Detainee Abuse Pictures to Be Released May 28
DOD is going to release a whole slew of detainee abuse pictures next month.
Cliff May: N_O Reading, 'Riting, or 'Rithmetic
Some lessons on the 3 Rs for the Cliff May and the other folks at N_O, who apparently don't know this stuff.
Reading
First, read before you write. Because when you write, Under a strict set of rules, every pour of water had to be counted — and the number of pours was limited.
Liz Cheney: I'm Proud My Daddy Is the Prime Mover of Torture
The biggest piece of news from this exchange? Liz Cheney's assertion that (only) two of the three detainees who were waterboarded (speaking of Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) provided valuable intelligence. Or, to put it another way, Rahin al-Nashiri did not provide valuable intelligence.
GAO: Advanced Hybrids May Not Be Best Way for GM to Rebound
GAO says that advanced technology cars may not have the ROI GM needs to become profitable again.
Jerrold Nadler: We Must Investigate Torture ... and Fix State Secrets
Jane and I had a chat yesterday with Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the Chair of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties to talk about his call for a special prosecutor to investigate the torture program. Chairman Nadler was clear: "You don't have much choice under the law--you have to investigate." The law requires, he explained, that such allegations be investigated.
And Did James Mitchell Also Write the Psychological Profile of Abu Zubaydah Bybee Used?
Is James Mitchell the "psychologist/interrogator" who performed a psychological profile of Abu Zubaydah declaring him fit to be tortured?
Abu Zubaydah's FBI Interrogator Removes the Legal Cornerstone of the Torture Regime
Abu Zubdaydah's FBI interrogator, Ali Soufan, removes the legal cornerstone of the entire torture regime in an op-ed in the NYT.
Spotted: Aspen Trees, Turning on Roots
Judy Miller looks like she'll be turning on her roots in the near future.
Bush DOJ Reunion Tour
I'm posting this just to make sure I don't forget about it.
John Ashcroft, the U.S. attorney general during President Bush’s first term — and noted singer of “Let the Eagle Soar” (YouTube clip here) — is spreading his wings. Today Ashcroft (pictured, right) announced that his law and consulting firm, The Ashcroft Group, is opening four new offices across the country, each to be led by Bush-appointed U.S.
Ponzi Nation, TARP Edition
Small potatoes, as far as Ponzi schemse goes. But by making claims you're investing in TARP funds? That's gets you on the Ponzi nation list for sure.
Federal authorities this morning announced that Gordon B. Grigg of Franklin has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud, after operating a Ponzi scheme that dated back to 1996.
Joining U.S.
Lambert Dogs the Press
I beat the NYT to actual close reading over the weekend and it made a stink.
But Lambert documents his superior canine instincts from five years ago.
Je repete. 2004-05-09, Corrente:
Maybe there is a smoking gun. ... Somebody's got to authorize the dogs, the kennels, the handlers, and the purpose.
Zelikow's Destroyed Memos
Last night, as I was beginning my catalog of the interrogation reports used in the 9/11 Report, the former Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission was on Rachel Maddow, elaborating on his Foreign Policy article where he revealed how the Bush Administration destroyed his objections to the May 2005 Bradbury Memos.
Anonymous Liberal had a very good take on Zelikow's story (which basically matches what bmaz said to me via email).
SSCI Torture Narrative
The SSCI just released a narrative--originally requested by Jello Jay--of the general history of torture under the Bush Administration, including, purportedly, all the OLC memos that support torture (though it doesn't include the 2003 one Michael Hayden referenced the other day).
I'll have a few more details in a bit.
Abu Zubaydah: Waterboarded 83 Times for 10 Pieces of Intelligence
The torture apologists are out in force, insisting that torture produces useful information. Cheney's even promising to release information from CIA cataloging all the useful information that came from torture. But we don't have to wait for Cheney. We already have a way to assess how much intelligence we got directly from torturing Abu Zubaydah: the 9/11 Report. And the 9/11 Report tells us AZ only provided 10 useful piece of intelligence during his interrogations.
Breaking: Torture Architect John Rizzo Still Working at CIA
The ACLU is reporting something that I've suspected.
According to the CIA public affairs office, Rizzo is still Acting General Counsel.
John Rizzo, the man who worked with both Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury to pre-authorize torture, is still being paid by you and me to make sure that the CIA follows the law.
Did Cheney Order Up Abu Zubaydah's 83rd Waterboarding?
When the CIA ordered up an extra session of waterboarding for Abu Zubaydah, did it do so on Cheney's orders?
The SASC Smoking Gun on Waterboarding
The SASC Report on Torture strongly suggests that CIA was following one set of guidelines, but had gotten approval from DOJ for another set of guidelines.
SASC Torture Report, Working Thread
The Senate Armed Services Committee just released its report on torture.
Spencer has a post on it here.
Remember, as you're reading it, that not only did they repurpose SERE. But we know they went far beyond SERE in its application.
I'll be reading it as I fall asleep and should have more detailed comments tomorrow morning.
Cheney Plans to Continue to Manufacture Intelligence
It sounds like Cheney's only asking for CIA to disclose information on what torture produced so he can use it for his memoirs.
OLC + CIA = CYA
Spencer's story on a previously unknown 2007 OLC memo suggests the CIA continued to distrust Bush's willingness to give them policy cover for torture.