Torture and Taping Timeline
I’m just doing this because it’s like crack for Looseheadprop and she had a bad day yesterday. Lucky I had a lot of this lying around in a drawer somewhere.
Note, all the stuff on photographing detainees comes from this post, which is worth reading because I suspect it may become relevant to this discussion.
January 20, 2002: Bybee to Abu Gonzales memo specifying that common article 3 of the Geneva Convention does not apply to "an armed conflict between a nation-state and a transnational terrorist organization."
Late 2001 to early 2002: Ibn Sheikh al-Libi captured. After being tortured, al-Libi made up stories about Al Qaeda ties to Iraq.
January 2002: Supplemental Public Affairs Guidance on Detainees affirms Geneva Convention wrt media photographs.
March 2002: Abu Zubaydah taken into custody.
June 25, 2002: Moussaoui arraigned.
August 1, 2002: "Bybee Memo" (written by John Yoo) describes torture as that which is equivalent to :the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death."
September 11, 2002: Ramzi bin al-Shibh captured.
November 22, 2002: Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri captured.
January 2003: Leonie Brinkema grants Moussaoui right to interview Ramzi Bin-al-Shibh by video.
February 2003: CIA claims to have informed Intell leadership of torture tapes’ destruction; though SSCI has no records.
March 2003: Public Affairs Guidance for Media Coverage of EPWs and Detainees allows photos (within guidelines) but prohibits photographs of custody operations or interviews.
September 10, 2003: Government refuses to let Moussaoui question Al Qaeda witnesses.
April 28, 2004: Hamdi and Padilla argued before SCOTUS. Paul Clement assures the Court that we don’t torture. 60 Minutes breaks Abu Ghraib story and proves he’s wrong.
March 2, 2004: Padilla interrogation. The tape of the interrogation would later disappear.
May 10 2004: Sy Hersh’s Abu Ghraib story.
June 3, 2004: Tenet resigns as DCI.
June 8, 2004: WaPo reports details of Bybee Memo.
June 17, 2004: Jack Goldsmith announces his resignation.
June 22, 2004: In an off-the-record briefing, Comey, Goldsmith, and Philbin renounce Bybee Memo.
June 24, 2004: Ted Olson announces his resignation, citing frustration that he did not learn of memos justifying legal decisions.
June 28, 2004: Hamdi decision.
September 22, 2004: Porter Goss becomes DCI.
November 2004: Steven Kappes resigns ; Jose Rodrigquez replaces him as Deputy Director of CIA for Operations. Rodriguez is reported to be the person who ordered the terror tapes’ destruction.
December 30, 2004: Daniel Levin writes new torture memo (he’s the guy who waterboarded himself so he could prove it was torture).
January 2005: Abu Gonzales renounces the Bybee Memo, sort of.
February 3, 2005: Gonzales confirmed.
February 4, 2005: Acting Assistant Attorney General of the OLC Daniel Levin writes to DOD General Counsel Haynes reminding him again of both Goldsmith’s opinion and Philbin’s testimony. He informs Haynes that the March 2003 Yoo memo has been formally withdrawn.
February 14, 2005: Gonzales sworn in.
April 20, 2005: DOJ announces Comey’s resignation.
April 22, 2005: Moussaoui pleads guilty.
May 2005: Jello Jay Rockefeller writes to CIA IG requesting terror tape investigation materials; he doesn’t receive them.
May 10, 2005: DOJ produces two memos allowing CIA to torture
May 25, 2005: Flanigan nominated for DAG
May 30, 2005: DOJ produces another memo superseding the two May 10 ones
July 2, 2005: Public Affairs Guidance for High Value Individual Capture permits photographing high value detainees (within guidelines).
July 21, 2005: House passes revised version of PATRIOT Act.
July 30, 2005: Senate passes revised version of PATRIOT Act.
July 21, 2005: Cheney attempts to persuade McCain and others not to restrict detention policies.
The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.
August 1, 2005: 101st Airborne Division Detention SOP states that "detainees will not be photographed, humiliated or placed in positions with sexual overtones." Division General Order Number 1 (not clear if this is part of the SOP or not) prohibits soldiers taking photographs of detainees unless conducted pursuant to official duties, which include, intelligence gathering and official investigations." [my emphasis]
August 15, 2005: Comey’s Farewell Address.
