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International Red Cross

Posted By: Mrs. Bridger on 2009-03-16
In Reply to:



Red Cross Described 'Torture' at CIA Jails


Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law







   






















Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 16, 2009; Page A01



The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.



The report, an account alleging physical and psychological brutality inside CIA "black site" prisons, also states that some U.S. practices amounted to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Such maltreatment of detainees is expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.


The findings were based on an investigation by ICRC officials, who were granted exclusive access to the CIA's "high-value" detainees after they were transferred in 2006 to the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The 14 detainees, who had been kept in isolation in CIA prisons overseas, gave remarkably uniform accounts of abuse that included beatings, sleep deprivation, extreme temperatures and, in some cases, waterboarding, or simulating drowning.


At least five copies of the report were shared with the CIA and top White House officials in 2007 but barred from public release by ICRC guidelines intended to preserve the humanitarian group's strict policy of neutrality in conflicts. A copy of the report was obtained by Mark Danner, a journalism professor and author who published extensive excerpts in the April 9 edition of the New York Review of Books, released yesterday. He did not say how he obtained the report.


"The ill-treatment to which they were subjected while held in the CIA program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture," Danner quoted the report as saying.


Many of the details of alleged mistreatment at CIA prisons had been reported previously, but the ICRC report is the most authoritative account and the first to use the word "torture" in a legal context.


The CIA declined to comment. A U.S. official familiar with the report said, "It is important to bear in mind that the report lays out claims made by the terrorists themselves."


Often using the detainee's own words, the report offers a harrowing view of conditions at the secret prisons, where prisoners were told they were being taken "to the verge of death and back," according to one excerpt. During interrogations, the captives were routinely beaten, doused with cold water and slammed head-first into walls. Between sessions, they were stripped of clothing, bombarded with loud music, exposed to cold temperatures, and deprived of sleep and solid food for days on end. Some detainees described being forced to stand for days, with their arms shackled above them, wearing only diapers.



 

"On a daily basis . . . a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against the walls of the interrogation room," the report quotes detainee Tawfiq bin Attash, also known as Walid Muhammad bin Attash, as saying. Later, he said, he was wrapped in a plastic sheet while cold water was "poured onto my body with buckets." He added: "I would be wrapped inside the sheet with cold water for several minutes. Then I would be taken for interrogation."


ICRC officials did not dispute the authenticity of the excerpts, but a spokesman expressed dismay over the leak of the material. "We regret information attributed to the ICRC report was made public in this manner," spokesman Bernard Barrett said.


"The ICRC has been visiting the detainees formerly held by the CIA," he added, "at Guantanamo since 2006. Any concerns or observations the ICRC had when visiting the detainees are part of a confidential dialogue."


President George W. Bush acknowledged the use of coercive interrogation tactics on senior al-Qaeda captives detained by the CIA in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he insisted that the measures complied with U.S. and international law. Former CIA director Michael V. Hayden confirmed last year that the measures included the use of waterboarding on three captives before 2003.


President Obama outlawed such practices within hours of his inauguration in January. But Obama has expressed reluctance to conduct a legal inquiry into the CIA's policies.



The report gives a graphic account of the treatment of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaida, a Saudi-born Palestinian who was the first alleged senior al-Qaeda operative seized after Sept. 11 -- a characterization of his role that is disputed by his attorneys, who describe him as having a different philosophy of jihad than bin Laden.


Abu Zubaida was severely wounded during a shootout in March 2002 at a safe house he ran in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and survived thanks to CIA-arranged medical care, including multiple surgeries. After he recovered, Abu Zubaida describes being shackled to a chair at the feet and hands for two to three weeks in a cold room with "loud, shouting type music" blaring constantly, according to the ICRC report. He said that he was questioned two to three hours a day and that water was sprayed in his face if he fell asleep.


At some point -- the timing is unclear from the New York Review of Books report -- Abu Zubaida's treatment became harsher. In July 2002, administration lawyers approved more aggressive techniques.


