Exclusive: Senate probe finds little evidence of effective "torture"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/27/us-usa-congress-torture-idUSBRE83Q07J20120427

 

Exclusive: Senate probe finds little evidence of effective "torture"

 

Fri, Apr 27 2012

By Mark Hosenball

(Reuters) - A nearly three-year-long investigation by Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats is expected to find there is little evidence the harsh "enhanced interrogation techniques" the CIA used on high-value prisoners produced counter-terrorism breakthroughs.

People familiar with the inquiry said committee investigators, who have been poring over records from the administration of President George W. Bush, believe they do not substantiate claims by some Bush supporters that the harsh interrogations led to counter-terrorism coups.

The backers of such techniques, which include "water-boarding," sleep deprivation and other practices critics call torture, maintain they have led to the disruption of major terror plots and the capture of al Qaeda leaders.

One official said investigators found "no evidence" such enhanced interrogations played "any significant role" in the years-long intelligence operations which led to the discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden last May by U.S. Navy SEALs.

President Barack Obama and his aides have largely sought to avoid revisiting Bush administration controversies. But the debate over the effectiveness of enhanced interrogations, which human rights advocates condemn as torture, is resurfacing, in part thanks to a new book by a former top CIA official.

In the book, "Hard Measures," due to be published on Monday, April 30, the former chief of CIA clandestine operations Jose Rodriguez defends the use of interrogation practices including water-boarding, which involves pouring water on a subject's face, which is covered with a cloth, to simulate drowning.

"We made some al-Qaeda terrorists with American blood on their hands uncomfortable for a few days," Rodriguez says in an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes" that will air on Sunday, April 29. "I am very secure in what we did and am very confident that what we did saved American lives."

For nearly three years, the Senate intelligence committee's majority Democrats have been conducting what is described as the first systematic investigation of the effectiveness of such extreme interrogation techniques.

NO SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT

The CIA gave the committee access to millions of pages of written records charting daily operations of the interrogation program, including graphic descriptions of how and when controversial techniques were employed.

Sources agreed to discuss the matter on condition of anonymity because the report has not been finalized.

The committee members' objective is to conduct a methodical assessment of whether enhanced interrogation techniques led to genuine intelligence breakthroughs or whether they produced more false leads than good ones.

U.S. intelligence officials have acknowledged that while the harshest elements of the interrogation program, including water-boarding and other tactics which cause severe physical stress, were in use, the CIA never carried out a scientific assessment of the program's effectiveness.

The Bush Administration only used water-boarding on three captured suspects. One of them was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Other coercive techniques included sleep deprivation, making people crouch or stretch in stressful positions and slamming detainees against a flexible wall.

The CIA started backing away from such techniques in 2004. Obama banned them shortly after taking office.

One source cautioned there could still be lengthy delays before any information or conclusions from the Senate committee's report are made public.

One reason the inquiry has taken so long is that in 2009, committee Republicans withdrew their participation, saying the panel would be unable to interview witnesses to ensure documentary material was reported in appropriate context due to ongoing criminal investigations.

People familiar with the inquiry said it consisted of as much as 2,000 pages in narrative accounts of how the CIA interrogation program worked, including specific case histories in which enhanced interrogation tactics were used.

'PROCEDURES' UNJUSTIFIED: FEINSTEIN

 

The Intelligence committee has not issued any official statements about what its inquiry has found or when it expects to wrap up. But committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein has made relatively strong statements about the lack of evidence that enhanced interrogations played any material role in generating information leading to bin Laden's killing.

 

Only days after the commando raid in which bin Laden was killed, Feinstein told journalists: "I happen to know a good deal about how those interrogations were conducted, and, in my view, nothing justifies the kind of procedures that were used."

 

Current and former U.S. officials have said one key source for information about the existence of the al Qaeda "courier" who ultimately led U.S. intelligence to bin Laden was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

 

KSM, as he was known to U.S. officials, was subjected to water-boarding 183 times, the U.S. government has acknowledged.

 

Officials said, however, that it was not until sometime after he was water-boarded that KSM told interrogators about the courier's existence. Therefore a direct link between the physically coercive techniques and critical information is unproven, Bush administration critics say.

