Apr 6, 2010

CQ - Behind the Lines for Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Image by taiyofj via Flickr

By David C. Morrison, Special to Congressional Quarterly

Stockholm syndrome: "Maybe she's forgotten who she is -- or was," Arizona columnist muses of ex-governor Napolitano's reluctance to reinforce border . . . What's in a name: "The irony of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's acronym has never been lost on anyone, including the agency itself" . . . Bad CEO, no doughnut: "Despite growing awareness of how devastating a cyber-attack could be, many businesses still haven't implemented security measures." These and other stories lead today's homeland security coverage.

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“Drug traffickers fighting to control northern Mexico have turned their guns and grenades on the Mexican army, in an apparent escalation of warfare that played out across multiple cities,” The Los Angeles Times’ Tracy Wilkinson updates — and see The Washington Post’s William Booth on the rise of a prison-spawned, cross-border paramilitary killing machine. “Maybe she’s just taking orders from her boss, Barack Obama. Or maybe she’s forgotten who she is — or was,” Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts hazards as to why DHS’s Janet Napolitano hasn’t yet dispatched troops to the border. “How to account for this refusal to appreciate a primary security problem escalating along our 1,500-mile southern border?” Sol Sanders muses in The Washington Times.

Feds: Since the Southwest Border Security Initiative began a year ago, DHS has increased tactical support to border area law enforcers, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald’s Laura Tillman relatedly surveys. The Pakistani Taliban takes credit for yesterday’s multipronged suicide attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, in which two non-U.S. defenders were killed, Al Jazeera reports — as the Post’s Joshua Partlow finds U.S. officials troubled by Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s threat to join the Taliban before bowing to foreign interference. A year on, the FBI’s eGuardian system “has proven a robust tool for aggregating terrorist threat information,” reaping 3,400 suspicious activity reports generating 56 investigations, a bureau official tells Security Management’s Joseph Straw.

Thin ICE: A federal program that partners local police agencies with ICE has grown rapidly without ensuring that police follow federal priorities or respect civil rights, The Arizona Republic’s Daniel Gonzalez has a DHS IG report finding. “The irony of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acronym has never been lost on anyone, including the agency itself,” Mary Giovagnoli spotlights on AlterNet. “Setting quotas to deport more illegal immigrants would mean diverting resources from getting rid of some of the nation’s worst criminals,” a Post reader writes. From 1997 to 2007, ICE and its predecessor deported the lawful immigrant parents of nearly 88,000 citizen children, Homeland Security Newswire learns from a report — and see Tanya Golash-Boza in CounterPunch: “ICE on the Border: The Politics of Deportation.”

State and Local: At an April 17 event in Albany, military and federal experts will brief responders and the public on coping with natural disasters and terrorist attacks, the Times Union tells — while The Pueblo Chieftain has Gov. Bill Ritter naming four area law enforcers to the homeland-security-bolstering Colorado Interoperability Executive Council, and The Sioux Falls Argus Leader sees a Highway Patrol vet appointed director of South Dakota’s Office of Homeland Security. New CDC numbers show tiny Rhode Island boasting the highest rate of swine flu vaccinations, about 39 percent, three times higher than Mississippi, which has the weakest participation, The Jackson Clarion-Ledger relays — as The Austin American-Statesman sees Texas officials monitoring a rise in swine flu cases in the Southeast United States and encouraging inoculation.

Bid-ness: The reason DHS and other agencies struggle to hire expert cyberwarriors “is simple: The pool of truly skilled security professionals is a small one, and the government is only the latest suitor vying for their talents,” The San Francisco Chronicle spotlights. “Despite growing awareness of how devastating a cyber-attack could be, many businesses still haven’t implemented security measures,” The New New Internet has a recent report highlighting. A former Chicago Police superintendent and a retired Secret Service chief helm a fast-growing security consulting firm, the Sun-Times profiles. The deadliest terrorist attacks on Moscow since 2004 didn’t stop Russian stocks from climbing more than every market worldwide last week, Bloomberg relates.

Bugs ‘n Bombs: A “certified cleaning expert” briefs The Lansdale (Pa.) Reporter on sanitizing measures for situations ranging up to “weapons-grade pathogens and bioterrorism.” Speaking of the Keystone State, the Biosecurity and Vaccine Development Improvement Act would keep money moving to one of recently deceased Rep. Jack Murtha’s pet recipients of taxpayer dollars, BioPrepWatch relates. Years after a six-month deadline passed, dozens of nations, including uranium producers, ignore a U.N. mandate on controls to foil nuclear terrorism, The Associated Press reports — while the Post reports that in the nuclear posture statement due today, Obama appears to be backing off promises to take the nation’s nuclear weapons off “hair-trigger alert.”

Close Air Support: Four newspaper companies are progressing with a suit to force Raleigh-Durham International to allow post-security newspaper racks, which airport authorities describe as a terror risk, USA Today updates. The newly announced screening regime for incoming non-citizens “will treat all passengers flying into the United States in the same way, regardless of their faith or nationality,” Arab News applauds — while a North Star National op-ed claims the measures “will weaken our ability to screen out terrorists.” The suspected terrorist who drove a car onto a Nigerian airport’s tarmac and into a parked aircraft “may have targeted the five Americans and top politicians on board the aircraft,” The Sunday Punch reports — as The Toronto Star terms a cadre of Mounties serving as in-flight security officers “one of Canada’s secret weapons in the war on terror.”

