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Ben Wizner on The Rachel Maddow ShowIn case you missed it last night, you can catch ACLU attorney Ben Wizner on The Rachel Maddow Show online. Ben talked about Monday's oral arguments in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the ACLU's second extraordinary rendition case, Mohamed v. Jeppesen. (Listen to the oral arguments here.)
You can learn more about the case here, and catch up on all the pre-and post-hearing coverage here.
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Feb 11th, 2009 at 7:03pm
Is torture bad...yes, I definitely do not want to be on the bad side of my captors. BUT. There is always a but, it must be nice to take advantage of the security benefits, (yes, there are security benefits, otherwise they wouldn't push prisoners with methods such as waterboarding), and also pass judgment on those who practice these techniques. I thank god we have people in our country willing to do this dirty work. Like garbage men, or plumbers, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it and as awful as it is, it saves lives.
Feb 12th, 2009 at 2:48pm
There are many who are "in the business" who emphatically conclude that torture does not, in fact, save lives. Rather, it's been said that torture (and the like) only serves to embolden the enemy.
Feb 12th, 2009 at 9:56pm
Steve: Torture does not work. You get lies, not "actionable" information.
And torture often is employed as a sadistic tool of control and domination, as opposed to an "information garthering" technique.
That's the dirty secret revealed in the Abu Gharib scandal. Have a nice day.
Feb 17th, 2009 at 12:22pm
It is pretty well established that torture is not useful in obtaining actionable intelligence. It is quite likely that the radical torture statute sought by the administration is being used simply to immunize intelligence personnel from prosecution.
The CIA has released a document under FOIA provisions confirming that artificial retina and implantable biomedical intellectual property developed at the Alfred Mann Foundation is intelligence sources and methods.
www.larsonmedia.net /special_access/sa_docs/CIA_FOIA.pdf .
There is a lawsuit being filed in U.S. Distric Court in Los Angeles alleging the administration used intelligence sources and methods against the plaintiff while he was confirmed as a write-in candidate by California Secretary of State for 2008 Presidential Primary and the technology allows surveillance, administration of electrical shocks and drug delivery.
A domestic program concealed from Congress and used on political candidates. Prosecution should not be optional here. I thought "nobody is above the law"... This isn't change... it's more of the same.