January 2009
2009 - Ordered to Preserve E-Mails / White House, U.S.A. - January 15th, 2009: "[....] Wednesday's order by U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy directs the Executive Office of the president to issue a notice to employees to surrender any e-mails from March 2003 to October 2005. That period includes the start of the war in Iraq and the first two years of the probe into the leak by top White House aides of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, wife of Bush administration war critic Joe Wilson." [Based on: News Services article (WASHINGTON / White House is ordered to preserve e-mails), p. A3, S.L.P.D., 01/15/09]
February 2009
2009 - Release to Britain / Guantanamo Bay Detainee - February 24th, 2009: "Binyan Mohamed [captured in Pakistan in 2002] ... stepped off a chartered jet at a British airbase Monday [02/23/09] after a 10-hour trip from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba [where he arrived in 2004], closing a dark chapter in his life he claims included brutal torture. [....] Mohamed's allegations - including repeated beatings and having his genitals sliced by a scalpel - have sparked lawsuits that could ensnare the American and British governments in protracted court battles. [NP] Lawyers for Mohamed are seeking secret U.S. intelligence and legal documents they say will prove George W. Bush's administration sent Mohamed to Morocco, where it knew he would be tortured. They claim the documents also prove Britain was complicit in the abuse. [....] Bush's administration's extraordinary rendition program has been much criticized, in part because some prisoners were handed over to countries with documented histories of human rights abuses. Morocco was one such country, according to an Amnesty International report. [....] It is unlikely any of Mohamed's accused interrogators will be prosecuted because the worst abuse allegedly occurred in Pakistan and Morocco. But any British or American officials found to have known about his rendition or any mistreatment could face civil or criminal charges." [Based on: McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS article (Released detainee blasts U.S., Britain / He says he was tortured in Morocco for 18 months at behest of U.S. before being sent to Guantanamo.) by Julie Sell [The AP contributed to this report.], p. A7, S.L.P.D., 02/24/09] - [my brackets - D.R.D.]
March 2009
2009 - Bush official decries Guantanamo process - March 20th, 2009: "Many detainees locked up at Gutanamo were innocent men swept up by U.S. forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said Thursday [03/19/09]. [NP] 'There are still innocent people there,' Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then -Secretary of State Colin Powell, said. 'Some have been there six or seven years.' " [Based on: News Services article (FOREIGN RELATIONS / Bush official decries Guantanamo process), p. A4, S.L.P.D., 03/20/09]
2009 - Lowest Levels / Attacks in Iraq - March 26th, 2009: "The number of attacks in Iraq has dropped to its lowest levels since the months following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, a security improvement that comes as the U.S. begins downsizing its operation, a U.S. military spokesman said. 'At the height of the violence, we were averaging 1,250 attacks a week,' Maj. Gen. David Perkins said. 'Now, many times, we have less than 100 a week.' " [Based on: News Services article (Attacks in Iraq drop, U.S. says), p. A21, S.L.P.D., 03/26/09]
April 2009
2009 - CIA Officers Absolved / U.S.A. - April 17th, 2009: "President Barack Obama absolved CIA officers from prosecution for harsh, painful interrogation of terrorism suspects Thursday [04/16/09], even as his administration released George W. Bush-era memos graphically detailing - and authorizing - tactics such as slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding them and keeping them naked and cold for long periods. [NP] In releasing the documents, the most comprehensive accounting yet of interrogation methods that were among the Bush administration's most closely guarded secrets, Obama said he wanted to move beyond 'a dark and painful chapter in our history.' [NP] CIA officials had pressed for more parts of the memos to be kept secret; some critics said the release would jeopardize U.S. security." [Based on: McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS article (Obama absolves CIA officers), p. A8, S.L.P.D., 04/17/09]
2009 - Spain won't investigate Bush officials - April 17th, 2009: "Spain's attorney general has rejected opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against suspects at Guantanamo Bay, saying Thursday [04/16/09] a U.S. courtroom would be the proper forum. Candido Conde-Pumpido's remarks severly dampen the chance of a case moving forward against the Americans, including former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales." [Based on: News Services article (Spain won't investigate Bush officials), p. A8, S.L.P.D., 04/17/09]