Coming and Going: “The key to unbinding the Gordian knot of mass transit rail security is to accept risk,” an Antiwar.com op-ed asserts. “Like much of TSA’s efforts on aviation security, its mass transit and passenger rail efforts remain a work in progress,” Homeland Security Watch adds. “Perhaps the most overlooked mode of transportation is our nation’s system of pipelines. With few resources, the TSA must protect this mode, in addition to more obvious ones like aviation and rail,” The Boston Herald leads. “There’s also the possibility of Seaport Canaveral being an enticing target for terrorists,” Florida Today observes, referencing the port’s new 118 million gallon tank farm. “A security expert warns the technology is far from perfect as Canada prepares to join 60 other countries next year and begin issuing electronic passports,” Calgary’s 660 News notes.

Home Front: Senate homelander Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., warned Sunday that extreme partisan anger is increasing the risk of domestic terrorism in the United States, Voice of America’s Paula Wolfson relates. If the Hutaree militia “are scapegoats of the Obama Homeland Security machine, well, we may never know it. One thing I do know for certain is these people are the perfect target for Napolitano and her gang,” Gina Miller conspiracizes for Dakota Voice. The Michigan militia arrests “should serve as a wake-up call to those in political leadership roles who are inciting rage against the government,” James Zogby exhorts in The Huffington Post. “Violence with the stated goal of changing the internal workings of our democracy is terrorism, not patriotism,” The Marion (Ohio) Star adjures. “Words can be weapons, too. So after nearly every new report of political violence . . . there is a vocabulary debate: Should it be labeled ‘terrorism’?” The New York Times’ Scott Shane explores.

Talking Terror: Some leaders “call for an offshore strategy of counterterrorism to retaliate after an attack rather than an in-country strategy of counterinsurgency to prevent such attacks,” Henry R. Nau notes in Policy Review. “Terrorism is like jazz; it’s all about improvisation and variation. That’s why conventional forces are dead in the water against it; they’re all ‘by the book,’ with top-down command and control,” Doug Casey tells HoweStreet.com. “We are safer because, despite his rhetoric, Obama became Bush in matters of anti-terrorism,” Victor Davis Hanson asserts in The National Review. Female suicide bombers are more driven by abusive histories than nationalist yearnings, Haaretz has a new book published in Israel positing — and check IPT News on “The Growing Threat from Female Suicide Bombers.”

Courts and rights: A pregnant American charged in a global terror plot will plead not guilty at a hearing tomorrow in Pennsylvania, AP learns — as The Chicago Sun-Times relays word of a Chicago cabbie also pleading innocent yesterday to attempting to aid al Qaeda. Unlawful immigration status is insufficient cause to permit lawsuit plaintiffs to hide behind anonymity, The Arkansas News Bureau has that state’s Supreme Court ruling — while The St. Louis Post-Dispatch covers the conclusion of a case that at one time promised to involve international terror finance. “It’s not that we aren’t going to have the rule of law. It’s which rule of law,” The Huffington Post quotes Lieberman, again, promoting military trials for accused terrorists.

Over There: A stepped-up campaign of American drone strikes in the Af-Pak border region this year has cast a pall of fear over an area that was once a free zone for al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Times leads. The leader of an Islamist terror group widely considered to be a nationalist insurgent organization has invited Osama bin Laden to Somalia, The Long War Journal relates. Salafi-Jihadi activities in Mauritania have increased significantly in the last couple of years, indicating that al-Qaeda-affiliated groups are becoming more effective in that country, Terrorism Monitor mentions.

Do You Solemnly Swear: “Things are slowly returning to normal today at the White House in the wake of the recent F-Bomb scare,” Unconfirmed Sources confirms. “All offices of the White House are back in operation after a tense afternoon following the evacuation of the entire facility during the signing ceremony for the bill to reform the American health care system. The evacuation was ordered when a Secret Service agent who was monitoring the bill signing determined that an F-Bomb had been dropped near the president. He was spirited away to a secure facility and the White House staff was also evacuated. The White House F-Bomb squad was called in and secured the building. The team of F-Bomb experts searched the building and recovered the remains of the F-Bomb, nobody was injured during the operation . . . Lawmakers, fresh from their success in passing Health Care Reform, have already vowed to address the F-Bomb crisis.”

Source: CQ Homeland Security

Torturing Democracy - National Security Archive

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Documents By Chronology:

The attacks on September 11, 2001 were the catalyst for the "war on terror"– and for a legal revolution in assertions of broad powers for the Commander-in-Chief. In this chronological library of 34 documents, it is possible to chart the decision-making that led to interrogations of prisoners in U.S. custody that were "at a minimum, cruel and inhuman treatment and, at worst, torture," in the words of the former general counsel of the United States Navy, Alberto Mora.

1. Declaration of National Emergency
DATE: September 14, 2001
SUBJECT: Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks
AUTHOR: President George W. Bush
President Bush signs a military order declaring a national emergency.

2. Memo from John Yoo to Tim Flanigan
DATE: September 25, 2001
SUBJECT: The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorist and Nations Supporting Them
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
This memo lays out an expansive vision of presidential power, arguing that Congress cannot "place any limits on the President's determinations as to any terrorist threat, the amount of military force to be used in response, or the method, timing, and nature of the response. These decisions, under our Constitution, are for the President alone to make."