May 2005: Jello Jay Rockefeller writes to Porter Goss requesting terror tape investigation materials; he doesn’t receive them.
October 5, 2005: McCain proposes anti-torture amendment to military funding bill. The amendment prohibits degrading treatment of prisoners.
October 7, 2005: Tim Flanigan withdraws from consideration for DAG.
October 20, 2005: The week before the House and Senate meet to resolve the bill, Cheney makes a third attempt to convince McCain not to restrict the use of torture, which McCain again rejects.
October 22, 2005: USCENTCOM Policy Prohibiting Photographing or Filming Detainees … or Posting Visual Images Depicting Human Casualties prohibits photographing or filming detainees as well as the possession, distribution, transfer or position … of visual images depicting detainees." [my emphasis]
November, unknown day: CIA destroys terror tapes from High Value Al Qaeda Detainees.
November 1, 2005: Dana Priest reveals the use of black sites in Europe.
November 3, 2005: Leonie Brinkema inquires whether govt has video or audio tapes of interrogations.
November 7, 2005: Detention Operations at Multinational Corps-Iraq prohibits coalition and Iraqi forces from photographing detainees.
November 14, 2005: Govt tells Brinkema it has no audio or video tapes.
November 22, 2005: DOJ brings charges against Padilla, avoiding an imminent hearing on the case before SCOTUS.
December 13, 2005: The Army approves new Field Manual, which seems to push the limits intended by McCain’s amendment.
December 14, 2005: PATRIOT Act reauthorization comes out of conference.
December 16, 2005: Risen and Lichtblau’s first story on the NSA domestic spy program. Cheney provides emergency briefings on program. PATRIOT Act reauthorization defeated in Senate.
December 19, 2005: The House passes the Conference Report on McCain torture bill.
December 20, 2005: The Administration writes the document clarifying its policy on photographing detainees.
December 21, 2005: The Senate passes the Conference Report on McCain torture bill.
December 22, 2005: House passes one month extension of PATRIOT Act
December 30, 2005: President Bush signs the Appropriations Bill, issuing a signing statement "interpreting" the McCain amendment.
May 4, 2006: Moussaoui sentenced to life in prison.
May 5, 2006: Porter Goss resigns as DCI; General Michael Hayden replaces him.
July 24, 2006: Steven Kappes returns to CIA as Deputy Director.
October 17, 2006: The Military Commissions Act signed into law.
November 2006: CIA claims SSCI was informed the Al Qaeda torture tapes were destroyed; SSCI claims it has no records to back that claim.
March 9, 2007: Padilla attorneys reveal March 2, 2004 tape missing.
September 30, 2007: Jose Rodriguez (purported to be the person that ordered the destruction of the tapes) retires.
November 9, 2007: CIA admits to Brinkema it did have audio and video tapes of Al Qaeda detainees.
December 6, 2007: NYT reports that CIA destroyed tapes.
Yeah, A new time-line! Did ya see Valerie’s bonbshell, Marcy?
“Did ya see Valerie’s bonbshell, Marcy?”
Where? Linky, please.
Bob in HI
http://www.projo.com/news/cont…..7da2e.html
Thanks. Interesting article (Fitz alert!), but the paper needs a new editor. “Iraq [i]s a rouge nation”? Is it the Red Scare all over again? Oh, maybe that was supposed to be “rogue”. Chalk it up to another newspaper that is trying to get by without a real human editor, relying instead on Microsoft Spellcheck?
Bob in HI
One blushes for them.
Is it appropriate to include the October 2006 passage and Junya’s signature of the DTA legislation that gave “retroactive immunity” to all involved at any/every level of the Administration in detainee “interrogation” techniques?
It was kinda like a “close-out special” gift from the Repug Congress to the Repug Administration before the takeover by the Democrats.
EW, nevermind my DTA reference at 2.
It was the MCA of 2006 that gave the “retroactive immunity”.
From The Center for Victims of Torture:
CTUTTLE! Don’t tease like that, leave a link!!