2009 - Senators looking into wiretaps / U.S.A. - April 17th, 2009: "The head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday [04/16/09] that the panel would hold a hearing on reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens. 'We will make sure we get the facts,' said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. The House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees learned of the problem in late February from the Justice Department, a congressional official said Thursday." [Based on: News Services article (Senators looking into wiretaps), p. A8, S.L.P.D., 04/17/09]
2009 - Torture Debate / U.S.A. - April 22nd, 2009: "Widening an explosive debate on torture, President Barack Obama opened the possibility of prosecution for Bush-era lawyers who authorized brutal interrogation of terrorism suspects and suggested Congress might order a full investigation." [Based on: News Services article (Obama reverses stand on interrogations), p. A7, S.L.P.D., 04/22/09]
2009 - Cheney, Rice tied to interrogations - April 23rd, 2009: "A newly declassified narrative of the Bush administration's advice to the CIA on harsh interrogations shows that the small group of Justice Department lawyers who wrote memos authorizing controversial interrogation techniques were operating not on their own but with direction from top administration officials, including then-Vice President Dick Cheney and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. [NP] At the same time, the narrative suggests that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell were largely left out of the decision-making process. The narrative was posted Wednesday [04/22/09] on the Senate Intelligence Committee's website and released by its former chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va." [Based on: News Services article (Cheney, Rice tied to interrogations), p. A16, S.L.P.D., 04/23/09]
May 2009
2009 - Trivia / Prisoner Abuse Photos, U.S.A. - May 14th, 2009: "Obama now wants photos kept secret / Images of prisoner abuse could put U.S. troops in greater peril, he says." [Based on: Title for New York Times article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 05/14/09]
*Trivia: "President Barack Obama reversed his decision to release detainee abuse photos from Iraq and Afghanistan after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that Iraq would erupt into violence and Iraqis would demand that U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq a year earlier than planned, two U.S. military officers, a senior defense official and a State Department official said." [Based on: News Services (Iraqi reaction cited in Obama switch), p. A10, S.L.P.D., 06/02/09]
2009 - Accuses CIA of Lying? / Nancy Pelosi - May 15th, 2009: "[....] 'The CIA was misleading the Congress' as part of a broader Bush administration pattern of deception about its activities, Pelosi said [05/14/09]. 'The only mention of waterboarding at the briefing was that it was not being employed,' she said, adding, 'We now know that earlier, they were.' [....] Democrats believe that Pelosi's call last month [April 2009] for a 'truth commission' touched off the storm that has engulfed her. Pelosi accused the Bush administration of 'misinforming' Congress not only about torture but about weapons of mass destruction by way of pushing its war agenda with minimal interference from Congress." [Based on: San Francisco Chronicle article (Pelosi accuses the CIA of lying / House speaker inisists agency never told her that it used torture.) - The New York Times, Tribune Washington Bureau and Associated Press contributed to this report, p. A1 & A7, S.L.P.D., 05/15/09]
2009 - Defeated / Pelosi Probe - May 22nd, 2009: "House Democrats defeated a Republican push to investigate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assertion that the CIA misled her in 2002 about whether waterboarding had been used against terrorism suspects." [Based on: News Services article (Democrats block probe of Pelosi), p. A21, S.L.P.D., 05/22/09]
June 2009
2009 - Detainee Photos Trivia / U.S.A. - June 12th, 2009: "A federal appeals court has withdrawn its order forcing the government to release photographs of detainee abuse. The decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan came after the Obama administration asked the court to keep the pictures secret. Military officials have said the images could lead to more violence in Pakistan." [Based on: News Services article (Court withdraws order on photos), p. A8, S.L.P.D., 06/12/09]