3. Memorandum from John Yoo to David S. Kris
DATE: September 25, 2001
SUBJECT: Constitutionality of Amending Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to Change the "Purpose" Standard for Searches
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC
In this opinion, Yoo discussed possible changes to the laws governing wiretaps for intelligence gathering, and signaled that the government's interest in keeping the nation safe following the terrorist attacks might justify warrantless searches.

4. Memorandum from John Yoo & Robert J. Delahunty to Alberto Gonzales & William J. Haynes
DATE: October 23, 2001
SUBJECT: Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities within the United States
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC & Robert J. Delahunty, Special Counsel, OLC
The United States, it was argued, was in a “state of armed conflict.” The scale of violence, the authors added, was unprecedented and “legal and constitutional rules” governing law enforcement – such as the Fourth Amendment prohibition on "unreasonable" searches and seizures did not apply. "The President has both constitutional and statutory authority to use the armed forces in military operations, against terrorists, within the United States."

The authors added that, “First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully.”

5. Memorandum from Patrick Philbin to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: November 6, 2001
SUBJECT: Legality of the Use of Military Commissions to Try Terrorists
AUTHOR: Patrick Philbin, Deputy Assistant Attorney General
A legal opinion issued just a week before President Bush signed an order establishing military commissions to try prisoners who were deemed enemy combatants. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled – in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld – that those military commissions were inconsistent with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

6. Military Commissions Order
DATE: November 13, 2001
SUBJECT: "Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War on Terrorism"
AUTHOR: President George W. Bush
This military order declares the Commander-in-Chief's unilateral authority to hold prisoners in the war on terror indefinitely.

7. Memo from John Yoo to Jim Haynes
DATE: December 28, 2001
SUBJECT: Possible Habeas Jurisdiction over Aliens Held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
AUTHOR: John Yoo & Patrick Philbin, Deputy Assistant Attorneys General, Office of Legal Counsel
This memo concludes that federal district courts would lack jurisdiction to accept habeas petitions from prisoners who were held at Guantanamo.

8. Amnesty International Letter to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld
DATE: January 7, 2002
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHOR: Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International
The president of Amnesty International writes an urgent letter concerning detainees in U.S. custody, warning against the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," noting hooding and blindfolding detainees is a violation of the Convention Against Torture.

9. Memo from John Yoo to Jim Haynes
DATE: January 9, 2002
SUBJECT: "Application of Treaties and Laws to Al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees"
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
In this memo, Yoo writes "We conclude that these treaties [including Geneva] do not protect members of the al Qaeda organization. We further conclude that that [sic] these treaties do not apply to the Taliban militia."

10. Memo from William Taft to John Yoo
DATE: January 11, 2002
SUBJECT: "Your Draft Memorandum of January 9th"
AUTHOR: William Taft IV, Legal Adviser to the State Department
Describing Yoo's legal analysis as "seriously flawed," the memorandum also warns that "this raises the risk of future criminal prosecution for U.S. civilian and military leadership and their advisers."

11. Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Joint Chiefs of Staff
DATE: January 19, 2002
SUBJECT: "Status of Taliban and al Qaeda"
AUTHOR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld declares that "The United States has determined that Al Qaida and Taliban individuals under the control of the Department of Defense are not entitled to prisoner of war status for purposes of the Geneva Conventions of 1949."

12. Memo from Jay Bybee to Jim Haynes
DATE: January 22, 2002
SUBJECT: "Application of Treaties and Laws to Al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees"
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
Jay Bybee signs off on John Yoo's January 9th draft, sending it in its final form to Pentagon General Counsel Jim Haynes and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales. The memo explains that "certain deviations from the text of Geneva III may be permissible, as a matter of domestic law, if they fall within certain justifications or legal exceptions, such as those for self defense."

13. Memo from Alberto Gonzales to President Bush
DATE: January 25, 2002
SUBJECT: "Application of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War to the Conflict with al Qaeda and the Taliban"
AUTHOR: Alberto Gonzales, White House Counsel
This memo for the President outlines the benefits of opting out of the Geneva Conventions and lists the benefits of such a finding. Gonzales notes that non-compliance with Geneva "would create a reasonable basis in law that Section 2441 [War Crimes Act] does not apply, which would provide a solid defense to any future prosecution."

14. Memo from Colin Powell to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: January 26, 2002
SUBJECT: Draft Decision Memorandum for the President on the Applicability of the Geneva Convention to the Conflict in Afghanistan
AUTHOR: Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Colin Powell warns of the consequences of opting out of the Geneva Convention. "It will reverse over a century of U.S. policy . . . and undermine the prosecutions of the law of war for our troops . . ." He adds, "it may provoke some individual foreign prosecutors to investigate and prosecute our officials and troops."

15. Letter from John Ashcroft to President Bush
DATE: February 1, 2002
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHOR: John Ashcroft, Attorney General
John Ashcroft concludes that opting out of Geneva "would provide the highest assurance that no court would subsequently entertain charges that American military officers, intelligence officials, or law enforcement officials violated Geneva Convention rules relating to field conduct, detention conduct or interrogation of detainees."

