleased with today’s announcement that U.S. troops will More…

Former N.Y. Gov. George Pataki: Investigating Torture Jeopardizes Rule of Law … Or Something

What?

In an interview with the Guardian for the eighth anniversary of 9/11, Pataki criticised current White House policies for sending wrong signals about US intentions around the world. In particular, he attacked the recent decision by the US justice department to launch an official investigation into alleged abuses

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Another Word About Cheney

In the ongoing debate over who ought (or ought not) be prosecuted for the abuse and torture of detainees in U.S. custody, American Civil Liberties Union national security lawyer Alex Abdo, made an important point yesterday that’s been largely overlooked.

“At the end of investigating is the time when you More…

Holder Inching Closer to Torture Probe

Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly getting closer to appointing an independent prosecutor to investigate torture under the Bush administration. That’s making some CIA employees nervous.

Greg Miller and Josh Meyer of The Los Angeles Times on Sunday confirmed earlier reports that Holder has reluctantly More…

Yoo Still Defends Torture Tactics, as Threat of Prosecution Looms

Former Bush administration Office of Legal counsel lawyer John Yoo yesterday told a packed auditorium at the campus of Chapman University School of Law in Orange County, Calif. — where he is a visiting professor (Yoo is on leave from what he called “The People’s Republic of Berkeley”) — that More…

Spanish Judge Eyes Bush Administration Officials for Human Rights Violations

According to news reports over the weekend, the relentless Spanish judge and human rights prosecutor, Baltasar Garzon, who first came to international attention for prosecuting Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, will likely soon charge former high-level Bush administration lawyers for violating international law by providing the legal framework to allow More…

U.K. To Investigate Its Role in U.S. Torture Policies

It’s interesting to note the contrast when someone charges government complicity with torture in the United Kingdom, versus here in the United States.

Ever since Binyam Mohamed — the Ethiopian-born Guantanamo detainee who claims he was tortured as part of the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program (and whom I’ve written about More…

Republicans Make a Case for Prosecuting Bush Officials

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s “Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry” convened this morning to consider Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) proposal for a sort of “truth and reconciliation” commission.

The hearing was full of all the predictable, lofty statements from illustrious supporters about why a commission would More…

Did Arlen Specter Just Call For Prosecution of Bush Officials?

Though Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa,) made it clear he opposed a truth commission along the lines of what Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has proposed, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, Specter — the ranking Republican on the committee — said that if More…

Civil Liberties Advocates Calls for Senate Intelligence Investigation to be Public

As I reported yesterday, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is planning to launch a thorough review of the CIA’s interrogation techniques used in the “war on terror” during the Bush administration. The inquiry, which has not yet been formally announced because its scope and procedures are still being More…