July 2009
2009 - Wiretaps Mystery? / U.S.A. - July 11th, 2009: "[....] The White House's reliance on a 'single DOJ attorney' to draft the first series of memos justifying the program 'was extraordinary and inappropriate,' the report said. [NP] Jay Bybee, then the assistant attorney general overseeing the Office of legal Council and Yoo's boss, told investigators he wasn't informed about the program and was later 'surprised' to learn through news accounts of Yoo's involvement. [....]" [Based on: McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS article (Wiretaps mystery: Did they work? / CIA never tried to judge effectiveness in war on terrorism, report says.), by Marisa Taylor, pp. A1 & A5, S.L.P.D., 07/11/09]
2009 - Cheney's secret CIA program surfaces - July 12th, 2009: "Cheney's secret CIA program surfaces / Intelligence committees just found out about it; Panetta ended it last month [June 23rd, 2009]." [Based on: Title for New York Times article by Scott Shane, p. A6, S.L.P.D., 07/12/09]
2009 - Secret CIA effort was aborted but reborn - July 16th, 2009: "As CIA director in 2004, George Tenet terminated a secret program to develop hit teams to kill al-Qaida leaders, but his successors resurrected the plan, according to former intelligence officials. [....] Porter Goss, who replaced Tenet in 2005, restarted the program, the former officials said. [NP] By the time Michael Hayden succeeded Goss as CIA chief in 2006 the effort was again flagging because of practical challenges. [NP] CIA Director Leon Panetta drove the final stake into the effort in June after learning about the program. He called an emergency meeting with the House and Senate Intelligence committees the next day, informing lawmakers about the program and saying that as vice president, Dick Cheney had directed the CIA not to inform Congress about the operation. [....] Another former official said that the CIA's reliance on foreign intelligence services and on drone-launched missle strikes proved over time to be less risky yet effective in targeting al-Qaida chiefs for death or capture. President George W. Bush authorized the killing of al-Qaida leaders in 2001. [....]" [Based on: A.P. article (Secret CIA effort was aborted but reborn), p. A9, S.L.P.D., 07/16/09]
September 2009
2009 - Appeals panel faults Ashcroft - September 5th, 2009: "Appeals panel faults Ashcroft [09/04/09] / Citizen [Lavoni T. Kidd, a.k.a. Abdullah al-Kidd] held after 9/11 [2003] and never charged sued [2005] former U.S. attorney general over Bush administration policies." [Based on: Title for New York Times article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 09/05/09]
2009 - A request on interrogations - September 19th, 2009: "Seven former CIA directors asked President Barack Obama to quash a criminal probe of harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration. The seven former CIA directors included Michael Hayden, Porter Goss and George Tenet, who served under President George W. Bush; John Deutch and James Woolsey, who worked for President Bill Clinton; William Webster, who served under President George W. Bush; and James Schlesinger, who ran the agency under President Richard Nixon." [Based on: News Services article (A request on interrogations), p. A5, S.L.P.D., 09/19/09]
October 2009
2009 - Cheney told FBI he had no idea who leaked Plame's ID - October 31st, 2009: "Vice President Dick Cheney told the FBI that he had no idea who leaked to the news media that Valerie Plame, wife of a Bush critic, worked for the CIA. [NP] The FBI interview summary was released Friday [10/30/09] to a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. In the interview whose participants included federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Cheney told agents that he did not recall having a conversation with President George W. Bush." [Based on: News Services article (Cheney told FBI he had no idea who leaked Plame's ID), p. A7, S.L.P.D., 10/31/09]
November 2009
