Month: May 2009

The Chief’s Politics

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by publius Everyone should go read Jeff Toobin's New Yorker profile of Chief Justice Roberts.  It's a very interesting read.  This passage in particular stood out: The kind of humility that Roberts favors reflects a view that the Court should almost always defer to the existing power relationships in society. In every major case since … Read more

The Uighurs: Compilation

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by hilzoy

This is a post compiling the questionable and/or false claims that have been made about the Uighurs. It contains a few things I have not said in any of my earlier posts, but its main purpose is to collect these points in one convenient location. I have tried to be thorough; those of you who are already bored with this topic might want to skip this one. 

As before, I'm taking Newt Gingrich's column as my starting point, since it conveniently collects these false or questionable claims in one piece of irresponsible prose. Here are the claims Gingrich makes; I've added numbers to his claims for convenient reference.

"Seventeen of the 241 terrorist detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay are Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs. These Uighurs have been allied with and trained by al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups. (1) The goal of the Uighurs is to establish a separate sharia state. (2) (…)

At Guantanamo Bay, the Uighurs are known for picking up television sets on which women with bared arms appear and hurling them across the room. (3) (…)

By their own admission, Uighurs being held at Guantanamo Bay are members of or associated with the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) (4), an al Qaeda-affiliated group designated as a terrorist organization under U.S law. (…) (5)
 
Prior to 9/11, the Uighurs received jihadist training in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, a known al Qaeda and Taliban training ground. (6) What's more, they were trained, most likely in the weapons, explosives and ideology of mass killing, by Abdul Haq, a member of al Qaeda's shura , or top advisory council. (7) President Obama's own interagency review board found that at least some of the Uighurs are dangerous. (8) (…)

Even if you accept the argument made by their defenders that the Uighurs' true targets are Chinese, not Americans, it does nothing to change the fact that they are trained mass killers instructed by the same terrorists responsible for killing 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. (9)"

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The Uighurs: 5

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by hilzoy Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post talks to the Uighurs' translator, Rushan Abbas, about their reaction to Newt Gingrich's column: "Gingrich pushed further in an op-ed, claiming that '[b]y their own admission, Uighurs being held at Guantanamo Bay are members of or associated with the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an al Qaeda-affiliated … Read more

The GOP’s Supreme Court Dilemma

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by publius As the judicial nomination wars heat up, it’s worth remembering that the nature of the conservative opposition will primarily be a function of intra-GOP politics.  In other words, organized conservative criticism isn’t really intended for a national audience – it’s intended primarily for social conservatives within the party.  And that’s a good thing … Read more

Picking Up The Trash

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by hilzoy This is a wonderful story: "A group of young Pakistani friends, sick of hearing their families complain about the government, decided to spite them by taking matters into their own hands: every Sunday they would grab shovels, go out into their city, and pick up garbage. It was a strange thing to do, … Read more

Emissions Standards

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by hilzoy This is wonderful: "The Obama administration today plans to propose tough standards for tailpipe emissions from new automobiles, establishing the first nationwide regulation for greenhouse gases. It will also raise fuel efficiency targets to 35.5 miles per gallon for new passenger vehicles and light trucks by 2016, four years earlier than required under … Read more

Know Your Onion

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by Eric Martin While the policies of torture authorized by the Bush administration are garnering the lion's share of the attention – and outrage – at the moment, there are layers of dirty little secrets to the issue of torture and detention in America that need to be peeled back if sunlight is to properly apply its antiseptic.  … Read more

The Uighurs: 4

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by hilzoy I'm continuing to try to track down the truth behind the various claims made about the Uighurs. (Previous posts: 1, 2, 3.) This time, I want to consider this one: "President Obama’s own interagency review board found that at least some of the Uighurs are dangerous." The original (and, to my knowledge, only) … Read more

Quote of the Day

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by Eric Martin Satan's Editors edition: We’ve got what amounts to a reverse Nuremberg defense, where Bush administration officials are let off the hook because they were only giving orders.  I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. The Editors wins round two of The Internet.  That is, until his plagiarism of Maureen Dowd surfaces, and the blogger … Read more

The Uighurs: 3

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by hilzoy I'm trying to track down the truth behind the various claims that are being made about the Uighur detainees at Guantanamo. (Previous posts: 1, 2.) One that keeps coming up is this: "At Guantanamo Bay, the Uighurs are known for picking up television sets on which women with bared arms appear and hurling … Read more

Sri Lanka

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by hilzoy After twenty five long horrible years, one of the longest-running civil wars on earth might just have come to an end: "The ethnic Tamil separatist rebels of Sri Lanka, one of the world's most feared and enduring guerrilla movements, acknowledged Sunday that their war of more than a quarter-century for a homeland had … Read more

Keeping Us Safe

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by hilzoy I wanted to highlight one other bit of the GQ story on Rumsfeld. The author writes: "What Rumsfeld was most effective in doing," says a former senior White House official, "was not so much undermining a decision that had yet to be made as finding every way possible to delay the implementation of … Read more

“The Righteous Nation”

