'We broke the law,' admits CIA agent - New England Patriots Forums

***PressCoverage*** · 11-08-2009, 09:35 PM

Well, this effectively slams the door shut on that debate. Not that there was EVER any doubt.

This is why their rationale quietly changed from "we don't torture" to "yeah, we torture, but it's necessary."

We broke the law, admits CIA agent convicted of rendition

One of the Americans convicted in absentia by an Italian court for her part in the 2003 abduction of a Muslim cleric by CIA operatives has acknowledged they "broke the law" and complained she was given insufficient protection by her superiors in Washington.

<snip>
In an interview earlier this year with an Italian newspaper, Mr Lady was candid about the seizure of the cleric. "Of course it was an illegal operation," the newspaper quoted him. "But that's our job. We're at war against terrorism".

***PressCoverage*** · 11-08-2009, 09:50 PM

Meanwhile, on a related note on torture... Here's more "law breaking" that has gotten affectively white-washed by our judicial system.... We're now sanctioning the torture of the innocent. The "Shock Doctrine" is complete.

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

It's not often that an appellate court decision reflects so vividly what a country has become, but such is the case with yesterday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arar v. Ashcroft (.pdf). Maher Arar is both a Canadian and Syrian citizen of Syrian descent. A telecommunications engineer and graduate of Montreal's McGill University, he has lived in Canada since he's 17 years old. In 2002, he was returning home to Canada from vacation when, on a stopover at JFK Airport, he was (a) detained by U.S. officials, (b) accused of being a Terrorist, (c) held for two weeks incommunicado and without access to counsel while he was abusively interrogated, and then (d) was "rendered" -- despite his pleas that he would be tortured -- to Syria, to be interrogated and tortured. He remained in Syria for the next 10 months under the most brutal and inhumane conditions imaginable, where he was repeatedly tortured.

<smip> ... a full investigation by Canadian authorities and the public disclosure of a detailed report which concluded "categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense or that his activities constituted a threat to the security of Canada." By stark and very revealing contrast, the U.S. Government has never admitted any wrongdoing or even spoken publicly about what it did; to the contrary, it repeatedly insisted that courts were barred from examining the conduct of government officials because what we did to Arar involves "state secrets" and because courts should not interfere in the actions of the Executive where national security is involved. What does that behavioral disparity between the two nations say about how "democratic," "accountable," and "open" the United States is?

Yesterday, the Second Circuit -- by a vote of 7-4 -- agreed with the government and dismissed Arar's case in its entirety. It held that even if the government violated Arar's Constitutional rights as well as statutes banning participation in torture, he still has no right to sue for what was done to him. Why? Because "providing a damages remedy against senior officials who implement an extraordinary rendition policy would enmesh the courts ineluctably in an assessment of the validity of the rationale of that policy and its implementation in this particular case

Patriot_in_NY · 11-09-2009, 12:03 AM

Hunt doggie, hunt.....

I have to admire your tenacity Press. Still trying to make this doggie hunt.

Unfortunatly, most everyone else has lost interest... or at least are on to more pressing issues like FINDING JOBS. Nice articles though. Nothing new, or particularly suprising either.

***DarrylS*** · 11-09-2009, 04:33 AM

We will get bits and pieces of the crimes committed by the Bush Cabal, for the next 20 years... prefer to live in a country that lives by the rules, rather than one that fabricates rules based on lies...

***patsfan13*** · 11-09-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PressCoverage

Meanwhile, on a related note on torture... Here's more "law breaking" that has gotten affectively white-washed by our judicial system.... We're now sanctioning the torture of the innocent. The "Shock Doctrine" is complete.

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

It's not often that an appellate court decision reflects so vividly what a country has become, but such is the case with yesterday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arar v. Ashcroft (.pdf). Maher Arar is both a Canadian and Syrian citizen of Syrian descent. A telecommunications engineer and graduate of Montreal's McGill University, he has lived in Canada since he's 17 years old. In 2002, he was returning home to Canada from vacation when, on a stopover at JFK Airport, he was (a) detained by U.S. officials, (b) accused of being a Terrorist, (c) held for two weeks incommunicado and without access to counsel while he was abusively interrogated, and then (d) was "rendered" -- despite his pleas that he would be tortured -- to Syria, to be interrogated and tortured. He remained in Syria for the next 10 months under the most brutal and inhumane conditions imaginable, where he was repeatedly tortured.

<smip> ... a full investigation by Canadian authorities and the public disclosure of a detailed report which concluded "categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense or that his activities constituted a threat to the security of Canada." By stark and very revealing contrast, the U.S. Government has never admitted any wrongdoing or even spoken publicly about what it did; to the contrary, it repeatedly insisted that courts were barred from examining the conduct of government officials because what we did to Arar involves "state secrets" and because courts should not interfere in the actions of the Executive where national security is involved. What does that behavioral disparity between the two nations say about how "democratic," "accountable," and "open" the United States is?

Yesterday, the Second Circuit -- by a vote of 7-4 -- agreed with the government and dismissed Arar's case in its entirety. It held that even if the government violated Arar's Constitutional rights as well as statutes banning participation in torture, he still has no right to sue for what was done to him. Why? Because "providing a damages remedy against senior officials who implement an extraordinary rendition policy would enmesh the courts ineluctably in an assessment of the validity of the rationale of that policy and its implementation in this particular case

He probably wishes he was sent to GITMO rather than Syria. WOnder how many other detainees would have gone to their native lands for imprisonment rather than stay at GITMO?

Mrs.PatsFanInVa · 11-09-2009, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patsfan13

He probably wishes he was sent to GITMO rather than Syria. WOnder how many other detainees would have gone to their native lands for imprisonment rather than stay at GITMO?

I don't think that's the point. I think the point is, WE sent him there - with no good reason other than we could, apparently, after we abusively interrogated him, held him incommunicato for two weeks, denied him a lawyer and sent him to Syria knowing full well that he'd be tortured there, too and now we've decided he's got no recourse other than to suck it up.

Besides what diffence does it make if you're tortured in Syria or you're tortured in America? Torture is torture regardless of where it takes place. People shouldn't have to choose where they want it to take place at - it shouldn't take place at all, anywhere.