 

Supporters of the CIA program, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, have portrayed it as a necessary, if distasteful, step that may have stopped extremist plots and saved lives.

 

The purpose of using physically coercive methods was not directly to extract information about imminent plots but rather to put suspects in a frame of mind to cooperate with interrogators during future questioning, they say.

 

Critics also say that still-classified records are likely to demonstrate that harsh interrogation techniques produced far more information that proved false than true.

 

Some U.S. counter-terrorism officials have acknowledged that in the years after the September 11 attacks, U.S. agencies were overwhelmed with bogus tips about possible plots and attacks.

 

(Editing by Todd Eastham)

 

© Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved.

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 2

29] March for the Animals – Apr. 29

30] Existential Faith – Apr. 29

31] Petition against NDAA – Apr. 29

32] Auction for Peace House – Apr. 29

33] Get on Bridge for Peace – Apr. 29

34] Income Inequality – Apr. 29

35] Lessons from Movement History – Apr. 29

36] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – Apr. 29

37] Hiroshima/Nagasaki meeting – Apr. 29

38] Red Emma's meeting – Apr. 29

39] The Hour of Sunlight – Apr. 29

40] Pentagon Vigil – Apr. 30

41] Nuclear weapons spending – Apr. 30

42] Book talk - "Unending Crisis: National Security Policy after 9/11" – Apr. 30

43] Film "Reclamation and Resistance" -- Apr. 30

44] Nuclear Security – Apr. 30

45] Police abuse press conference – Apr. 30

46] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Apr. 30 – May 3

47] Protest the death penalty – Apr. 30

48] Freedom at Free School – Apr. 30

49] Support Fund Our Communities resolution – Apr. 39

50] Support NDAA resolution – Apr. 30

51] Occupy Movement – Apr. 30

52] Pledge/Fund Our Communities meeting – Apr. 30

------

29] – The 17th Annual March for the Animals is Sun., Apr. 29 at Druid Hill Park, 2600 Madison Ave.  It will be a fun-packed day of demonstrations, contests, entertainment and a 1.5-mile walk around Druid Hill Reservoir to benefit the Maryland SPCA.  To register, visit the March for the Animals website www.marchfortheanimals.kintera.org. Registration opens at 9 AM, and the march is from 10 AM to 2 PM.  Call 410-235-8826.

 

30] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore, MD 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 to 11:30 AM.  On Sun., Apr. 29, the topic is "Existential Faith: Choosing Ethical Culture" to be explored by Hugh Taft-Morales, BES leader.  Declaring oneself an existentialist draws a variety of responses – suspicion, interest, pity, blank stares. Many assume that existentialism breeds dark brooding cynicism. For Taft-Morales, however, existentialism is a source of commitment and joy – is he crazy? Call 410-581-2322 or visit www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org.

 

31] – The Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition is doing petitioning against the NDAA on Sundays in April from 11 AM to 1 PM at the Farmers Market, Laurel Ave., Takoma Park, MD.  Email Thomas Nephew at thomasn528@gmail.com.

32] – Occupy Peace House Silent Art Auction is on for Sun., Apr. 29 from noon to 6 PM at 1233 12th St. NW, WDC 20005. Artists will have their work on display.  There will be a silent auction in a social setting. Contact Denise Valdez at 512-294-0232 or go to www.Occupypeacehouse.org.

33] – Maryland Bridges for Peace welcomes you to stand for peace Sundays from noon (or thereabouts) to 1 PM on the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis.  Contact Lucy at 410-263-7271 or mdbridgesforpeace@toadmail.com. Signs are not allowed to be on a stick or pole.   If there is interest, people will be standing on the Stoney Creek Bridge on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena [410-437-5379 or magicalgodmom@aol.com]. Go to http://BridgePeace.blogspot.com/.

34] – UU's and Increasing Income Inequality takes place on Sun., Apr. 29 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM at the Board Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington 4444 Arlington Blvd., Arlington. Income Inequality has increased dramatically in the U.S.A.  Changes in regulatory laws and practices have magnified the political power of wealthy individuals and corporations, resulting in extremes of wealth for the top 1% of the population, resulting in deprivation and growing social injustice, particularly among the most vulnerable.

