Torture

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, debate over the efficacy of torture, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Nobel Peace Prize, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, syria, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, vision of peace, war crimes April 5, 2017

REPRISE: “A time to break silence”: Dr. King on the Vietnam war, and President Carter on America’s human rights violations

Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King gave the first of two speeches that month setting forth why he was opposed…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, European Union, History, human rights, Intelligence, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, NATO, Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, Soviet Union, State Department, syria, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Torture Convention, Ukraine, United States, use of force, vision of peace, Vladimir Putin, war crimes November 14, 2016

President-elect Trump, foreign policy, and the defense of core American values

Developing Given Donald Trump’s inexperience in foreign policy, he may not understand or appreciate certain fundamental principles and realities that are essential for the maintenance…

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, CIA, History, human rights, human rights reports, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes December 31, 2014

Torture is an issue which defines America as a nation

Draft We now have the published Executive Suumary of the Senate Select Committee on Inteligence Torture Report. In one of Senator Diane Feinstein’s finest acts…

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, Brazil, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, Deutschland, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, Germany, History, human rights, human rights reports, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes December 10, 2014

Brazil publishes Truth Commission Report; U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture Released; U.S. officials debate whether torture “worked”

Developing — preliminary draft See (1) “Comissão Nacional da Verdade entrega a Dilma relatório final das investigawções; Presidente recebeu em audiência no Palácio do Planalto,…

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"that spark of the divine", Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, elections, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, freedom of speech, History, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, NSA, religious belief, South Africa, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes December 6, 2014

Obama seeks to block publication of Senate torture report; Pillar of democracy at stake

Background — See (1) “Sicherheitsbedenken: US-Regierung bremst Veröffentlichung von CIA-Folterbericht,” Der Spiegel, 6. Dezember 2014 (19:55 Uhr). Der US-Senat wollte umfassende Informationen über geheime Foltermethoden…

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Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, United States, war crimes August 1, 2014

Obama: “We tortured some folks…It’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had. And a lot of those folks (our law enforcement and our national security teams) were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.” (full transcript)

Developing Excerpt from President Barack Obama’s press conference today, Fiday, August 1, 2014: Q What about John Brennan? … THE PRESIDENT: On Brennan and the…

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Chile, CIA, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, History, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, self-defense, Somalia, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes February 27, 2013

The vote on John Brennan’s confirmation to be CIA Director: Opinion and Commentary

Recent Commentary and Opinion “It is not going too far to say that American foreign policy has become completely subservient to tactical domestic political considerations.”…

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Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, History, International Law, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S Foreign Relations, United States, use of force, war crimes January 12, 2013

Isolationism, with drones: Obama’s second-term foreign policy

Developing story The smartest man in the room is so intellectually insecure that he doesn’t like to be questioned, and insists that everyone recognize that…