2009 - 23 with CIA convicted of kidnapping cleric - November 5th, 2009: "In a landmark ruling, an Italian judge on Wednesday [11/04/09] convicted a base chief for the CIA and 22 other American CIA operatives of kidnapping a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan in 2003. [NP] The case was a huge symbolic victory for Italian prosecutors, who drew the first convictions involving the American practice of rendition, in which terrorism suspects are captured in one country and taken for questioning in another, often one more open to coercive interrogation techniques. [....] Judge Oscar Magi handed an eight-year sentence to Robert Seldon Lady, the former CIA base chief in Milan, and five-year sentences to the 22 other Americans. Three of the other high-ranking Americans were given diplomatic immunity, including Jeffrey Castelli, a former CIA station chief in Rome. [....] All the Americans were tried in absentia and are considered fugitives. Through their court-appointed lawyers, they pleaded not guilty. [NP] Italian prosecutors had charged the Americans and seven members of the Italian military intelligence agency in the abduction of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003. Prosecutors said he was snatched in broad daylight, flown from an American air base in Italy to a base in Germany and then on to Egypt, where he asserts that he was tortured." [Based on: New York Times article (23 with CIA convicted of kidnapping cleric / Case in Italy results in first convictions involving capture of terrorist suspects, moving them to other nation.) by Rachel Donadio, p. A9, S.L.P.D., 11/05/09]
December 2009
2009 - Break the CIA in Two - December 22nd, 2009: "Editor’s Note: Exactly 46 years ago, President Harry Truman looked back on the still-young CIA, which he had helped create, and was alarmed at how its original purpose – to provide unvarnished information to top policymakers – was being perverted by the agency’s growing role in covert operations. [....]" *Link: http://consortiumnews.com/2009/122209a.html
[Based on: Consortiumnews.com article (Break the CIA in Two), By Ray McGovern, December 22, 2009]
February 2010
2010 - Ethics Lawyers Cleared / U.S.A. - February 20th, 2010: "Ethics lawyers [Jay S. Bybee & John Yoo] cleared / Advice to Bush administration on interrogation tactics was flawed, but two are not guilty of professional misconduct, report [U.S. Justice Department] concludes [02/19/10]." [Based on: Title for New York Times article, p. A4, S.L.P.D., 02/20/10]
2010 - Anthrax investigation is formally closed - February 20th, 2010: "Anthrax investigation is formally closed ['the Amerithrax investigation found that the late Dr. Bruce Ivins acted alone in planning and executing these attacks.' the Justice Department said." [Based on: Title for Cox Newspapers article by Eliot Kleinberg, p. A11, S.L.P.D., 02/20/10]
March 2010
2010 - U.S. accused of misleading allies - March 10th, 2010: "United States intelligence agencies misled key allies, including Britain, about its mistreatment of suspected terrorists, the former head of the country's domestic spy agency, MI5, said Tuesday [03/09/10]. Eliza Manningham-Buller, who retired in 2007 and is now a member of the House of Lords, said the U.S. deliberately suppressed details of its harsh handling of some detainees, including accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed." [Based on: News Services article (U.S. accused of misleading allies), p. A6, S.L.P.D., 03/10/10]
April 2010
2010 - Wiretaps are ruled illegal / U.S. judge rejects efforts to keep program under wraps. - April 1st, 2010: "A federal judge ruled Wednesday [03/31/10] that the National Security Agency's surveillance without warrants was illegal, rejecting efforts by President Barack Obama's administration to keep shrouded in secrecy one of the most disputed counterterrorism policies of former President George W. Bush. [....] The ruling delivered a blow to the Bush administration's claims that its surveillance program, which Bush secretly authorized shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was lawful. Under the program, the National Security Agency monitored Americans' international e-mail messages and phone calls without court approval, even though the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, required warrants. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article (Wiretaps are ruled illegal / U.S. judge rejects efforts to keep program under wraps.), p. A6, S.L.P.D., 04/01/10]
July 2010
2010 - CIA went too far on tactics, panel is told - July 16th, 2010: "CIA went too far on tactics, panel is told [07/15/10] / Ex-Justice Department official [Jay Bybee] cites repeated waterboarding of two [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - 183 times & Abu Zubeydah - 83 times]." [Based on: Title for Tribune washington Bureau article by Ken Dilanian, p. A10, S.L.P.D., 07/16/10]
2010 - Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010 - July 25th, 2010: "25th July 2010 5:00 PM EST WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary, an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. [NP] The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers, and mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related details. [NP] The document collection is available on a dedicated webpage. [....]"
[Based on: WikiLeaks article (Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010).
