-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: November 15, 2006 7:49:23 AM PST
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: CIA Admits Existence of Bush Memo Authorizing Torture
CIA Acknowledges 2 Interrogation Memos
Papers Called Too Sensitive for Release
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post, November 14, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/
AR2006111301221_pf.html
After years of denials, the CIA has formally acknowledged the
existence of two classified documents governing aggressive
interrogation and detention policies for terrorism suspects,
according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
But CIA lawyers say the documents -- memos from President Bush and
the Justice Department -- are still so sensitive that no portion
can be released to the public.
The disclosures by the CIA general counsel's office came in a
letter Friday to attorneys for the ACLU. The group had filed a
lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York two years ago under the
Freedom of Information Act, seeking records related to U.S.
interrogation and detention policies.
The lawsuit has resulted in the release of more than 100,000 pages
of documents, including some that revealed internal debates over
the policies governing prisoners held at the military detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Many other records have not been
released and, in some cases, their existence has been revealed only
in media reports.
Friday's letter from John L. McPherson, the CIA's associate general
counsel, lists two documents that pertain to the ACLU's records
request.
The ACLU describes the first as a "directive" signed by Bush
governing CIA interrogation methods or allowing the agency to set
up detention facilities outside the United States. McPherson
describes it as a "memorandum." In September, Bush confirmed the
existence of secret CIA prisons and transferred 14 remaining
terrorism suspects from them to Guantanamo Bay.
The second document is an August 2002 legal memo from the Justice
Department's Office of Legal Counsel to the CIA general counsel.
The ACLU describes it as "specifying interrogation methods that the
CIA may use against top al-Qaeda members." (This document is
separate from another widely publicized Justice memo, also issued
in August 2002, that narrowed the definition of torture. The
Justice Department has since rescinded the latter.)
The ACLU relied on media reports to identify and describe the two
documents, but the CIA and other agencies had not previously
confirmed their existence. McPherson wrote that neither document
can be released to the public for reasons of security and attorney-
client privilege.
"The documents are withheld in their entirety because there is no
meaningful non-exempt information that can be reasonably segregated
from the exempt information," McPherson wrote. A spokesman for the
CIA declined to comment yesterday.
Amrit Singh, one of the ACLU's attorneys on the case, said the
disclosures may make it easier for the group to argue in favor of
releasing the documents.
"For more than three years, they've refused to even confirm or deny
the existence of these records," Singh said, referring to the
group's initial document request in October 2003. "The fact that
they're now choosing to do so confirms that their position was
unjustified from the start. . . . Now we can begin to actually
litigate the release of these documents."
www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
<A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
