National Security Blog Posts http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security en Rays Of Sunlight in the House Judiciary Committee http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/rays-sunlight-house-judiciary-committee Good news on national security legislation. I know! I can hardly believe it myself!


The USA Patriot Amendments Act was marked up this week in an epic House Judiciary Committee meeting that spanned two days. The bill, though a bit watered down, still managed to maintain some of its civil liberties protections including:

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/rays-sunlight-house-judiciary-committee#comments National Security Letters Rendition 2009-11-06T18:14:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 20152 at http://www.aclu.org Accountable for Torture…In Italy http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/accountable-torture%E2%80%A6-italy Today, an Italian court convicted 23 Americans for the “extraordinary rendition” of a Muslim cleric who was kidnapped in Milan in 2003. The case is the first of its kind to hold Americans accountable for the rendition of terrorism suspects overseas.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/accountable-torture%E2%80%A6-italy#comments Rendition 2009-11-04T17:09:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 19980 at http://www.aclu.org Government Hands Over More Torture Documents http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/government-hands-over-more-torture-documents On Friday, the government released more documents detailing the Bush administration’s torture program. The documents were handed over as a part of our ongoing litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information related to the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody overseas.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/government-hands-over-more-torture-documents#comments 2009-11-03T14:32:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 19934 at http://www.aclu.org Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/justice-denied-voices-guantanamo Most Americans have only seen Guantánamo detainees as one-dimensional caricatures. But a new ACLU video features original footage in which the men talk about their lives — before, after and during their detention by the U.S.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/justice-denied-voices-guantanamo#comments Close Gitmo 2009-11-03T10:31:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 19926 at http://www.aclu.org Al-Marri Sentence Proves Federal Courts Can Handle Terrorism Cases http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/al-marri-sentence-proves-federal-courts-can-handle-terrorism-cases Last week, a judge sentenced Ali al-Marri, the last “enemy combatant” held on U.S. soil, to eight years in prison.]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/al-marri-sentence-proves-federal-courts-can-handle-terrorism-cases#comments 2009-11-02T13:01:00-05:00 Jessica Monaco 19937 at http://www.aclu.org Stephen Colbert Signs Letter to Close Gitmo Now http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/stephen-colbert-signs-letter-close-gitmo-now Last week, a coalition of musicians filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out if their music had been used during the interrogation of detainees in U.S. custody. Last night, Rosanne Cash, one of the musicians who filed the request, appeared on The Colbert Report to go head-to-head with Stephen Colbert on the use of “torture music” at Guantánamo.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/stephen-colbert-signs-letter-close-gitmo-now#comments 2009-10-30T16:28:00-05:00 Jessica Monaco 19886 at http://www.aclu.org Rendition Rewind http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/rendition-rewind Yesterday, a federal appeals court announced that it will hear the government’s appeal of an earlier ruling that allowed the ACLU’s lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen DataPlan Inc., to go forward. In 2007, we sued Jeppesen for its role in the Bush administration’s unlawful “extraordinary rendition” program. Our lawsuit was filed on behalf of five men who were forcibly disappeared and then tortured in U.S.-run secret overseas prisons or by foreign intelligence agents.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/rendition-rewind#comments Human Rights Program national security project Rendition 2009-10-28T15:21:00-05:00 Jessica Monaco 19896 at http://www.aclu.org Life after Gitmo http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/life-after-gitmo Today, the Los Angeles Times reports on the struggle of former Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad to readjust to freedom after spending roughly a third of his life in detention.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/life-after-gitmo#comments Close Guantanamo 2009-10-27T14:49:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 19637 at http://www.aclu.org Tortured Tunes http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/tortured-tunes Today, a group of musicians, including REM, Pearl Jam and The Roots filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out whether their music was played at the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay.  The request for information stems from former Guantánamo detainees’ testimony and released government documents that document that music has been used as part of interrogations.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/tortured-tunes#comments Close Guantanamo national security project 2009-10-22T16:29:00-05:00 suzanne_ito 19632 at http://www.aclu.org No Justice Can Come From Guantánamo Military Commissions http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/no-justice-can-come-guantanamo-military-commissions (Also posted on Huffington Post)


According to news reports, the Obama administration will decide by November 16 whether or not to move the cases of the 9/11 defendants from the Guantánamo military commissions system to U.S. federal courts. It should make this important move and put an end to a shameful era in American history.

]]> http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/no-justice-can-come-guantanamo-military-commissions#comments Close Gitmo Close Guantanamo 2009-10-20T10:58:00-05:00 Talat Hamdani 19625 at http://www.aclu.org