May this be balm for whatever ails LHP!
BTW, I’ve got a short impeachment blog up over at dKos, and would appreciate some “recommends.”
“Out, Damn Spot”
Forgot to leave a tip jar, though.
Now to read more carefully…
Bob in HI
CSI Michigan
Yeah, tell me about it, randiego.
Or should that be “randy-ego” after that twisted comment earlier today about Jodi’s perceived – ugh! – hotness?
Heh! Thanks for bringing that up – I was SO disappointed that nobody commented on that! I didn’t think a “/snark” was necessary and didn’t want to make it too obvious.
A few weeks back Jodi posted a diatribe about being felt up at an airport security checkpoint; how disturbing it was given as a ‘tall, blonde American basketball player’ she looks nothing like a terrorist; her forebears had all been in the military going back to the Confederacy; blah blah blah…
I made a comment late in the thread that she ’sounded pretty hot’.
I’m just guessing here, but it sure sounds like “Jodi” resembles Monica Goodling.
Well, if I were to guess, I’d peg her as female and under 30 – that, along with the ‘blonde basketball player’ thing means we can’t eliminate Monica as a suspect! (does anybody know if MG was on the RU basketball team)?
Sorry to hear that, LHP. You should have come to the NYC meetup last night. It would have saved your day. You could have pixelated your face to preserve anonymity.
Wee copy-editing question:
November 24, 2005: DOJ brings charges against Padilla, avoiding making a case with SCOTUS.
Shouldn’t that be 2004? See sequence, anyway.
like crack to more than just lhp.
my name is selise and i’m addicted to emptywheel’s timelines.
Are you only up to Step #1?
yes. with no plans to move on to step #2. step #1 is too much fun.
“Are you only up to Step #1?”
I’m up to step 3, ready to start my searching moral inventory of whom I have harmed by my addiction.
Bob in HI
Republicans, perhaps? In which case, you could stop at Step #3.
For instance: my family, who as a group all roll their eyes when they see me heading for the computer in the evening…
hi selise
ditto. No recovery in sight…
I’m sure this is really off base, but did Comey & Co., threaten to resign over “terrorist surveillance” as in “surveillance of illegal torture of terrorists sessions” or something like that, as opposed to it being about spying…Gonzo always said, the “program the President authorized”…that coincides with WAPO’s article stating that the President authorized harsh interrogation, and it was used..including waterboarding. Per WAPO article, “Hayden said the videotapes were recorded in 2002 after President Bush had authorized the use of harsh interrogation methods. “The Agency was determined that it proceed in accord with established legal and policy guidelines,” Hayden wrote. “So, on its own, CIA began to videotape interrogations.” Like, as in, cover your ass.
I agree with the “cover their ass” part. Until the Dems won and they realized the legal jeopardy they could all be in because Yoo et.al.’s delusional legal reasoning wouldn’t hold up forever. Get rid of the video. Abu Ghraib showed them the impact of still photography.
And we still don’t have all the pics from Abu Ghraib. I guess Rummy was successful at suppressing the rest, which are supposed to show stuff that’s even worse than the ones we’ve already seen. Or perhaps they’ll be leaked in the next day or two. This year’s holiday season is filled with the most wonderful gifts.
Yep, that’s right. The “worst” are still out there. Wonder if they’ve been destroyed yet… I’m guessing the answer is “yes”…
Nothing that was once put on a computer after the invention of the Internet is ever destroyed.
is CT still here? SWOPA’s up next door on Plame, with a h/t to you (and I claimed first Digg for you on your behalf! Some favor, making you work, eh?)
For the timeline, didn’t Bush issue a signing statement following the McCain torture bill?
That’s in there, on December 30.
I see it now. Wow, you are something else!!
Nuts, probably going to run into the limit of the Google Docs technology with this new bit to add to the spreadsheet…let’s see if I break it. [fingers crossed]
If it doesn’t work, it’s going to be uploaded to a new Google Doc and republished.
I love how the letter of the USA and AUSAs to Judge Brinkema ends on this note:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/p…..letter.pdf
Stop you guys are killing me. You should do stand up. Seriously.