Release date: 07/25/10]
*Other Links:
http://mirror.wikileaks.info/wiki/Afghan_War_Diary,_2004-2010/
2010 - War records leak puts heat on president - July 27th, 2010: "The White House sought to reassert control over the public debate of the Afghanistan war Monday [07/26/10] as political reaction to the disclosure of a six-year archive of classified military documents increased pressure on President Barack Obama to defend his war strategy. [NP] On Capitol Hill, a leading Senate Democrat said the documents, with their detailed account of a war faring even more poorly than two administrations had portrayed, would intensify congressional scrutiny of Obama's policy. [....] Administration officials acknowledged that the documents, released on the Internet by an organization called WikiLeaks, will make it harder for Obama as he tries to hang on to public and congressional support until the end of the year, when he has scheduled a review of the war effort. [....] The White House appeared to be focusing its ire toward Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.org, the website that provided access to about 92,000 secret military reports from January 2004 through December 2009. [NP] White House officials e-mailed reporters select transcripts of an interview Assange conducted with Der Spiegel, underlining the quotations the White House found most offensive. Among then was Assange's assertion, 'I enjoy crushing bastards.' [NP] On Monday, Assange defended the release of the documents. 'I'd like to see this material taken seriously and investigated, and new policies, if not prosecutions, result from it.' he said." [Based on: New York Times article (War records leak puts heat on president / Obama may be forced to battle harder for Afghanistan policy.) by Eric Schmitt & Helen Cooper, pp. A1 & A6, S.L.P.D., 07/27/10]
August 2010
2010 - Castro says bin Laden is a U.S. agent - August 28th, 2010: "Fidel Castro says al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is a bought-and-paid-for CIA agent who always popped up when former President George W. Bush needed to scare the world, arguing that documents recently posted on the Internet prove it." [Based on: Title for News Services article (Castro says bin Laden is a U.S. agent), p. A21, S.L.P.D., 08/28/10]
September 2010
2010 - U.S. Combat Role End / Iraq - September 1st, 2010: "As Iraq war winds down, 'It's time to turn the page' / Obama declares end to combat role [08/31/10], praises troops." [Based on: Title for New York Times article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 09/01/10]
2010 - State secrets trump plaintiffs - September 9th, 2010: "[....] By a six-to-five vote, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reversing an earlier decision, dismissed a lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a Boeing subsidiary accused of arranging flights for the CIA's 'extraordinary rendition' program, as it is known. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the case on behalf of five former prisoners who say they were tortured because of the program - and that Jeppesen was complicit in their treatment. [NP] Judge Raymond C. Fisher described the case as presenting 'a painful conflict between human rights and national security.' But, he said, the majority had 'reluctantly' concluded that the lawsuit represented 'a rare case' in which the government's need to protect state secrets trumped the plaintiffs' need to have any day in court. [....] Among other policies, the Obama team has also placed a United States citizen on a targeted-killings list without a trial, blocked efforts by detainees in Afghanistan to bring habeas-corpus lawsuits challenging their indefinite imprisonment, and continued the CIA rendition program - though the administration says it now takes greater safeguards to prevent detainees from being mistreated. [....] It has been more than 50 years since the Supreme Court issued a major ruling on the state-secrets privilege, a judicially created doctrine that administrations of both parties have increasingly used to win dismissals of lawsuits related to national security matters - thereby shielding governmental actions from court review. In 2007, the court declined to hear an appeal of a similar rendition program case by the appeals court in Richmond, Va. [NP] The current case turns on the question of whether the executive branch can invoke the 'state secrets privilege' to shut down entire lawsuits, or whether it could only use it to withold particular pieces of sensitive information while allowing the litigation to go forward. In April 2009, a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit adopted the narrow view, ruling that the lawsuit should proceed. [NP] But the Obama administration appealed that ruling to the full San Francisco-based appeals court. And on Wednesday [09/09/10], the narrow majority endorsed the broader view. [NP] 'This case requires us to address the difficult balance the state secrets doctrine strikes between fundamental principles of our liberty, including justice, transparency, accountability and national security,' Fisher wrote. 'Although as judges we strive to honor all of these principles, there are times when exceptional circumstances creation irreconcilable conflict between them.' " [Based on: New York Times article (State secrets trump plaintiffs / Appeals court's decision in CIA case bolsters Obama's counterterrorism policies.) by Charlie Savage, p. A8, S.L.P.D., 09/09/10]
October 2010
2010 - Trial starts in civilian killings - October 4th, 2010: "[....] But a case being heard this week before a military court at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Seattle could surpass all that have come before in the two wars [Afghanistan & Iraq]: accusations that a drug-addled Army unit formed a secret self-described 'kill team' that killed Afghan civilians for sport, posing for pictures with victims and taking body parts as trophies. [....] In a videotaped interrogation, one defendant said they would kill civilians without provocation after making it seem as if they were under attack. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article (Trial starts in civilian killings / Accusations that GIs wantonly killed Afghans might be worst of atrocity cases.) by Charlie Savage, p. A9, S.L.P.D., 10/04/10]
2010 - U.S. military says 77,000 Iraqis killed over 5 years - October 15th, 2010: "A new U.S. military tally puts the death toll of Iraqi civilians and security forces in the bloodiest years of the war thousands below Iraqi government figures. [NP] The little-noticed body count is the most extensive data on Iraqi war casualties ever released by the American military. It tallied deaths of almost 77,000 Iraqis between January 2004 and August 2008. But the tally falls short of the estimated 85,694 deaths of civilians and security officials between January 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008, as counted last year by the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry." [Based on: News Services article (U.S. military says 77,000 Iraqis killed over 5 years), p. A15, S.L.P.D.,10/15/10]
2010 - Blackwater cases falling apart - October 21st, 2010: "Nearly four years after the U.S. government began a string of investigations and criminal prosecutions against Blackwater Worldwide personnel accused of murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cases are falling apart over the difficulty of obtaining evidence in war zones." [Based on: News Services article (Blackwater cases falling apart), p. A9, S.L.P.D.,10/21/10]
2010 - Iraq War Logs, 2004-2009 - October 22nd, 2010: Iraq War Logs, 2004-2009 (Release date - October 22, 2010)
22nd October 2010 5:00 PM EST WikiLeaks released the largest classified military leak in history. The 391,832 reports ('The Iraq War Logs'), document the war and occupation in Iraq, from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2009 (except for the months of May 2004 and March 2009) as told by soldiers in the United States Army. Each is a 'SIGACT' or Significant Action in the war. They detail events as seen and heard by the US military troops on the ground in Iraq and are the first real glimpse into the secret history of the war that the United States government has been privy to throughout.