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by hilzoy GQ has a fascinating article about Donald Rumsfeld. You should really read the whole thing. I just thought I'd highlight this bit, about the Biblically-themed cover sheets that Rumsfeld attached to the President's daily intelligence briefings on Iraq: "In the days before the Iraq war, Shaffer's staff had created humorous covers in an … Read more

The Uighurs: 2

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by hilzoy This is a continuation of my last post, on the Uighurs now detained at Guantanamo. I described the "training" that the Uighurs received, and quoted a description of them and their motivations given by an FBI agent who interviewed them in 2002. But I didn't address one crucial part of the current campaign … Read more

The Uighurs: 1

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by hilzoy Newt Gingrich has decided to move on from lecturing us about Democrats' moral decrepitude and terror-coddling ways, and warn us about a brand new peril: "America, meet the Uighurs. Seventeen of the 241 terrorist detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay are Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs. These Uighurs have been allied with and trained by … Read more

Major Alexander vs. Captain Deferment

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by Eric Martin Matthew Alexander from VetVoice highlights an important aspect of the torture debate (what a disappointment it is to write that phrase): even if torture works in terms of ferreting out certain information (which it doesn't), there are very real costs associated with employing it as official policy: Former VP Dick Cheney has requested … Read more

Quote of the Day

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by Eric Martin Jolly Green Satan edition: I’m just surprised the Philadelphia Inquirer hasn’t offered Demjanjuk a column. Jim Henley wins round one of The Internet.  That is, until the topless photos surface and I'm forced to strip him of his tiara and sash.

Less Credit, More Due

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by Eric Martin Ian Welsh is the proud owner of one righteous rant: When banks are charging 30 percent interest rates, they are not making credit available,” said [Senator Bernie] Sanders, who noted credit unions are limited to 15 percent. “They are engaged in loan-sharking.” The banks have been given, loaned and guaranteed trillions. They are … Read more

Deep Thought of the Day

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by publius If the Republicans are so very anxious to find out about what Pelosi knew, why not ask them to support a truth commission on torture and detention to get to the bottom of this?  It just seems like this particular "outrage of the week" could be channeled in a fairly positive political direction.  … Read more

Refugees

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by hilzoy From the UNHCR: "The number of people who have fled the fighting in northwest Pakistan this month and been registered or recorded by authorities reached 670,906 on Wednesday, up from just over half a million the day before. The majority of those registered by Pakistani authorities with the assistance of UNHCR are staying … Read more

The Origins of Our Broadband Failures

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by publius For those interested in telecom policy, I have some recommended reading for you. Free Press (the best media reform public interest organization in the country) has just released a comprehensive white paper on national broadband policy (pdf here).  It’s the single best summary I’ve seen of the history and failures of deregulatory telecom … Read more

Release The Photos

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by hilzoy From the Washington Post: "A month after making public once-classified Justice Department memos detailing the Bush administration's coercive methods of interrogation, President Obama yesterday chose secrecy over disclosure, saying he would seek to block the court-ordered release of photographs depicting the abuse of detainees held by U.S. authorities abroad. Obama agreed less than … Read more

Meeting Them On Their Level

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by hilzoy I write to inform you that I have just concluded a special extraordinary session of me, in which I unanimously adopted the following resolution: WHEREAS the Urban Dictionary defines "Poopyhead" as "The single most offensive thing you can call someone. It's like the atom bomb of arguments. Men fear it's omnipotent and awesome … Read more

“My Colleagues Just Stared At That Line”

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by hilzoy Michael Crowley catches an important development: "Obama's new budget plan includes a little-noted sea change in U.S. nuclear policy, and a step towards his vision of a denuclearized world. It provides no funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, created to design a new generation of long-lasting nuclear weapons that don't need to … Read more

Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

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by hilzoy Lt. Daniel Choi, who recently came out as gay, wrote a letter to Barack Obama, citing the values of honesty and integrity that he learned at West Point, and asking: "Please do not wait to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Please do not fire me." But he also makes some very good points about the … Read more

Two Sizes Too Small

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by hilzoy In a piece called "How Jezebel is Hurting Feminism", Linda Hirshman writes: "The Jezebels are clearly familiar with the rhetoric of feminism: sexism, sexual coercion, cultural misogyny, even the importance of remembering women’s history. But they are also a living demonstration of the chaotic possibilities the movement always contained. In its origins, women’s liberation … Read more

Used to be One of the Rotten Ones

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by Eric Martin

What, with all the recent brow furrowing, chin scratching and contrarian preening set in motion by the suddenly controversial topic of whether or not torture works and, if so, whether we should consider adopting it as our official policy, I thought it would be a good time to revisit some of the words of some of the nation's leading moral/ethical voices.

Below are a series of excerpts concerning the use of torture.  See if you can guess the speaker of each.  Answers below the fold:

1.  "The United States is a country that takes human rights seriously. We do not torture. It’s against our laws and against our values. And we expect all those who serve America to conduct themselves accordingly, and we enforce those rules…America is a fair and a decent country. President Bush has made it clear, both publicly and privately, that our duty to uphold the laws and standards of this nation make no exceptions for wartime. As he put it, we are in a fight for our principles and our first responsibility is to live by them. The war on terror, after all, is more than a contest of arms and more than a test of will. It’s also a war of ideas."