16. Memo from Jay Bybee to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: February 7, 2002
SUBJECT: Status of Taliban Forces Under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
In this memo, Jay Bybee states that the President has the power to ignore Geneva's requirement that prisoners be given "Article 5" hearings to establish their status as POWs. "The President. may use his constitutional power to interpret treaties and apply them to the facts, to make the determination that the Taliban are unlawful combatants.. We therefore conclude that there is no need to establish tribunals to determine POW status under Article 5."

17. Memo from President Bush to Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, et. al.
DATE: February 7, 2002
SUBJECT: Humane Treatment of al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees
AUTHOR: President George W. Bush
President George W. Bush declares that the United States will not be bound by the Geneva Convention's protections for prisoners of war.

18. Memo from Jay Bybee to Jim Haynes
DATE: February 26, 2002
SUBJECT: "Potential Legal Constraints Applicable to Interrogations of Persons Captured by U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan"
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
In the wake of the capture of the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, questions about the rights of American citizens captured in the war on terror became a new issue. In conclusion, Bybee notes "even if the Government did in fact violate Rule 4.2 by having military lawyers interrogate represented persons (including Mr. Walker) without consent of counsel, it would not follow that the evidence obtained in that questioning would be inadmissible at trial."

19. Memorandum from Jay Bybee to William J. Haynes
DATE: March 13, 2002
SUBJECT: The President's Power as Commander in Chief to Transfer Captured Terrorists to the Control and Custody of Foreign Nations
AUTHOR: Jay S. Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, OLC
This memorandum appears to underpin the so-called "extraordinary rendition" program. It argues that the President has an unfettered right to transfer prisoners captured in the war on terror to governments around the world without regard for whether they would be tortured.

It further argues that "so long as the US does not intend for a detainee to be tortured post-transfer…no criminal liability will attach to a transfer, even if the foreign country receiving the detainee does torture him."

20. Memorandum from Patrick F. Philbin to Daniel J. Bryant
DATE: April 8, 2002
SUBJECT: Swift Justice Authorization Act
AUTHOR: Patrick Philbin, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC
The author concludes that Congress cannot interfere with the President's exercise of his authority as Commander-in-Chief to control the conduct of operations during war, including his authority to promulgate rules to regulate military commissions.

21. Memorandum from Jay Bybee to John Ashcroft
DATE: June 8, 2002
SUBJECT: Determination of Enemy Belligerency and Military Detention
AUTHOR: Jay S. Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, OLC
Arguing that “the military has the legal authority to detain (Jose Padilla) as a prisoner captured during an international armed conflict,” this opinion was issued one day before Padilla – an American citizen arrested on American soil – was designated an “enemy combatant.”

The authors further concluded that the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that had long limited the powers of the government to use the US military for law enforcement within the United States could be suspended; it “presents no statutory bar” to Padilla’s military imprisonment.

22. Memo from Jay Bybee to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: "Standards for Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340 - 2340A"
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
In what has become notorious as the "torture memo," Jay Bybee signs off on an opinion authored by John Yoo. The memorandum systematically dismisses numerous U.S. federal laws, treaties and international law prohibiting the use of torture, essentially defining the term out of existence.

23. Letter from John Yoo to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
John Yoo writes to White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales warning of potential threats of international prosecution regarding the administration's interrogation policies. Yoo notes that "Interrogations of al Qaeda members ... cannot constitute a war crime" because of the Presidential determination that Geneva's protections do not apply.

24. Memo from Jay Bybee to the CIA
DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: Memorandum for [REDACTED] Interrogation of [REDACTED]
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
Written by the Office of Legal Counsel's Jay Bybee and sent to the Central Intelligence Agency, this heavily redacted document was released to the ACLU in 2008. It details "advising the CIA regarding interrogation methods it may use against al Qaeda members," and in one un-redacted portion, argues that "to violate the statute, an individual must have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering. Based on the information you have provided us, we believe those carrying out these procedures would not have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering."

25. Guantanamo Trip Report
DATE: September 27, 2002
SUBJECT: Trip Report, DOD General Counsel Visit to GTMO
AUTHOR: Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
A one page summary of Pentagon General Counsel Jim Haynes, and Vice President Cheney's legal counsel David Addington's trip to Guantanamo on September 25, 2002. The report notes that their stated purpose was to "receive briefings on Intel successes, Intel challenges, Intel techniques, Intel problems and future plans for facilities."

26. Guantanamo Meeting Minutes
DATE: October 2, 2002
SUBJECT: Counter Resistance Strategy Meeting Minutes
AUTHOR: N/A
A senior CIA lawyer meets with military officials at Guantanamo, and states that laws banning torture are "basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong." The Pentagon's top legal adviser at the camp responds, "We will need documentation to protect us." When the military's top criminal investigator reads the minutes, he forwards them to other senior personnel, noting "This looks like the kind of stuff Congressional hearings are made of." Waterboarding, for example, would "shock the conscience of any legal body looking at the results of the interrogations or possibly even the interrogators. Somebody needs to be considering how history will look back at this."

27. Memo from Major General Michael Dunlavey
DATE: October 11, 2002
SUBJECT: "Counter-Resistance Strategies"
AUTHOR: Major General Michael Dunlavey
General Michael Dunlavey sends a formal request for approval of harsh interrogation techniques based on SERE up the chain of command to General James T. Hill, commander of USSOUTHCOM. The most extreme "Category III" techniques mirror "those used in U.S. military interrogation resistance training or by other US government agencies."