The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of 66,081 'civilians'; 23,984 'enemy' (those labeled as insurgents); 15,196 'host nation' (Iraqi government forces) and 3,771 'friendly' (coalition forces). The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths.That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six year period. For comparison, the 'Afghan War Diaries', previously released by WikiLeaks, covering the same period, detail the deaths of some 20,000 people. Iraq during the same period, was five times as lethal with equivalent population size. [....] [Based on: wikileaks.info article (Iraq War Logs, 2004-2009)] - [T.D. - 12/09/10]
*Link: http://mirror.wikileaks.info/wiki/Iraq_War_Logs,_2004-2009/
November 2010
2010 - CIA won't face charges over destruction of videotapes - November 10th, 2010: "[....] According to current and former government officials, Rodriguez [Jose Rodriguez Jr.] told his superiors that two lawyers inside the CIA's clandestine service, Robert Eatinger and Steven Hermes, had signed off on his order to destroy the tapes. [NP] The e-mails showed that the tapes were destroyed on the morning of Nov. 9, 2005. Officials announced the decision Tuesday [11/09/10] because the five-year statute of limitations for filing criminal charges relating to the tapes' destruction had expired. [NP] The agency had hidden the existence of the tapes from both the federal courts and the Sept. 11 Commission. The existence and subsequent destruction of the tapes was first revealed by The New York Times in December 2007. [....] Durham [John Durham], a career federal prosecutor based in Connecticut, was appointed in January 2008 by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate whether destroying the tapes was a crime. In August 2009, the new attorney general, Eric Holder Jr., expanded Durham's mandate to include looking into whether crimes had been committed in the interrogation program. At the time, Holder cited a 2004 report by the CIA inspector general that discussed several instances in which detainees died during interrogations by agency officials in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also documented the use of unauthorized techniques - like mock executions, threats to family members, and waterboarding - more often than the department had approved. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article (CIA won't face charges over destruction of videotapes / Dozens of tapes were destroyed; they depicted terrorism interrogations.) by Charlie Savage & Mark Mazzetti, pp. A1 &A8, S.L.P.D., 11/10/10]
April 2011
2011 - Did FBI miss mark on anthrax suspect? - April 21st, 2011: "[....] If the FBI got the right man, then there is no consequence to its decision to stop hunting for bacillus subtilis, a harmless bacterial contaminant that resembles anthrax. But if Ivins was innocent, then the killer is at large, and the bureau may have missed a big opportunity. [....] The Justice Department closed the eight-year investigation, said to cost as much as $100 million. However, none of the circumstantial evidence it found showed that Ivins prepared the deadly powder, scrawled 'Death to America' in a seeming mimic of al-Qaida, or twice sneaked away on six-hour roundtrip drives to drop them in a Princeton, N.J., mailbox. [....]" [Based on: McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS article (Did FBI miss mark on anthrax suspect? / Agency limited testing on distinct contaminant and focused almost exclusively on one person.) by Saeed Shah, p. A21, S.L.P.D., 04/21/11]
May 2011
2011 - BIN LADEN IS DEAD - May 1st, 2011: "BIN LADEN IS DEAD [05/01/11]" [Based on: Title for Front Page article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 05/02/11]
*Trivia: "Capture was not ruled out in raid / But rules of engagement virtually assured killing of bin Laden, U.S. says." [Based on: Title for Article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 05/04/11]
*Trivia: "Islamic scholars criticize [05/02/11] sea burial [of Osama bin Laden] as humiliating" [Based on: Title for A.P. article, p. A4, S.L.P.D., 05/03/11]
*Trivia: "No release of death photos / Obama cites security in keeping bin Laden pictures from public." [Based on: Title for Tribune Newspapers article, p. A1, S.L.P.D., 05/05/11]