Adam Wasserman, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fairfax will give an overview, review a draft statement to the UU community and lead a discussion on why it is critical for UU's to be a part of the solution. RSVP at 703-941-3707 or moyaatk@yahoo.com.

35] – Self Determination in the Belly of the Beast: Popular Education and Lessons from Movement History takes place on Sun., Apr. 29 from 2 to 4 PM at the Institute for Policy Studies, 1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600, WDC. This participatory workshop uses a social history timeline, movement experience, and small groups to explore lessons of past movements, especially the labor and black freedom struggles of the 20th century, for understanding today's movement. Topics include changes in society and how movements have to be located within historical conditions, victories and reforms won in past struggles, where these gains are in the early 21st century, and what this means for our current movement building and consciousness raising and political education work. Some exploration of Occupy within the current moment will also be included. RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/events/387792901261500/.

36] – Every Sunday, 4 to 5 PM, there is a Quaker Peace Vigil at Independence Mall, N. side of Market between 5th and 6th Sts., Philadelphia. Call 215-421-5811.

 

37] – The second meeting of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital area will be held on Sun., Apr. 29 at 6 PM at 1213 Girard St. NW, WDC 20009 (Columbia Heights Metro). At the last meeting, it was decided to send a youth from All Souls Church to the World Conference Against A & H Bombs and to attend the world premiere in Hiroshima, Japan of the documentary film about the Honkawa School/ All Soul's Children's Drawings. Nihon Hidankyo will be asked to send a delegation of 2 Hibakusha this August. Call John Steinbach at 703-822-3485.

 

38] – Red Emma's needs volunteers.  Stop in to the weekly Sunday meeting at 7 PM at 800 St. Paul St. or email info@redemmas.org.  The next meeting is Apr. 29. There is no meeting on the first Sunday of the month.  Call 410-230-0450. If you would be interested in volunteering or becoming a collective member of 2640, send an email to 2640@redemmas.org.

 

39] – On Sun., Apr. 29 at 7 PM, join Jen Marlowe as she reads from and discusses "The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian's Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker" co-authored by (and the story of) Sami Al Jundi. The book offers a perspective sorely missing from the media's portrayal of Palestinians. Marked by honesty, humor, pain, and, ultimately, compassion for all Palestinians and Israelis, THE HOUR OF SUNLIGHT charts an inspiring journey of perseverance and personal transformation. In so doing it illuminates the Palestinian experience through the story of one man's impassioned struggle for peace with justice.

 The event at the Bethesda Jewish Congregation/Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, 6601 Bradley Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20817 is co-sponsored by the Bethesda Jewish Congregation and Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/197037247075865/.

 

40] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Mon., Apr. 30, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Call 202-882-9649.

 

41] – On Mon., Apr. 30 at noon, Christopher Preble, Cato Institute; Russell Rumbaugh, Stimson Center; and Laura Peterson, Taxpayers for Common Sense, will examine "Nuclear Weapons Spending in the 2013 Budget." The event sponsored by the Cato Institute takes place in B-354 Rayburn House Office Building, WDC.  RSVP at http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9146.

 

42] – On Mon., Apr. 30 at noon, Thomas Graham, former Special Representative of the President for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament, will talk about his book "Unending Crisis: National Security Policy after 9/11" at George Washington Univ., Linder Family Commons, 1957 E St. NW, Sixth Floor, WDC 20052.  RSVP at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGdDU1JhR0p5VzFEdEFVYlBpeDVCX1E6MQ.

 

43] – A documentary film screening "Reclamation and Resistance" about the poor in Bolivia by UMBC student researcher Stefanie Mavronis will be shown on Mon., Apr. 30 at the AC IV Room 145 at noon.

 

44] – On Mon., Apr. 30 from 2 to 4 PM., Corey Hinderstein, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Laura Holgate, National Security Council, Han Choong-Hee, South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Richard Weitz, Hudson Institute, tackle "The Nuclear Security Summit Process: Accomplishments and Lingering Challenges" at the Hudson Institute, 1015 15th St. NW, Sixth Floor, WDC. RSVP to Richard Weitz at weitz@hudson.org.