28. Memo from General James T. Hill
DATE: October 25, 2002
SUBJECT: "Counter-Resistance Strategies"
AUTHOR: General James T. Hill
General James Hill, commander of USSOUTHCOM, forwards the request to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but worries that, "I am particularly troubled by the use of implied or expressed threats of death of the detainee or his family."

29. Action Memo from Jim Haynes to Donald Rumsfeld
DATE: November 27, 2002
SUBJECT: "Counter-Resistance Techniques"
AUTHOR: William J. Haynes, General Counsel, Department of Defense
Secretary Rumfeld's General Counsel Jim Haynes, sends an "action memo" for the Secretary's signature advising Rumsfeld to approve a list of harsh interrogation techniques. On December 2, 2002 Rumsfeld signs off, and authorizes all the Category I & II techniques, including 20 hour interrogations, deprivation of light and auditory stimuli, removal of clothing, the use of phobias such as dogs, and stress positions for up to four hours. Haynes notes that Category III techniques, including waterboarding, "may be legally available" but "as a matter of policy a blanket approval. is not warranted at this time." As Secretary Rumsfeld signs the action memo, he adds a post-script "I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours?"

30. FBI Legal Analysis
DATE: November 27, 2002
SUBJECT: Legal Analysis
AUTHOR: N/A
An FBI agent warns his superiors that several of the techniques being considered "are not permitted by the U.S. constitution" and others are "examples of coercive interrogation techniques that may violate 18 U.S.C. § 2340 (Torture Statute)."

31. Draft Guantanamo SERE SOP
DATE: December 10, 2002
SUBJECT: JTF GTMO "SERE" Interrogation Standard Operating Procedure
AUTHOR: Lt. Col. Ted Moss
This draft memo, never before released in its entirety, directly links the tactics being used at Guantanamo to the U.S. military's torture resistance training: "These tactics and techniques are used in SERE school to 'break' SERE detainees. The same tactics and techniques can be used to break real detainees during interrogation operations."

32. SERE Instructors' Guantanamo Report
DATE: January 15, 2003
SUBJECT: After Action Report Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay (JTF-GTMO) Training Evolution
AUTHOR: John F. Rankin, SERE Training Specialist & Christopher Ross, SERE Coordinator
Responding to a "high level directive," two SERE instructors travel to Guantanamo, where they lead a class of 24 Guantanamo interrogators on the use of SERE techniques based on "Biderman's Principles." Principles include death threats, degradation, and "induced debilitation."

33. Memo from Donald Rumsfeld
DATE: January 15, 2003
SUBJECT: "Counter Resistance Techniques"
AUTHOR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rescinds his authorization of the Category II and III techniques authorized by his December 2, 2002 order.

34. Memo from Donald Rumsfeld Establishing Working Group
DATE: January 15, 2003
SUBJECT: Detainee Interrogations
AUTHOR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld orders a Working Group comprised of senior military lawyers to study the legality of various interrogation techniques.

35. The JAG Memos
DATE: February 5 - March 13, 2003
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHORS: Military Judges Advocate General
Top military lawyers in the Working Group issue a series of vigorous dissents to many of the proposed techniques being discussed.

36. Memo from John Yoo to Jim Haynes
DATE: March 14, 2003
SUBJECT: Military Interrogation of Alien Unlawful Combatants Held Outside the United States
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
Written at the request of DoD General Counsel William Haynes, the memo is an expansion of John Yoo's August, 2002 "torture memo" and lays out in more expansive detail what would be permitted under the administration's interrogation policy. Haynes makes it clear that the memo is the "controlling authority" for the Working Group.

37. Working Group Report
DATE: April 4, 2003
SUBJECT: "Working Group Report on Detainee Interrogations in the Global War on Terrorism"
AUTHOR: N/A
The report of the Working Group on interrogation policy is signed out. In 85-pages, it endorses a series of 35 interrogation techniques including "fear up harsh," "emotional love," "emotional hate," "hooding," and "sleep adjustment." Though it is signed out in their names, members of the Working Group were not informed of its final contents.

38. Memo from Donald Rumsfeld
DATE: April 16, 2003
SUBJECT: "Counter-Resistance Techniques in the War on Terrorism"
AUTHOR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Rumsfeld issues a memorandum to the commander of US Southern Command authorizing 24 of the 35 techniques for use at Guantanamo.

39. Interrogation "Wish List" E-mail
DATE: August 14, 2003
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHOR: N/A
This memo issued by a U.S. Army military intelligence officer requests that interrogators come up with a "wish list" of interrogation techniques for use in Iraq. The memo notes, "The gloves are coming off gentleman regarding these detainees. [REDACTED] has made it clear that we want these individuals broken." Responding, another interrogator suggests, "... a baseline interrogation technique that at a minimum allows for physical contact resembling that used by SERE instructors. Sleep deprivation. Fear of dogs and snakes appear to work nicely. I firmly agree that the gloves need to come off."