2. "The awfulness is twofold. First, there's the illegal, morally corrupt — and corrupting — evil of torturing people…Second, there's the counter-productive stupidity of it. Even if these guys were the worst [of the worst], the damage this does to the image of America is huge…How many more American soldiers will be shot because of the ill will and outrage this generates? How do we claim to be champions of the rule of law? Well, there is one way. This needs to be investigated and prosecuted. If there's more to the story — whatever that could conceivably be — let's find out. But if the story is as it appears, there has to be accountability, punishment and disclosure."

3. "The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention [Against Torture]. It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.  The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called "universal jurisdiction." Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution."

4.  "…[T]here is no place for abuse in what must be considered the family of man. There is no place for torture and arbitrary detention. There is no place for forced confessions. There is no place for intolerance of dissent…the roots of American rule of law go back more than 700 years, to the signing of the Magna Carta. The foundation of American values, therefore, is not a passing priority or a temporary trend."

5."Obviously, it was a shameful moment when we saw on our TV screens that soldiers took it upon themselves to humiliate Iraqi prisoners — because it doesn't reflect the nature of the American people, or the nature of the men and women in our uniform. And what the world will see is that we will handle this matter in a very transparent way, that there will be rule of law — which is an important part of any democracy. And there will be transparency, which is a second important part of a democracy. And people who have done wrong will be held to account for the world to see. That will stand — this process will stand in stark contrast to what would happen under a tyrant. You would never know about the abuses in the first place. And if you did know about the abuses, you certainly wouldn't see any process to correct them."

6.  "[The perpetrators of torture] deserve jail or execution, and will probably get one or both…[Torture] should be dealt with very, very harshly. But those who would…make such behavior emblematic of our effort, instead of recognizing it as an abandonment of our principles — are mere opportunists."

7.  "I don’t agree with the belief that we should use any means necessary to extract information.  I believe there are absolutes. There are things we must never do under any circumstances.  For me the ultimate test is: Could I, in good conscience, do whatever I am authorizing or condoning others to do? If not, then I must oppose the action. If I could not waterboard someone—and I couldn’t—then I must oppose its practice.  There are some things you should never do to another human being, no matter how horrific the things they have done. If you do so, you demean yourself to their level.  Civilized countries should err on the side of caution. It does cost us something to play by different rules than our enemies, but it would cost us far more if we played by their rules."

8. "…[T]here is a good debate going on about the importance of values in all that we do. We think for the military, in particular that camp, that’s a line [torture] that can’t be crossed…It is hugely significant to us to live the values that we hold so dear and that we have fought so hard to protect over the years."

Last and certainly least:

9.  "[T]he whole point of my piece is that I AM complaining that we do NOT waterboard enough. Yes, we need to waterboard more. At the moment, waterbaording appears to have been banned by both the CIA and the Pentagon. As I say pretty directly in my piece, Bush should reinstate waterboarding publicly and proudly…I hope this clears up any confusion you might have had. "

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Division

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by hilzoy CharleyCarp makes a very important point about prosecuting Bush administration officials for making torture US policy: "The people who think prosecution of these people is too divisive need to take into account their continuing conduct. They are trying to sow division right now. I'm not saying we should give in to them, but … Read more

Comparative Effectiveness Research

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by hilzoy Reading this post by Merrill Goozner (it's very good) reminded me that I meant to write about the articles on comparative effectiveness research in the recent New England Journal of Medicine. One, by Jerry Avorn, concerns the backlash against CER: "The contested provisions were designed to support studies comparing the efficacy and safety … Read more

Does Rape Work?

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by Eric Martin Greg Sargent passes along one of the latest developments in the ongoing controversy surrounding Bush administration-authorized use of torture: There’s a big piece of news about Dick Cheney and torture buried toward the end of this big Washington Post piece about the torture wars. Specifically: The White House has decided to declassify and … Read more

Sleep Deprivation

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by hilzoy A major newpaper has an interesting story on the CIA's use of sleep deprivation: "Because of its effectiveness — as well as the perception that it was less objectionable than waterboarding, head-slamming or forced nudity — sleep deprivation may be seen as a tempting technique to restore. But the Justice Department memos released … Read more

How Dare He?

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by hilzoy Dick Cheney on Face The Nation: "SCHIEFFER: What do you say to those, Mr. Vice President, who say that when we employ these kinds of tactics, which are after all the tactics that the other side uses, that when we adopt their methods, that we're weakening security, not enhancing security, because it sort … Read more

Exodus

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by hilzoy Kevin Drum linked to this story about the evacuation of the Carteret Islands, a tiny atoll in the South Pacific. The sea levels have been rising, toppling trees and swallowing up the coastline. Salt water bubbles up from what were once the gardens where the islanders used to grow food. Every so often, king … Read more