Posts Tagged ‘US’

Let’s meet at the gates of Hell

Friday, August 1st, 2008

From Time:

According to a former senior American official, it appears another locale can be added to the international roster of interrogation sites — one both more obscure and potentially more controversial than the alleged sites in Poland and Romania. The source tells TIME that, in 2002 and possibly 2003, the U.S. imprisoned and interrogated one or more terrorist suspects on Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean controlled by the United Kingdom.

[CIA Director] Hayden’s attempt to set the record straight [about the US’ practices on Diego Garcia] has failed to quiet British protests about American activities on the island. Instead, an All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition has begun an investigation, raising a variety of pointed questions about the island with Gordon Brown’s Labour government. Speaking to the BBC, Labor MP and Foreign Affairs Committee member Fabian Hamilton said this week that, “I think it’s important the British government makes plain its … deep concern that it’s not being told the truth and that our territories are being used for these purposes.”

Hamilton’s Committee insists that Britain can no longer take at face value America’s assurances that it is not torturing prisoners, and, in a clear reference to Diego Garcia, said the U.K. now bears a “legal and moral obligation” to make certain that no British territory abets American rendition flights or interrogations.

Take it like a man!

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

From BBC:

Tran Trong Duyet - a sprightly retiree and amateur ballroom dancer - must rank as one of John McCain’s more unlikely supporters.
Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison - the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war.

“But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners.”

It’s to our enduring shame that America has engaged in torture, and even more disgraceful that we’ve claimed actions we call torture acceptable when we practice them.

But as John McCain has rightly asserted many times, he was tortured. Unfortunately, some of the same techniques used to torture Senator McCain have been used by the US to torture. We are a torturing nation. There’s no way to parse or equivocate that. Though it seems likely most of the people responsible won’t be tried by the US anytime soon, the rest of the world may not be so lenient. The shred of redemption in this escapade is that various leaders within the American community can use this opportunity to dust off truths we’ve let languish too long and own them again, like my pastor did in an op/ed for the Orlando Sentinel:

  • The Golden Rule: The U.S. will not use any method of interrogation that we would not find acceptable if used against Americans.
  • One national standard: We will adopt a single standard for interrogation across U.S. agencies and departments.
  • Rule of law: The U.S. will acknowledge all prisoners to our courts and the International Committee of the Red Cross and provide fully adequate judicial processes to provide detainees an opportunity to prove their innocence.
  • Duty to protect: The U.S. will not transfer prisoners in our custody to governments when there is a likelihood that they will be tortured.
  • Checks and balances: The U.S. will reaffirm the legitimate role of the legislative and judicial branches in understanding, reviewing, and in some cases setting detention policies.
  • Clarity and accountability: All U.S. personnel deserve the certainty that they are implementing policy that complies fully with the Geneva Conventions and U.S. law.

Unfortunately America’s reputation will likely further suffer before it can begin recovering, with so many more stories coming to light (like our alleged secret prison ships in international waters used as torture house).

A small door makes both entry and exit difficult

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

Foreign Policy has an interesting guide on tourist destinations that Americans can’t visit. They mention Mount Kumgang, Baracoa, Mogadishu’s Beaches, Persepolis, and Mandalay. Respecively North Korea, Cuba, Somalia, Iran and Burma.

Of course, no one from any of those countries would be allowed to enjoy the Grand Canyon, or the Big Apple. In fact, even Iraqi translators working at enormous personal risk with the US military in Iraq can’t get visas to travel here. Like the Gonzaga basketball prospect born in Sudan who was refused entry into the US, Iraqi translators come from a country our government has short-listed as undesirable. In fact, there are only 27 countries allowed to visit the US’ tourist splendors without visa of their own; mostly European nations like England or Italy. Unfortunately even citizens of those nations can be in for US travel problems. One Italian lawyer was recently locked up without lawyer or trial for ten days on a recent visit for audaciously traveling to the US visit his American girlfriend, and eventually the Grand Canyon.