40. Memo from General Sanchez
DATE: September 14, 2003
SUBJECT: "CJTF-7 Interrogation and Counter Resistance Policy"
AUTHOR: General Ricardo Sanchez, Commander of US Forces in Iraq
General Ricardo Sanchez issues guidelines for the interrogation of Iraqi detainees. The techniques he authorizes are almost a verbatim copy of those authorized for Guantanamo by Secretary Rumsfeld in April, 2003.

41. Memorandum from Jack Goldsmith to Alberto Gonzales
DATE: March 18, 2004
SUBJECT: “Protected Person” Status in Occupied Iraq under the Fourth Geneva Convention
AUTHOR: Jack L. Goldsmith III, Assistant Attorney General
Written by the new head of the Office of Legal Counsel, the opinion declared that the Geneva Conventions protected “citizens and permanent residents of Iraq,” including those “who commit hostile acts against the occupying power.” This opinion provoked the ire of the Vice President’s general counsel, David Addington, an incident described in detail in “The Terror Presidency” by Goldsmith.

42. Memorandum "for the files"
DATE: October 6, 2008
SUBJECT: John Yoo’s October 23, 2001 OLC Opinion Addressing the Domestic Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities
AUTHOR: Steven G. Bradbury, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC
This memorandum repudiates John Yoo's secret October 23, 2001 opinion asserting that the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution must give way when the President deems it necessary in defense of the nation.

43. Testimony of Spc. Brandon Neely
DATE: December 4, 2008
SUBJECT: Conditions at Guantanamo
AUTHOR: Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas
On December 4, 2008, Specialist Brandon Neely approached CSHRA with testimony he wished to contribute to the Guantánamo Testimonials Project. He believed that insufficient attention had been paid to 'the hell that went on at Camp X-Ray.'"

44. Executive Summary, Senate Armed Services Committee
DATE: December 11, 2008
SUBJECT: Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody
AUTHOR: Senate Armed Services Committee
In December, 2008, the Senate Armed Services Committee completed a classified 250-page report outlining its 18-month investigation into U.S. detention and interrogation policies. The report’s Executive Summary concludes that “(t)he abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of ‘a few bad apples’ acting on their own. The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees."

Senator John McCain, ranking Republican on the Committee, added, “The Committee’s report details the inexcusable link between abusive interrogation techniques used by our enemies who ignored the Geneva Conventions and interrogation policy for detainees in U.S. custody.”

45. Memorandum "for the files"
DATE: January 15, 2009
SUBJECT: Status of Certain OLC Opinions Issued in the Aftermath of the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
AUTHOR: Steven G. Bradbury, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC
Stating that “certain propositions stated in several opinions issued by the Office Legal Counsel from 2001 – 2003 respecting the allocation of authorities between the President and Congress in matters of war and national security do not reflect the current views of this Office,” this memorandum disowns the broad claims of constitutional law reflected in the OLC opinions. It does not comment upon or disown the specific policies regarding surveillance, detention and interrogation.

