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. Read more →