Looking at a timeline in my item 194 of my scandals list:
Is this what you are referring to?
They are indeed, Hugh. Do you have a link for that story? I think it was the same team at NYT. I suspect the lead up to that May opinion may relate closely to this (as in, there was something in the opinion that gave them the legal right to destroy the tapes).
Sorry, I was away writing my own version of this for my scandals list:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/ar…..3.php#more
Just quoting a bit of your quote above:
I’m sure it’s been said before, but once you no longer have a conscience (if you ever had one), then nothing is torture, because nothing can shock your conscience.
I sure hope these people are tried and convicted for war crimes. The scope of this is just horrifying… the whole mess of 7 long horrible years.
July 16, 2007 may be the day Bush and Cheney realized they had to Make WWIII Happen, or they were going to finally get caught for Obstruction of Justice, at a minimum, and probably an IIPA Violation, for outing Valerie Plame Wilson in the Secret Mission to Judy Miller.
That was the date Waxman let Bush and Cheney know that Fitz was ready to turnover the 302’s and documents from the Leak Case:
http://oversight.house.gov/doc…..103022.pdf
These discussions resulted in a formal document request that I sent to Mr. Fitzgerald on July 16, 2007 , a copy of which is enclosed. Both the Justice
Department and Mr. Fitzgerald’s staff agreed that the final document request was reasonable and appropriate.
This document request sought seven categories of documents. Some of the requests, such as the request for “[d]ocuments relating to the existence or systems at the White House to ensure that classified information would be protected,” require the Special Counsel to conduct document searches. Other requests asked for enumerated documents. One important request
sought:
Transcripts, reports, notes, and other documents relating to any interviews outside the presence of the grand jury of any of the following individuals:
a. President George W. Bush
b. Vice President Dick Chenev
c. Andrew Card
d. Stephen Hadley
e. Karl Rove
f. Dan Bartlett
g. Scott McClellan
(snip)
It’s no wonder Bush went on his Loose Nukes/Bomb Syria/WWIII Rhetoric bender – he had to ‘create’ a Crisis to keep suppressing his Criminality, in the name of the UE – or Get Caught.
Let’s hope Mukasey does the Right thing – Waxman cites excellent precedents in his letter!
Also this re Gonzales withdrawing the Yoo memo in January 2005:
I hate to nag, but the year must be wrong: see sequence:
November 24, 2005: DOJ brings charges against Padilla, avoiding making a case with SCOTUS.
Nope. It’s right. This is a reference to when the govt indicted him on charges that had nothing to do with the original charges so they didn’t have a second confrontation with SCOTUS on him.
Booman goes down the Abu Zabaydah memory lane.
http://www.boomantribune.com/s…..192315/477
and ties the destruction of the tapes to his false confessions stemming from his mental disease.
Phew…it worked, now updated with the newest timeline stuff from EW, the BBC stuff selise mentioned, the bits that Lieberman pulled this year per Jane at FDL, all here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com…..05ck9yCCPw
Still have some other odds-n-sods you folks have been leaving in the threads, don’t know if I’ll get them caught up tonight.
skdadl — I’ll check that date…Looks like 2005 based on this, and the day would actually be the 22nd (article published at 0127h): http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LA…..index.html
Ok — I’ll settle down now. I appreciate what you’re doing so much, and I am so impressed.
wow, you so rock!
i feel a bit guilty even suggesting anything more (since i can’t help you add the additional items)… but if you’re going to include the lieberman iran fuckery in the senate, might as well include the house iran fuckery too. hugh’s got is all (plus some other stuff) in item 280 of his list of bush scandals.
Rayne – wow!
Teh Google and Excel both rock! Nice work!
Jeebus. Now that I look at the BBC stuff added to EW’s, it’s obvious that this administration IMMEDIATELY began going after Iran.
Albright is meeting with Iran in 3Q2000, and by 2Q2001 they are already making accusations against them, likely with Saudi support.
Still need to comb the period July through September this year most closely.
selise — sure you can help.