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Recently released documents

29. Mar. 2010: U.S. Embassy profiles on Icelandic PM, Foreign Minister, Ambassador: Three classified U.S. profiles of key Icelandic figures. (1) Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir; (2) the then Icelandic Ambassador to the U.S., Albert Jonsson; (3) Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Ossur Skarphedinsson. The profiles form briefing documents for U.S. officials visiting Iceland. While the documents are relatively lowly classified and careful to be diplomatic, the tone and certain facts are notable; for instance, speaking on the (then) Icelandic Ambassador to the U.S: "he protested privately when explanations of alleged use of Icelandic airspace by CIA-operated planes were three weeks late in arriving and, in his view, inadequate, but worked with US diplomats to downplay the issue publicly.". Similarly, views about the figures in relation to NATO and other U.S. issues are explored.
26. Mar. 2010: CIA report into shoring up Afghan war support in Western Europe, 11 Mar 2010: This classified CIA analysis from March, outlines possible PR-strategies to shore up public support in Germany and France for a continued war in Afghanistan. After the dutch government fell on the issue of dutch troops in Afghanistan last month, the CIA became worried that similar events could happen in the countries that post the third and fourth largest troop contingents to the ISAF-mission. The proposed PR strategies focus on pressure points that have been identified within these countries. For France it is the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women. For Germany it is the fear of the consequences of defeat (drugs, more refugees, terrorism) as well as for Germany's standing in the NATO. The memo is an recipe for the targeted manipulation of public opinion in two NATO ally countries, written by the CIA. It is classified as Confidential / No Foreign Nationals.
17. Mar. 2010: Update to over 40 billion euro in 28167 claims made against the Kaupthing Bank, 3 Mar 2010: This document contains an update to a list of 28167 claims, totaling over 40 billion euro, lodged against the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bank hf. The document is significant because it reveals billions in cash, bonds and other property held with Kaupthing by a vast number of investors and asset hiders, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanly, Exista, Barclays, Commerzbank AG, etc. It was confidentially made available to claimants by the Kaupthing Winding-up committee.
15. Mar. 2010: U.S. Intelligence planned to destroy WikiLeaks, 18 Mar 2008: This document is a classified (SECRET/NOFORN) 32 page U.S. counterintelligence investigation into WikiLeaks. ``The possibility that current employees or moles within DoD or elsewhere in the U.S. government are providing sensitive or classified information to WikiLeaks.org cannot be ruled out''. It concocts a plan to fatally marginalize the organization. Since WikiLeaks uses ``trust as a center of gravity by protecting the anonymity and identity of the insiders, leakers or whistleblowers'', the report recommends ``The identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers could potentially damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the WikiLeaks.org Web site''. [As two years have passed since the date of the report, with no WikiLeaks' source exposed, it appears that this plan was ineffective]. As an odd justification for the plan, the report claims that ``Several foreign countries including China, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe have denounced or blocked access to the WikiLeaks.org website''. The report provides further justification by enumerating embarrassing stories broken by WikiLeaks---U.S. equipment expenditure in Iraq, probable U.S. violations of the Chemical Warfare Convention Treaty in Iraq, the battle over the Iraqi town of Fallujah and human rights violations at Guantanamo Bay.
15. Mar. 2010: Turks & Caicos Islands government asks for US$85M credit line from FirstCaribbean, 28 Jan 2010: Quote for a US$85 million line of credit from FirstCaribbean to the government of the Turks & Caicos Islands. The loan is to be used for refinancing existing liabilities held by FirstCaribbean & Citibank ($26M), reduce an overdraft facility ($15M), cash reserves (US$10M), pay creditors $(US$33M) and "transactions costs". The intern TCI Government is controlled by the Consultative Forum. Our source states that forum members demanded access to this document but were denied access to it.
15. Mar. 2010: Over 40 billion euro in 28167 claims made against the Kaupthing Bank, 23 Jan 2010: This document contains a list of 28167 claims, totaling over 40 billion euro, lodged against the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bank hf. The document is significant because it reveals billions in cash, bonds and other property held with Kaupthing by a vast number of investors and asset hiders, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanly, Exista, Barclays, Commerzbank AG, etc. It was confidentially made available to claimants by the Kaupthing Winding-up committee.
15. Mar. 2010: BBC High Court Defence against Trafigura libel suit, 11 Sep 2009: This document was submitted to the UK's High Court by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in September 2009, as a Defence against a libel claim brought against them by the oil company Trafigura. A May 2009 BBC Newsnight feature suggested that 16 deaths and many other injuries were caused by the dumping in the Ivory Coast of a large quantity of toxic waste originating with Trafigura. A September 2009 UN report into the matter stated that 108,000 people were driven to seek medical attention. This Defence, which has never been previously published online, outlines in detail the evidence which the BBC believed justified its coverage. In December 2009 the BBC settled out of court amid reports that fighting the case could have cost as much as 3 million pounds. The BBC removed its original Newsnight footage and associated articles from its on-line archives. The detailed claims contained in this document were never aired publicly, and never had a chance to be tested in court. Commenting on the BBC's climbdown, John Kampfner, CEO of Index on Censorship said: "Sadly, the BBC has once again buckled in the face of authority or wealthy corporate interests. It has cut a secret deal. This is a black day for British journalism and once more strengthens our resolve to reform our unjust libel laws." Jonathan Heawood, Director of English PEN, said: "Forced to choose between a responsible broadcaster and an oil company which shipped hundreds of tons of toxic waste to a developing country, English libel law has once again allowed the wrong side to claim victory. The law is an ass and needs urgent reform." Now that this document is in the public domain, the global public will be able to make their own judgment about the strength of the BBC's case.
26. Feb. 2010: Icelandic Icesave offer to UK-NL, 25 Feb 2010: Confidential Feb 25 offer (conveyed around 10AM, GMT) from the Icelandic Icesave negotiation team to their British and Dutch counterparts. Iceland agreed to cover all monies associated with the UK-NL Icesave payouts, but forcefully objects to a 2.75% "profiteering" fee demanded by UK-NL over and above base interest rates.
26. Feb. 2010: Final UK-NL offer to the government of Iceland, 19 Feb 2010: Confidential offer from the UK, dutch Icesave negotiation teams to their Icelandic counterparts. Iceland is to cover all monies associated with the UK/NL Icesave payouts, all currency and recovery risks, base interest as well as an effective 2.75% additional fee. The 2009-2010 period is excerpted from interest charges, which the offer values at 450M euro (how the figure is derived is not specified, but it equates to approx. 5.5% PA on 4 Bil EUR). The offer appears to be designed to be leaked, as it contains rhetoric about "tax payers" and similar irrelevancies. Indeed a sentence from the offer appears in a Reuters article filed at 18:04 UTC, February 19, six hours before the confidential offer was sent to the Icelandic government. In the Reuters' article, phrases are quoted from the offer by an anonymous source, clearly a sanctioned British official, although this is not stated by Reuters. Similar "sources" selectively quoted the document to other media outlets including Channel 4 and the Guardian on February 25, 2010.
24. Feb. 2010: Cryptome.org takedown: Microsoft Global Criminal Compliance Handbook, 24 Feb 2010: Cryptome.org is a venerable New York based anti-secrecy site that has been publishing since 1999. On Feb 24, 2010, the site was forcibly taken down following its publication Microsoft's "Global Criminal Compliance Handbook", a confidential 22 page booklet designed for police and intelligence services. The guide provides a "menu" of information Microsoft collects on the users of its online services. Microsoft lawyers threatened Cryptome and its "printer", internet hosting provider giant Network Solutions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA was designed to protect the legitimate rights of publishers, not to conceal scandalous internal documents that were never intended for sale. Although the action is a clear abuse of the DMCA, Network Solutions, a company with extensive connections to U.S. intelligence contractors, gagged the site in its entirety. Such actions are a serious problem in the United States, where although in theory the First Amendment protects the freedom of the press, in practice, censorship has been privatized via abuse of the judicial system and corporate patronage networks.
24. Feb. 2010: IGES Schlussbericht Private Krankenversicherung, 25 Jan 2010: Abschlussbericht der Studie "Bedeutung von Wettbewerb im Bereich der privaten Krankenversicherungen vor dem Hintergrund der erwarteten demografischen Entwicklung", angefertigt durch das Berliner Institut fuer Gesundheits- und Sozialforschung (IGES) im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums fuer Wirtschaft (BMWI). Die Studie, datiert vom 25. Januar 2010, wurde von BMWI Ressortchef Rainer Bruederle (FDP) in den Giftschrank verbannt. Die ZIP Datei enthaelt Kurz- und Langfassung der Studie.
18. Feb 2010: Classified cable from US Embassy Reykjavik on Icesave dated 13 Jan 2010: This document, released by WikiLeaks on February 18th 2010 at 19:00 UTC, describes meetings between embassy chief Sam Watson (CDA) and members of the Icelandic government together with British Ambassador Ian Whiting.

