July 21, 2008

Now there's a shocker, no? This is just one of many reasons why we shouldn't torture. As more details about the Bush administration's torture program come to light, (see Jane Mayer's The Dark Side) we find that torture brings about more bogus intelligence and coerced confessions have led our intelligence agencies on a host of wild goose chases and wasted valuable time and U.S. tax dollars.

The judge ruled that some of Hamdan's statements made at Gitmo may be allowed, but his defense is arguing that all his statements were coerced by using abusive tactics. How much evidence will be thrown out is yet to be determined, but if this article from the AP is accurate, the first of King George's war tribunals is shaping up to be yet another three ring circus.

The judge in the first American war crimes trial since World War II barred evidence on Monday that interrogators obtained from Osama bin Laden's driver, ruling he was subjected to "highly coercive" conditions in Afghanistan.

At Bagram, the judge found Hamdan was kept in isolation 24 hours a day with his hands and feet restrained, and armed soldiers prompted him to talk by kneeing him in the back. His captors at Panshir repeatedly tied him up, put a bag over his head and knocked him the ground.

In addition to the other interrogations, the judge said he would throw out statements whenever a government witness is unavailable to vouch for the questioners' tactics. He also withheld a ruling on a key interrogation at Guantanamo in May 2003 until defense lawyers can review roughly 600 pages of confinement records provided by the government on Sunday night. Read on...

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