What I can do is set up a second tab in that same spreadsheet with the same headers and then share the spreadsheet with you. You’d have access. But I’d only add new data to the second tab and not the first since I’m uploading from a refreshed version of an Excel spreadsheet (as much as I dislike Office 2007, I can do sort functions with better results in Excel than in Google Docs). I’d copy the new content to the Excel spreadsheet, do a sort to make sure it went into the right timeslot, then upload a refreshed version.
not sure if understand completely… but if you’re using excel, i could just put proposed additions in an excel file for you to down load. would that be easier than copying from google docs?
Sure, either or will work, selise. Send to rayne_today -at- yahoo and I’ll insert it in the mix. I forgot to add /EW to this last batch by EW; I’ll have to fix that.
And I’ll add /S-NRM to the content you include so that we can query by contributor if we need to.
Have to say the Beeb stuff is a good news-bad news story; there’s a bunch of content that they should have assigned a specific date instead of general date. We’ll have to tweak that stuff.
Never did ask what EW’s been using. Spreadsheet, word processor or database?
I’ve got the ’bombshell” link (I think):
http://www.projo.com/news/cont…..7da2e.html
”After her hour-long speech and question-and-answer session, Plame dropped one bombshell almost casually.
She said a lawyer had called her just before her talk began and told her that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald had agreed to turn his transcripts of interviews with Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney over to U. S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who is known for his relish for investigating wrongdoing by Republicans.”
This would have been on December 4, 2007.
Ah, I see someone else provided the link — well, I posted the ”money quote” anyway.
Hi Marcy. Don’t know if you track hat tips but I gave you one here.
Nothing to do with timelines but I usually post a little behind schedule….
In light of all that has happened in the last two days and that Ms. Plame was told by her lawyer today that Waxman requested Fitzgerald’s info and he agreed to give it up how many people think that Cheney outed Valerie because she was working on the Iran nuclear possibility??
“In light of all that has happened in the last two days and that Ms. Plame was told by her lawyer today that Waxman requested Fitzgerald’s info and he agreed to give it up how many people think that Cheney outed Valerie because she was working on the Iran nuclear possibility??”
He probably outed her because she could show that Iran was shutting down its Nukes and he did NOT want to hear that. I’ll bet it was that, rather than Joe Wilson’s newspaper column, that was primary. Does that fit the chronology?
Bob in HI
It is what I have always thought since learning of her mission.
Icing on the cake – it’s an RBC two-fer.
A link to these questions just appeared on a related thread at tpm Muckraker:
(I corrected spelling)
Here is the link: http://www.haloscan.com/commen…..7a/#696828
Original comment link to these questions:
tpm link for that: http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004844.php
I can see there are still some typos in that quote @ 56.
I think it’s pretty self explanatory, but I just want to draw attention to the last word, which I think should be “identities” – as in “CIA agent identities.”
Folks
On the Valerie news, I rather think that’s Monday’s news reported to Valerie and back to us. We knew all taht info on Monday–that Fitz had said the transcripts might be okay, and that WH said Fitz couldn’t turn them over.
Now, ya just didn’t rain on my parade, did ya, Marcy? 8-(
Phooey.
hey was that directed at me? Easy now…
Not saying you’re wrong… just that getting back at Joe Wilson is just the type of thing a sadistic type like Cheney would enjoy…
Scott Horton on CIA destruction of videotapes
http://www.harpers.org/archive…..c-90001868
Scott Horton rocks.
All I’m saying is that I think the ball remains in Mukasey’s court, as it did on Monday.
I tell’s ya what, Inherent Contempt charges, would certainly unleash a Tsunami of Sh*t! Turd Blossom would certainly sing, if not, a little Chinese Water Torture should do the trick, and, please don’t destroy the tapes…
Sorry, EW, I was venting… *g*
ok, I’m gonna show my ignorance here. What does *g* mean? I can see it’s sort of a secret code here… and seems either positive or humorous or maybe both.
*g* is WordPress for Grin, and is equivalent to
We do it that way because if you do it with brackets, WordPress hides it, thinking that it is an html command.
Bob in HI
jinx! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. owe me a coke.
And *G* is an ear to ear grin.
*g*rin
Well, doggone, I can’t edit, and WordPress now interprets colon, dash, Right perens as html, so when I typed it, WordPress hid it.
Bob in HI
New Threadiness, from EW!