 

45] – On Mon., Apr. 30 at 5 PM, the Justice 4 Trayvon Martin Committee will hold a press conference featuring the family members and witnesses of the unjustified police shooting in West Baltimore and the Eastside jobs protesters who were abused by police. It will take place at 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, and the Committee will announce its intention to win justice in both of these cases and to hold a Citywide Peoples Assembly where community members will be able to testify at a formal hearing on police abuse and misconduct. Call 410-500-2168.

 

46] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community, or online at www.weaa.org.   The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email to steinershow@gmail.com. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org.   

 

47] – There is usually a vigil to abolish the death penalty every Monday from 5 to 6 PM, outside the prison complex and across the street from Maryland's Super Max Prison, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Fallsway in Baltimore.  Maryland's death row was moved out of Baltimore, but it was decided to continue the vigil. The next one is scheduled for Mon., Apr. 30. Call 410-366-1637.

 

48] –  

"Freedom" is central to many people's lives and politics, but what is it? In this class, Freedom: Metaphysical, Social, and Political Issues, you will learn about and explore freedom as a metaphysical puzzle, a social status, and political ideal. The class will meet Mondays Apr. 30 and May 7 and 21 at 6:30 PM at the Baltimore Free School, 512 W. Franklin St.  Call 202-641-8209.  See http://freeschool.redemmas.org.

 

49] – Fund Our Communities, Bring the War Dollars Home has been asking people, especially Takoma Park residents, to come to the Takoma Park City Council meetings on Mon., Apr. 30 to support a resolution urging Congress to reorder federal budget priorities by cutting the military budget and using the money to fund human needs at home. This resolution is similar to the resolution that was to have been voted on by the Montgomery County Council last fall but was squelched by Lockheed Martin. Each Council session begins at 7:30 PM with a public comment period, and Takoma Park residents may also say a few words (under 3 minutes) in support of the resolution. Hold a small sign that says Bring the War Dollars Home. Call 240-463-5995.

 

50] –  Support NDAA resolutions in Montgomery County by joining the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition 7:30 PM on Mon., Apr. 30 in the Takoma Park City Council room, 7500 Maple Ave. and hold up a small "SAVE DUE PROCESS" sign. Email contact mococivilrights@gmail.com or go to www.mococivilrights.wordpress.com.

Urge repeal of the NDAA's "indefinite" or "preventive detention provisions," and call for city agencies not to cooperate with federal officials acting under the NDAA. You can show support at the meeting by holding up this flyer: http://tinyurl.com/ndaa-tpcouncil-flyer. If you prepare a statement, please consider sharing it with us at mococivilrights@gmail.com, for publication in the blog. Starting times for public comment occasionally vary, but 7:30 PM is the usual time. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/236449473118899/.

51] – Beyond the Classroom Living & Learning Program Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: "People Power" Series presents: "The Occupy Movement: What Does It Mean for Social Change?" It is happening on Mon., Apr. 30 from 7 to 9 PM at Univ. of Maryland, College Park, 1102 South Campus Commons, Building 1.

 

Inspired by popular uprisings in the Arab Spring and Europe, a few thousand people converged on Zuccotti Park in New York City on September 17, 2011 that launched a national, and then international, movement to seek a more democratically accountable and equitable future in the wake of the global economic crisis. Targeting the role of Wall Street banks and large corporations and government leaders in contributing to greater wealth and income inequality, the Occupy movement of popular protests grew to over 1,500 cities worldwide. Be at a stimulating panel discussion on the potential and challenges of the Occupy movement! Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/202866223164446/.

 

52] – The Pledge usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings now take place at Max's residence.  The next meeting takes place on Apr. 30.  Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

 

The proposed agenda will include reports on the anti-drone organizing, Bradley Manning, a Don't Bomb Iran Rally and the NSA. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions. We need your help in alerting citizens from Dutch Ruppersberger's Congressional district that he supports the use of drones.  Go to www.knowdrones.com.

