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The Wall Street Journal has released the text of the now-infamous March 6, 2003 Defense Department memo regarding legal liability for torture. The conclusions reached advised President Bush and Pentagon officials that prohibitions against torture do not apply to the "war on terrorism." The file is available here in .pdf format.

by Humberto Márquez CARACAS (IPS) – The opposition movement in Venezuela assumed a triumphalist attitude Monday while President Hugo Chávez’s supporters urged people to wait for the final results of the last phase of the signature-gathering effort aimed at activating a recall referendum to oust the president. "We have enough signatures. More than 700,000 people … Continue reading “Venezuela Opposition Upbeat about Last Phase of Recall Effort”

Stephen Cambone, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld‘s right-hand man, was for the first time caught in the glare of media attention as part of the congressional inquiry into Iraq prison abuses. Under sharp questioning by a few senators on May 11, 2004, Cambone vigorously defended both Rumsfeld and Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy. … Continue reading “Who is Stephen Cambone?”

Amid more bad news from Iraq and increasing dissatisfaction among voters, President Bush will give the first of a series of six speeches today detailing his plans for the June 30 “transfer of power” in Iraq. The speeches are meant to acquaint the public with a joint United States-Great Britain U.N. Security Council resolution regarding … Continue reading “Iraqi ‘Sovereignty’: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up”

Thank you all. Thank you and good evening. I’m honored to visit the Army War College. Generations of officers have come here to study the strategies and history of warfare. I’ve come here tonight to report to all Americans, and to the Iraqi people, on the strategy our nation is pursuing in Iraq and the specific steps we’re taking … Continue reading “Remarks on Iraq at the Army War College”

These documents, obtained by The Washington Post, are the offical English translations of previously secret sworn statements by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Some of the names have been withheld from these statements because they are alleged victims of sexual assault. These files are in PDF format. Some of the descriptions in … Continue reading “Sworn Statements by Abu Ghraib Detainees”

Memos from John Yoo (Deputy Assistant Attorney General), Robert J. Delahunty (Special Counsel), and Patrick F. Philbin (Deputy Assistant Attorney General) Here are the key memos written by Justice Department officials to President Bush and the US military did not have to comply with any international laws in the handling of detainees in the war … Continue reading “Memos to White House on Geneva Convention by Yoo/Delahunty/Philbin”

A new report from the Army War College is garnering headlines and will likely become a hot topic of discussion. The report, “Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights,” is written by two scholars at the Army’s Strategic Studies Institute. Dr. Jeffrey Record and Dr. W. Andrew Terrill argue that while the two conflicts share … Continue reading “War College Report Compares Iraq and Vietnam”

Transcript: Senate Hearing on Iraq Prison Abuse Wednesday, May 19, 2004; 2:02 PM SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR JOHN W. WARNER (R-VA) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) U.S. SENATOR JAMES M. INHOFE (R-OK) U.S. SENATOR PAT ROBERTS (R-KS) U.S. SENATOR WAYNE ALLARD (R-CO) U.S. SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL) U.S. SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS (R-ME) U.S. SENATOR JOHN … Continue reading “Transcript: Senate Hearing on Iraq Prison Abuse”