*Trivia: "On Monday [05/02/11], the administration of President Barack Obama said Osama bin Laden had been killed after a firefight with Navy SEAL commandos, and that he had used his wife as a human shield. On Tuesday [05/03/11], the administration said that bin Laden was not armed at all, and that his wife had not been a shield but had rushed her husband's assaulter and was shot in the leg. [NP] On Wednesday [05/04/11], the administration backtracked again. This time it downgraded its initial accounts of a firefight that raged throughout the raid to gunshots fired only at the beginning of the nearly 40-minute operation by bin Laden's courier, who was quickly dispatched by the commandos. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article (Debriefings led to changing narrative) by Elisabeth Bumiller, p. A12, S.L.P.D., 05/06/11]
2011 - McCain contradicts torture story - May 13th, 2011: "None of the crucial information that led the Central Intelligence Agency down the trail to Osama bin Laden came from coercive interrogation techniques, Sen. John McCain said on the Senate floor Thursday [05/12/11], contradicting the accounts of current and former U.S. officials. McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, has always opposed the U.S. use of waterboarding and other abusive techniques employed after the 9/11 attacks to elicit information from detainees." [Based on: Article (McCain contradicts torture story), p. A11, S.L.P.D., 05/13/11]
June 2011
2011 - Bin Laden suits tossed - June 18th, 2011: "Bin Laden suits tossed ['Six weeks after Osama bin Laden's death']" [Based on: Title (and text) for Article, p. A20, S.L.P.D., 06/18/11]
July 2011
2011 - War on Terror cost: $4.12 trillion, 225,000 dead - July 4th, 2011: "Nearly 10 years after the declaration of the War on Terror, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have killed at least 225,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors, and civilians. [NP] The wars will cost Americans between $3.2 and $4 trillion, including medical care and disability for current and future war veterans, according to a new report by the Eisenhower Research Project based at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. [NP] If the wars continue, they are on track to require at least another $450 billion in Pentagon spending by 2020 [....]. [Based on: rediff NEWS article (War on Terror cost: $4.12 trillion, 225,000 dead, July 4th, 2011]
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-war-on-terror-cost-4-point-12-trillion-225000-dead/20110704.htm
2011 - Torture alleged in Iraq - July 15th, 2011: "Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's military office is operating a secretive jail in Baghdad's Green Zone where prisoners routinely face torture to extract confessions, Iraqi officials say." [Based on: Article (Torture alleged in Iraq), p. A9, S.L.P.D., 07/15/11]
2011 - Filing in anthrax case is at issue - July 28th, 2011: "[....] That filing asserted that Bruce Ivins, who the FBI alleges made the anthrax in his government lab, did not have access in the lab to the special equipment needed to make the deadly powder. The Justice Department wants to revise the filing to say that Ivins did have access to the equipment elsewhere at the Army bioweapons facility in Frederick, Md., where he worked. [....]" [Based on: News Services article (Filing in anthrax case is at issue), p. A14, S.L.P.D., 07/28/11]2011 - Filing in anthrax case is at issue - July 28th, 2011: "[....] That filing asserted that Bruce Ivins, who the FBI alleges made the anthrax in his government lab, did not have access in the lab to the special equipment needed to make the deadly powder. The Justice Department wants to revise the filing to say that Ivins did have access to the equipment elsewhere at the Army bioweapons facility in Frederick, Md., where he worked. [....]" [Based on: News Services article (Filing in anthrax case is at issue), p. A14, S.L.P.D., 07/28/11]
September 2011
2011 - Cheney’s Long List Of Crimes - September 16th, 2011: "Cheney’s Long List Of Crimes" [Based on: Title for AFP article by Richard Walker, September 16, 2011]
*Link: http://americanfreepress.net/?p=604
2011 - Iraq war has widowed almost 1 million women - September 19th, 2011: "A study released Sunday by a global humanitarian aid organization [Los Angeles-based Relief International] concluded that three out of every five widows in Iraq lost their husbands in the years of violence that followed the U.S.-led war. [....]" [Based on: A.P. article (Iraq war has widowed almost 1 million women), p. A15, S.L.P.D., 09/19/11]