Abu Zubaida said interrogators wrapped a towel around his neck and slammed him into a plywood wall mounted in his cell. He was also repeatedly slapped in the face, he said. After the beatings, he was placed in coffinlike wooden boxes in which he was forced to crouch, with no light and a restricted air supply, he said.


"The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in my leg and stomach became very painful," he told the ICRC.


After he was removed from a small box, he said, he was strapped to what looked like a hospital bed and waterboarded. "A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe," Abu Zubaida said.


After breaks to allow him to recover, the waterboarding continued.


"I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless," he said. "I though I was going to die."




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"Central international bank" = sm
One-world currency. Interesting.
At least the moron (a.k.a. the international embarassment) is gone. nm
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Violation of International law for starters, Louise
xx
Amnesty International's press release on Lebanon....sm
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/lbn-220805-feature-eng
Red Cross CEO

After a very quick Google search, I found this, which indicates a salary of "roughly $149,000."  (I personally thought the number would be much higher, but not as high as multi-million bonuses, etc. that we're paying for Wall Street to have.)  And as far as Pelosi, she should ride commercial, just like everyone else, IMHO.


Monday, August 4, 2008



Charity Navigator's 2008 CEO Compensation Study is Complete




Even though some our users have clearly expressed their discontent with the compensation CEOs of their favorite charities receive, Charity Navigator’s 2008 CEO study indicates that the average CEO compensation is roughly $149,000, and represents on average 3.32% of an organization’s overall expenses. While some donors disagree that a nonprofit CEO deserves to earn a six figure salary, we ask that you keep in mind that the charities included in this study are multi-million dollar operations. Leading one of them requires an individual that possesses both an understanding of the issues that are unique to the charity's mission as well as business and management expertise similar to that required of for-profit CEOs.


http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2008/08/charity-navigators-2008-ceo.html


 


Also known as the Cross of Nero sm
We think of it as a peace sign, but its origins are satanic. Nero thought there would be peace only without Christianity and thousands of Christians were killed under his rule. It is funny you posted this. I am reading up on this stuff after watching a religious video by a guy named Dave Hunt. I am trying to research some of the things these Christians are saying about the Society of Jesus and the Vatican.
climb off your cross

this politically correct horsesh*t is a joke - get all self-righteous


I think McCain's goose egg is brown and probably still resides in his flaccid diaper -  go cry about that


I agree with you Big Bad, there is a lot of cross-over (sm)
And we should all have tolerance for each other.  That means tolerance for Christians too. While I agree that having a completely religious discussion may be inappropriate for this board, the times that it is related to the political topic it is appropriate.  I try not to shove my religious beliefs down anyone's throat because I feel like if anything that is going to accomplish the opposite (lol).  But when asked a question I do want to answer with my honest opinion, and when I see another Christian posting something that I don't believe, I want to give my point of view, so that everyone knows that all Christians don't believe the same thing. 
I sent a rather generous check to the Red Cross.

How much did you contribute?


Don't cross a bridge that isn't built yet, if ever
I didn't vote for Obama, but I'm not upset that he won.
That's the average salary, not the Red Cross
That's kind of misleading, since it's the average salary for a non-profit CEO and whereas there are many little ones, the CEOs of the big ones (Red Cross and United Way) do make huge amounts. Takes a lot of nerve for them to ask me for my pittance of a donation!

Mine goes to Salvation Army.

Silver Linings and a Cross of Gold

Why some people love Bush and Israel so much.  


http://harpers.org/rapture-ready-20060718001.html


I've been lurking on the other board (after learning quickly not to post there any more), and they also confirm the end is near.  I can almost understand why some would be so excited about the end of the world after 6 years of Bush.  It almost even looks good to me.   


That teacher also burned a cross into a student's arm.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,369549,00.html
"...go to court AGAINST a Christian who wants to wear a cross"
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to see McCain's pictures click on the red cross marks, disregard the 1st...nm
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