by TChris

As TalkLeft discussed here, Sen. John McCain sponsored a bill to make clear that American soldiers are prohibited from torturing prisoners. McCain makes the point that soldiers deserve clear guidance as to what they can and cannot do when interacting with prisoners. Despite overwhelming support for that proposition in the Senate, the Bush administration opposes any effort to limit its options. The administration's effort to weaken or jettison the provision has been hampered, however, by new accusations that American soldiers mistreated the corpses of Taliban members in Afghanistan.

McCain said the fresh abuse allegations serve as "another argument to make sure that our men and women in the military know exactly what the parameters are [and] what they can and cannot do in regards to prisoners."

by TChris

As reported in the NY Times, Australian journalists revealed that American soldiers in Afghanistan “burned the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters and then used the charred and smoking corpses in a propaganda campaign against the insurgents.” According to the Australian report, a “psychological operations team” used a loudspeaker to broadcast taunts while driving through a village suspected of harboring Taliban fighters.

According to the program's translation of the taunts, which were delivered in the local language by American forces on the scene, a soldier identified as Sgt. Jim Baker, said: "You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to come down and retrieve the bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be." … The reference to the bodies "facing west" appeared to be a deliberate mocking of the Islamic requirement to face Mecca during prayers.

The Pentagon acknowledged that a video of the incident appeared to be accurate and announced that it would undertake a criminal investigation of those responsible. According to the Times, “senior officials” admitted the obvious: “that the incident posed the potential to do further harm in the Islamic world to the image of the United States, already badly tarnished by the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.”

The informant who tipped off authorites to last week's' New York Subway threat now admits it was a hoax

[Government] sources said an informant in Iraq who provided the tip had told investigators there was a terrorist plot involving New York's subway system. That informant admitted he gave false information, the sources said. On Monday, New York police said they would reduce the increased security measures put in place last week on the city's subways.

It's time to bring out the TalkLeft Subway totes.

by TChris

Former FBI agent Mike German counters the argument that racial profiling is a useful tool to combat terrorism because “everyone knows that the terrorists who are trying to kill us are Muslim men.”

But a quick look at population statistics shows that racial profiling will likely be just as unproductive as random searches. The tragic shooting of a Brazilian electrician who was mistaken for an Arab terrorist by British undercover policemen demonstrates the difficulty of identifying race by merely looking at someone. But even if police here in the United States could be trained to properly identify Arab Americans on sight, only about 1 in 4 would actually turn out to be Muslim. The vast majority -- 63 percent, according to a 2002 Zogby poll, are Christian. So much for the clash of civilizations.

I hope the terror threats against the New York subway system turn out to be non-credible. I hope it's another distraction by the Administration. Every time they get really bad press like they are now with possible imminent indictments of top-level officials, the terror threat goes up. But, rather than treat them like the little boy who cried wolf, if you live in New York, give them the benefit of the doubt and stay vigilant and safe.

And don't forget to make sure the cops keep the 4th Amendment in mind. Get a TalkLeft Subway Tote to carry your possessions in and hand the cops when it's time for a search of your bags. Yes, you have to consent to the search but you can without a word let them know what you think of the intrusion. If you've got a college kid in New York, send them one. We can't remind the authorities often enough of our right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

by TChris

Further proof that the president is now powerless (even rudderless, a disabled swift boat being swept out to sea): he couldn't convince the Senate to allow his administration the freedom it has enjoyed to abuse detainees.

"We have to clarify that this is not what the United States is all about. This is what makes us different from the enemy we are fighting," said Sen. John McCain (R-) of Arizona, who sponsored the amendment that bars cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees.

The Senate was apparently persuaded by evidence that front-line interrogators weren't given direction to guide their actions, and by disagreement among Pentagon officials as to what is or isn't an acceptable interrogation technique, and who is or isn't subject to the Geneva Conventions.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Former Guantánamo Army Muslim Chaplain James J. Yee just published a book that states "that military authorities knowingly created an atmosphere in which guards would feel free to abuse prisoners," according to an article in today's NY Times.

Yee, it will be remembered, was the Muslim Chaplain arrested with much ballyho for espionage and, to the embarrassment of the Pentagon, was found completely innocent and released.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The intrepid folks at the FBI made a not so surprising admission: They have intercepted wrong numbers in PATRIOT Act wiretaps, so reports MSNBC tonight.

The Timesonline has been profiling the case of Algerian pilot Lofti Raissi. This commentary today, the Dawning of Jackboot Justice, today is a great read.

Barge in first, ask questions later: we should all be worried by the police’s gung-ho tactics...

Yesterday The Times reported the case of Lofti Raissi, an Algerian pilot who was being watched by the FBI as a possible suspect in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The request to Scotland Yard was to monitor him “discreetly”. Instead, police mounted a dawn raid, put a gun to his head and led him naked to a waiting police car. It turns out he was innocent.

by TChris

Army Sgt. Joshua Claus, a military intelligence interrogator, pleaded guilty today to assaulting one of two detainees in Afghanistan who died after being abused. TalkLeft background on the death is here.

Claus said the abuses were the result of frustrations during interrogations. He admitted to forcing water down the throat of a detainee known as Dilawar and twisting a hood over the man's head. Dilawar died at the detention center in 2002. No one has been charged with causing his death.

by TChris

The Senate Judiciary Committee wants to learn about "a secret Pentagon unit that some claim identified several of the 9/11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks." (TalkLeft background here.) But Sen. Specter accuses the Pentagon of obstructing the committee's work by ordering "five key witnesses" not to testify.

Remember when the administration kept referring to Democrats as "obstructionists" for daring to oppose the president's initiatives? The true obstructionists are in the administration.

by TChris

At a hearing before the presentation of evidence begins in PFC Lynndie England's trial, Judge Col. James Pohl cast doubt on the primary defense advanced by her lawyers: that England's mental incapacity made her "overly compliant toward authority figures and [that she] could not always make reasoned judgments for herself."

"You are painting a picture of a woman who cannot think for herself in almost all circumstances," Pohl told lead defense lawyer Capt. Jonathan Crisp.

The judge also reversed an earlier ruling, and will now permit prosecutors to use a statement England gave to investigators implicating herself in prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.