Collateral Murder

Overview

5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.

Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.

Short version

Full version

The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured.

After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".

Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before, during, and after the killings.

WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to both versions from the radio transmissions.

WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident.

WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work.

FOXNews.com - Five Ways to Get More Out of Internet TV

TV or PC? That's the question I find myself asking these days when I'm in the mood to watch the tube. There are still plenty of reasons to opt for the HDTV in my living room: It's got the biggest and best picture, the most theater-like audio, and -- overall -- the best selection of stuff to watch. But so many popular programs are now available online that I'm just as likely to catch them on my PC.

TV on a TV may still be the most immersive experience, but TV on a PC feels far more personal. For one thing, most of it is available on demand, on your own schedule. For another, there's an ever-expanding universe of sites, services, and software designed to make it a cinch to find both shows you know you love and ones you haven't discovered yet, and then watch them your way. Such as these five winners, all of which work on both Windows PCs and Macs and are absolutely free.

Explore a site that's half TV Guide, half TiVo. You've got favorite TV shows, old and new. And Clicker is an extremely slick way to find everything from Lost to The Dick Van Dyke Show. It covers both free sources (such as Hulu and the sites of the major networks) and paid ones (like Amazon and Netflix), and lets you search by title or performer, or browse by category. You can add entire series to playlists and get notifications by e-mail when new episodes are available, making the service a sort of virtual DVR that helps you keep on top of your faves and play catch-up when necessary.

Make any computer a media center. Boxee is a hot piece of software that lets you browse and enjoy a bevy of digital content, including paid and free video on the Web, files on your computer or home network, music, photos, and more. It's meant to appeal to folks who have connected their computers to their TV sets: You can breeze through the whole user interface with a remote control, and everything's got a sheen that looks great in high definition. But it's fun to use even if just to watch TV on your laptop or desktop monitor.

Try a better Netflix. Netflix may still be synonymous with DVDs by snail mail in little red envelopes, but its Watch Instantly feature -- which gives every Netflix subscriber unlimited on-demand access to a profusion of movies and TV shows -- is one of the best ways to spend a few bucks a month on Internet content. Oddly enough, though, finding stuff to watch is surprisingly frustrating: when you search on the Netflix site, the Watch Instantly titles are often overwhelmed by the ones that are still only available on DVD.

Enter Instantwatcher.com, an ingenious, ingeniously simple site that does one thing: help you locate items you can Watch Instantly. It shows only films and episodes available for instant viewing, and it tells you what's popular right now. Find something that catches your fancy, and one click loads it up in Netflix's player.

Capture, convert, and move streaming video. Most free TV on the Web streams to your PC, which works just fine for one-time viewing on a broadband-connected computer. But you've got to be online to watch it, and can't save items for offline viewing or move them to gadgets such as your cell phone, media player, or game console.

RealNetworks' RealPlayer SP is a clever application that changes that. Install it, and you can download and save video all over the Web, then convert it and transfer it to your other devices. Other services and software offer similar features, but I don't know of any that make the job as easy as RealPlayer. The downside? It doesn't work with copy-protected content, such as most of the shows that big-name entertainment companies make available on the Web. That still leaves a wealth of stuff to watch, including most of YouTube.

"Google" your cable or satellite box. Did I say this column was about how to get more out of Internet TV? I fibbed a little. LocateTV is a search engine that lets you track down programming that's available via your cable and satellite subscription, complete with episode guides, reminders, and other features that are reminiscent of Clicker. Tell it your zip code and provider, and it'll restrict its results to shows available locally, and will give you the channel numbers you need to tap on your remote.

LocateTV is a vastly more efficient way to navigate through thousands of hours of programming on hundreds of channels than scrolling through a never-ending programming grid on your TV. It's pretty cool when you think about it: The Internet is so powerful a force that it can make TV better even when you aren't watching TV on the Internet.

Harry McCracken blogs at Technologizer, his site about personal technology. He's also the former editor in chief of PC World. Follow him on Twitter as @harrymccracken.

Starting Points

Apr 6, 2010

CQ - Behind the Lines for Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Torturing Democracy - National Security Archive