Newslink: All The Shit That Can Go Wrong With CIA Black Sites

in #newslink8 years ago

Black sites, renditions, and all those other War on Terror-isms that had supposedly been consigned to an earlier and darker period of America’s counter-terrorism efforts seem to be making a comeback. But they were an absolute horror show the first time around, and here’s why.
The Washington Post obtained what it claims is a draft version of an executive order reauthorizing a review of interrogation guidelines, along with the continued operation of the Guantanamo Bay prison facility and the possible re-introduction of a number of Bush-era policies, including interrogation of terror suspects outside the United States.
During a briefing on January 25, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer didn’t deny the document’s authenticity, opting for the classically non-denial denial-type formulation that the draft was “not a White House document.” Regardless of where in the executive branch it may have originated, the draft is consistent with President Donald Trump’s repeated endorsement of torture over the course of the campaign—even when it puts him at odds with his own retired general turned Defense Secretary—as well as with his accusations that President Barack Obama had placed “political correctness” above national security in responding to terrorism.

Once it became covert U.S. policy that the traditional laws of war did not apply to terrorism suspects, the government had a much freer hand in determining the limits of what it was legally allowed to do for national security purposes—but it didn’t have an entirely free hand. Intelligence agencies were still hamstrung by the possibility of their activities being exposed to both terrorists and the broader public. And if the Geneva Conventions now meant very little within a U.S. counter-terror context, intelligence agencies were still subject to domestic civilian legal jurisdiction for anything they did inside the America’s borders.

Image and Source: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/all-the-shit-that-can-go-wrong-with-cia-black-sites-1791657247

Sort:  

Congratulations @alt1001! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of comments received

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honnor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!

Congratulations @alt1001! You received a personal award!

2 Years on Steemit

Click here to view your Board of Honor

Support SteemitBoard's project! Vote for its witness and get one more award!

Congratulations @alt1001! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 3 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!