October 2011
2011 - Pakistan charges doctor in bin Laden case - October 7th, 2011: "The Pakistani commission investigating Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan has recommended that a doctor who helped the CIA try to confirm that bin Laden was living in a complex in Abbottabad be tried for 'high treason,' a charge that could result in the doctor's execution if convicted. Dr. Shakil Afridi, who organized a fake immunization campaign in an effort to gain access to bin Laden's compound, has been held since shortly after U.S. forces killed bin Laden." [Based on: Digest article (Pakistan charges doctor in bin Laden case), p. A14, S.L.P.D., 10/07/11]
November 2011
2011 - Time for Americans to ‘Occupy the Pentagon’ - November 11th, 2011: "While Americans continue to make their voices heard via the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, maybe they should next focus their attention on an even wealthier, more exploitative crowd: The Pentagon. [NP] The military-industrial-banking complex’s budget breakdown for 2012 is so extraordinary, it’s doubtful that the average person can conceive of such astronomical numbers. The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking $707.5 billion, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants $46.9 billion, and in a category labeled “Interest on debt incurred in past wars,” the number is between $109.1 billion to $431.5 billion. All this is estimated to be as high as $1.415 trillion for one fiscal year. [....]"
[Based on AFP article (Time for Americans to ‘Occupy the Pentagon’) by By Frank Whalen, 11/11/11]
*Link: http://americanfreepress.net/?p=1371
December 2011
2011 - 2012 military budget / U.S.A. - December 5th, 2011: "Senators passed, 93-7, a $662 billion fiscal 2012 defense budget that provides $117 billion for war in Afghanistan and Iraq and $53 billion for military health care. A yes vote backed S1867, which raises military pay by 1.6 percent and stiffens U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. [....]" [Based on: Article (2012 military budget), p. A5, S.L.P.D., 12/05/11]
2011 - Military custody, civil liberties / U.S.A. - December 5th, 2011: "Senators refused, 38-60, to strip S1867 ... of its requirement that terrorist suspects be held in military custody rather than assigned to the U.S. civil system of criminal justice. A yes vote opposed the requirement on grounds that it goes too far by denying civil liberties to suspects who are American and arrested in the U.S. [....]" [Based on: Article (Military custody, civil liberties), p. A5, S.L.P.D., 12/05/11]
*Related Links:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/1203/Guantanamo-for-US-citizens-Senate-bill-raises-questions
2011 - 7 Nations on Neocon Hit List - December 9th, 2011: "Some 10 years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., top neoconservatives in the Pentagon orchestrated a major 'policy coup' to start wars with multiple Middle Eastern countries and secure total domination of the Middle East in order to take their oil. That’s according to a top former U.S. military officer. [....]" [Based on: AFP article (7 Nations on Neocon Hit List) by James P. Tucker Jr., December 09, 2011]
*Link: http://americanfreepress.net/?p=1794
2011 - War in Iraq End - December 15th, 2011: "The Iraq War, or the War in Iraq (also referred to as the Occupation of Iraq, the Second Gulf War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States military), was a conflict that occurred in Iraq from March 20, 2003[41][42] to December 15, 2011.[43] [....]"
[Based on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War]
2011 - NATO ends mission in Iraq - December 18th, 2011: "NATO [12/17/11] ends mission ['its seven-year training mission'] in Iraq" [Based on: Title (and text) for Digest article, p. A30, S.L.P.D., 12/18/11]
2011 - Last U.S. troops in Iraq leave with no fanfare - December 18th, 2011: "Last U.S. troops in Iraq leave with no fanfare [12/18/11] / Soldiers in convoy head for Kuwait under cover of darkness after not even saying farewell to Iraqi comrades on base." [Based on: Title for A.P. article, p. A10, S.L.P.D., 12/19/11]
Page last updated 12/19/11