George W Bush could pardon spies involved in torture

George W Bush is considering issuing pardons for US spies embroiled in allegations of torture just before he leaves the White House.

Senior intelligence officers are lobbying the outgoing president to look after the men and women who could face charges for following his orders in the war on terrorism.

Many fear that Barack Obama, who has pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and put an end to the policy of extraordinary rendition, could launch a legal witch hunt against those who oversaw the policies after he is sworn in on Jan 20. Read more

A Ticket to The Hague for Dick Cheney?

Gene Burns is one of the nation’s most popular talk radio hosts. For years he has dismissed accounts of torture; America, he has said, does not torture. But last night, after watching Torturing Democracy and realizing that he had not understood how important and serious an issue torture had become, Burns abruptly changed his tune. Here’s a transcript of his remarks. Read more

Torture – Yes We Can?

Obama and the national security question: the sellout accelerates

Most politicians wait at least until they’ve been sworn in before they start breaking their campaign promises. In this sense, as in so many others, Barack Obama represents an entirely new phenomenon: the politician who preemptively reneges. Read more

Battle in Bush administration over interrogation techniques

Moderates in the government are mounting one more drive to roll back many of the harsh detention and questioning policies pushed through by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Reporting from Washington — As the clock runs down on the Bush administration, moderates within the government are mounting what may be one last drive to roll back many of the harsh detention and interrogation policies pushed through by Vice President Dick Cheney. Read more

Will Obama “Change” The Bush Police State Or Expand It?

Now that Barack Obama has become the 44th President of the United States we offer a challenge - will those who elected him be able to progress past their fawning idolatry and actually pressure Obama to deliver on his mandate of “change,” or will the architecture of the Bush police state remain in place while the American empire expands? Read more

Obama Foreign Policy May Keep Some Bush Initiatives

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) — President-elect Barack Obama is committed to a foreign policy of intense diplomatic engagement with allies and adversaries alike and an international approach to curb nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Read more

Bush Administration Committed War Crimes Against Prisoners, Reveals Physicians for Human Rights

The Bush administration has committed war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in its practice of torturing prisoners, according to the conclusions of a medical examination conducted by the organization Physicians for Human Rights. Read more

Next President Will Face Test on Detainees

They were called the Dirty 30 - bodyguards for Osama bin Laden captured early in the Afghanistan war - and many of them are still being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Others still at the much-criticized detention camp there include prisoners who the government says were trained in assassination and the use of poisons and disguises. Read more

No charges but US may never release Guantánamo Chinese