Thanks all! *g*
Horton is jumping from point A to C rather quickly here, right? Any prosecutors want to comment on these assertions?
Is Bush’s power to pardon restricted to parties with whom he is not an accomplice? Is there evidence that puts into question Bush’s case for plausible deniability?
I agree.
So far, there is more evidence to support that Bush was a collaborator in Plame’s outing as there in this (though I don’t doubt it may be easier to prove here). And that didn’t prevent him from commuting Libby’s sentence.
The only way to punish a president for using the pardon power improperly is impeach him.
New thread upstairs.
Okay, another update; all the timeline entries from RadioFreeEurope now added:
http://spreadsheets.google.com…..05ck9yCCPw
Looks like the events of March 2006 caused a small country to pull out some iffy documentation: “Iran has bought long-range missiles, says Israel; “Iran has obtained missiles from North Korea capable of delivering nuclear payloads to eastern Europe, according to Israel’s military intelligence chief.” (Soviet manufactured BM-25 missiles)”. If there had not been the crisis with Hezbollah that summer, we likely would have seen a rapid ramp-up to war with Iran then.
Was the crisis a coincidence, I wonder…
There has been no mention of the claim about missiles since then, either, or at least I cannot recall one and I haven’t run across another since April 2006. Was the data for the NIE already nearing completion, intimidating certain entities to take drastic measures?
Incredible timeline. Thanks. Looseheadprop hope what ever it was is getting better..you are so appreciated. You too EW. Thanks
Hey!
There are still tapes. Here’s why:
Every time Wikileaks posts a Gitmo SOP (they’ve done it twice now), I’ve gone through the damn things and found a couple things which call bullsh*t on Hayden saying they haven’t taped since 2002, and all the other crap he’s spewing.
The leaked SOPs were promulgated in 2003 and 2004.
Each of the SOPs indicates where “Combat cameramen” will be when prisoners are being transported. Which vehicle, where they sit, everything. The “combat camera” crews are part of the operation.
For those of you without military experience, combat camera crews were first put together in an organized way in WWII. Basically, when they drafted (a) guys from Hollywood who knew how to use a camera, particularly a motion picture camera, (b) guys whose hobbies or work included photography (still or motion picture), or (c) similarly inclined people (e.g., copyboys at newspapers, etc.), they had a good chance of winding up as soldiers, but having their military job be to record battles and military operations. They were combat cameramen. Every time you see that Marines Corps recruiting ad on TV with the color film of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima – that’s actual footage by a combat cameraman. George H.W. Bush, shot down, being fished out of the ocean by the submarine – actual combat camera footage. A lot of the battle footage from WWII was by them. It’s in the National Archives.
The basic purpose, BTW, was twofold – (1) creating a historical record and (2) providing visual material to help with “lessons learned”, “what works”, etc.
What does it mean, today, when we discover the SOP at Gitmo required the presence of combat camera crews?
1. Everything is recorded.
2. Those recordings exist somewhere.
scribe
Oh, there are definitely tapes. After all, we know they taped Padilla’s
tortureinterrogations in 2004–and one of those is missing. But yeah–Hayden is lying about stopping the practice. That’s also why I included all the taping/photographing stuff from the ACLU fight, because it shows they considered taping as parts of interrogation still viable. In 2005, after they destroyted the tapes.But he ahs to say they stopped taping, bc otherwise it’ll ruin the argument that they didn’t need to keep the tapes.
Will Jane Harman be shown the door?
“Rep. Jane Harman of California, then the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and one of only four members of Congress informed of the tapes’ existence, said she objected to the destruction when informed of it in 2003.”
http://ap.google.com/article/A…..cch2P9ymXa
J9mroogD8TCAIDO0
Hayden Says CIA Videotapes Destroyed
From the Oct 25, 2007 letter from USAs and AUSAs, we know that
Sep 13, 2007 CIA acknowledges that they have video of 1 interrogation
Sep 19, 2007 DoJ USAs view video
Oct 18, 2007 DoJ USAs view 2nd video and listens to audio of interrogations
So they must have been destroyed subsequent to Oct 18 2007. Brinkema must be steaming.