 

To be continued.

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

Could We Stop "Signature" Drone Strikes in Yemen and Pakistan?

http://truth-out.org/news/item/8771-could-we-stop-signature-drone-strikes-in-yemen-and-pakistan

Truthout

Saturday, 28 April 2012 / TRUTH-OUT.ORG

 

Could We Stop "Signature" Drone Strikes in Yemen and Pakistan?

Saturday, 28 April 2012 08:44 By Robert Naiman, Truthout | News Analysis

·                             decrease font size increase font size

(Photo: Miranda Moorer / Flickr)The US government has been increasingly carrying out drone strikes in countries with which America is not at war, and killing people with drone strikes who have no dispute with the United States. Last week, The Washington Post reported that the CIA had asked for authority to expand its drone strike campaign in Yemen by launching strikes even when it does not know the identities of those who could be killed. Such "signature strikes" allow the CIA to hit targets based solely on intelligence indicating patterns of "suspicious behavior."

 

But such "signature strikes" increase the risk of killing innocent civilians, as well as the risk of killing people who have no dispute with the United States. This week, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that authority to expand the drone war in Yemen had been granted.

 

According to last week's Washington Post report, some US officials voiced concern that incidents in which civilians and local insurgents who are not related to attacks on the US are killed could become more frequent if the CIA is given the authority to use signature strikes in Yemen. "How discriminating can they be?" asked a senior US official. Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen "is joined at the hip" with a local insurgency whose main goal is to oust Yemen's government, the official said: "I think there is the potential that we would be perceived as taking sides in a civil war." Already - even without this proposed expansion in CIA authority to carry out signature strikes - the Long War Journal estimated that the US had killed 48 civilians with drone strikes in Yemen since 2009.

 

The Washington Post noted that "signature" drone strikes have been part of the CIA's drone program in Pakistan for several years. But such strikes have been very controversial in Pakistan and they are now largely stopped there, The Associated Press reported on April 13: "the White House has raised the bar to who the CIA is allowed to target, applying new limits and all but curtailing so-called 'signature strikes' where CIA targeters deemed certain groups and behavior as clearly indicative of militant activity."

 

In defending the drone strikes in Pakistan in remarks in January, President Obama claimed that the strikes targeted "people who are on a list of active terrorists." But as The New York Times subsequently pointed out, "American officials familiar with the rules governing the strikes and who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that many missiles had been fired at groups of suspected militants who are not on any list. These so-called signature strikes are based on assessments that men carrying weapons or in a militant compound are legitimate targets."

 

The fact that President Obama would claim that drone strikes only target "people who are on a list" in Pakistan when that hasn't been true in the past, the report that the White House has subsequently curtailed such signature strikes in Pakistan and the report that senior US officials oppose giving the CIA authority to conduct signature strikes in Yemen suggest that such strikes are particularly controversial and politically vulnerable.

 

Abdul-Ghani al-Iryani, a Yemeni political analyst and head of a group that campaigns for democracy, recently told The New York Times that increased US military involvement in Yemen could inflame the situation in southern Yemen, and possibly draw in more foreign fighters. "I think it is going to be counterproductive," he said. "We have new leadership. The Yemeni military should deal with this itself."

 

The administration appears to be involving us in a new war in Yemen without Congress having authorized a new war, and without significant public debate having taken place.

 

But we can still do something about this. The fact that signature strikes have reportedly been curtailed in Pakistan suggests that signature strikes can also be curtailed in Yemen. Until now, there has been very little effort to engage the public on the side of American diplomats who want drone strikes to be sharply limited to targeting people known to be planning attacks on the United States. It's time for that to change, and we have to start somewhere. Urge President Obama and your representatives in Congress to reject the use of signature drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.

 

Robert Naiman is policy director at Just Foreign Policy and president of Truthout's board of directors. 

© 2012 Truthout

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

The NSA Is Watching You

Read this, and you get some idea of why fourteen of us are going on trial on May 29.  We were arrested on October 9 at the NSA, and are facing three charges, one of which carries a maximum sentence of six months.

 

Published on Thursday, April 26, 2012 by TruthDig.com

The NSA Is Watching You

by Amy Goodman

Three targeted Americans: A career government intelligence official, a filmmaker and a hacker. None of these U.S. citizens was charged with a crime, but they have been tracked, surveilled, detained—sometimes at gunpoint—and interrogated, with no access to a lawyer. Each remains resolute in standing up to the increasing government crackdown on dissent.(Photo by CC-BY)

The intelligence official: William Binney worked for almost 40 years at the secretive National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. spy agency that dwarfs the CIA. As technical director of the NSA’s World Geopolitical and Military Analysis Reporting Group, Binney told me, he was tasked to “see how we could solve collection, analysis and reporting on military and geopolitical issues all around the world, every country in the world.” Throughout the 1990s, the NSA developed a massive eavesdropping system code-named ThinThread, which, Binney says, maintained crucial protections on the privacy of U.S. citizens demanded by the U.S. Constitution. He recalled, “After 9/11, all the wraps came off for NSA,” as massive domestic spying became the norm. He resigned on Oct. 31, 2001.

Along with several other NSA officials, Binney reported his concerns to Congress and to the Department of Defense. Then, in 2007, as then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was being questioned on Capitol Hill about the very domestic spying to which Binney objected, a dozen FBI agents charged into his house, guns drawn. They forced aside his son and found Binney, a diabetic amputee, in the shower. They pointed their guns at his head, then led him to his back porch and interrogated him.

Three others were raided that morning. Binney called the FBI raid “retribution and intimidation so we didn’t go to the Judiciary Committee in the Senate and tell them, ‘Well, here’s what Gonzales didn’t tell you, OK.’ ” Binney was never charged with any crime.

The filmmaker: Laura Poitras is an Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker, whose recent films include “My Country, My Country,” about the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and “The Oath,” which was filmed in Yemen. Since 2006, Poitras has been detained and questioned at airports at least 40 times. She has had her computer and reporter’s notebooks confiscated and presumably copied, without a warrant. The most recent time, April 5, she took notes during her detention. The agents told her to stop, as they considered her pen a weapon.

She told me: “I feel like I can’t talk about the work that I do in my home, in my place of work, on my telephone, and sometimes in my country. So the chilling effect is huge. It’s enormous."

The hacker: Jacob Appelbaum works as a computer security researcher for the nonprofit organization the Tor Project (torproject.org), which is a free software package that allows people to browse the Internet anonymously, evading government surveillance. Tor was actually created by the U.S. Navy, and is now developed and maintained by Appelbaum and his colleagues. Tor is used by dissidents around the world to communicate over the Internet. Tor also serves as the main way that the controversial WikiLeaks website protects those who release documents to it. Appelbaum has volunteered for WikiLeaks, leading to intense U.S. government surveillance.

Appelbaum spoke in place of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, at a conference called Hackers on Planet Earth, or HOPE, as people feared Assange would be arrested. He started his talk by saying: “Hello to all my friends and fans in domestic and international surveillance. I’m here today because I believe that we can make a better world.” He has been detained at least a dozen times at airports: “I was put into a special room, where they frisked me, put me up against the wall. ... Another one held my wrists. ... They implied that if I didn’t make a deal with them, that I’d be sexually assaulted in prison. ... They took my cellphones, they took my laptop. They wanted, essentially, to ask me questions about the Iraq War, the Afghan War, what I thought politically.”

I asked Binney if he believed the NSA has copies of every email sent in the U.S. He replied, “I believe they have most of them, yes.”

Binney said two senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, have expressed concern, but have not spoken out, as, Binney says, they would lose their seats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Meanwhile, Congress is set to vote on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. Proponents of Internet freedom are fighting the bill, which they say will legalize what the NSA is secretly doing already.

Members of Congress, fond of quoting the country’s founders, should recall these words of Benjamin Franklin before voting on CISPA: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.

© 2012 Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 900 stations in North America. She was awarded the 2008 Right Livelihood Award, dubbed the “Alternative Nobel” prize, and received the award in the Swedish Parliament in December.

Source URL: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/04/26-4

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs