UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - THE TORTURE NATION

"The US claims to be the land of democracy. Everything I experienced assures me they know nothing of humanity and decency."
Sami al-Laithi, former Guantanamo detainee released with no charges

More at:
CAGE PRISONERS - The Most Comprehensive list of Detainees identified by now
http://www.cageprisoners.com/index.php

The Military involvement in Torture - What is next and the role of American General Odierno and others - "There’s a lot to hide"

The American military establishment and its complicity in torture is coming to light and pressure is increasing to avoid accountability.
In an interview with Jane Mayer , American investigative journalist and author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, and British attorney Philippe Sands, author of Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values , Mayer and Sands discuss the Obama danger of becoming part of a cover-up and about the fact that the issue of torture is not going to go away.
So tells History in the case of torture in other countries like Chile, where even the once powerful General August Pinochet had to face Justice and was arrested in London in October 16, 1998 , for torture and other human rights violations during his 1973-1990 regime.
In the case of the General, regardless the open support of influential personalities like Margaret Thatcher, who campaigned for his release since his arrest in London, and regardless the "debt" she believes the UK owed him for being an ally during the 1982 Falklands War, the General was not above the Law and was arretsed and brought to Justice. (article HERE)

Confidential Report Released - RED CROSS - Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada - DESCRIBES ETHICAL VIOLATIONS BY MEDICAL PERSONNEL

COMPLICITY IN TORTURE:
DAN COLEMAN, former FBI agent considered the bureau's pre-eminent authority on Osama bin Laden, on Torture:

"It's illegal. It's immoral. It's unethical. And it doesn't work." (full interview HERE)

Expert's opinion on torture looks like the opposite of CSIS Representative Geoffrey O'Brian's opinion, who testified that torture is still useful in some cases..

And on Monday, April 6, the New York Review of Books publicly released a full version of the "strictly confidential" February 2007 report on torture, prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross - Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada.

The report was leaked in part by journalist Mark Danner, who wrote a review of the report in April 9 edition of the NYRB. HERE

The full report can be read HERE.

The publication of the ICRC full report on CIA abuse of prisoners has rightfully sparked a new media scandal.

Following the report's release, on Thursday, April 9, CIA Director, Leon Panetta, sent a memo to Congress stating that the CIA no longer operates secret detention facilities or employs any of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" (torture) authorized by the Bush Justice Department.

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In addition to the Report information, experts and others familiar with the torture extracted "intelligence", have opinions that are the opposite of that of CSIS' Official(s) .

Follows statement by

Representative Artur Davis (D-AL), House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel,
February 14, 2008, responding to Assistant Attorney General Steven Bradbury’s description of the CIA’s interrogation program (torture) - clique HERE for the text

“We can’t measure the accuracy of this program by saying we’ve gone out and brought hard
and fast cases based on it. You cannot tell me whether any of these individuals or all of these
individuals have lied. You conceded to me that someone facing extreme anxiety and pressure
could yield false information. I add all that up and I come to one simple conclusion:
We can’t tell if this program is working…[W]e want to get the real terrorists and we don’t
know if you are succeeding in doing that or if you’re unearthing a bunch of lies.”

And more by DAN COLEMAN - former FBI agent considered the bureau's pre-eminent authority on Osama bin Laden

"Much of the threat information provided by Abu Zubaida was crap."

"COLEMAN: It's illegal. It's immoral. It's unethical. And it doesn't work."
––
More on the Report: HERE
(ICRC) describing as torture certain interrogation techniques used by the CIA and concluding that its medical officials had committed a "gross breach of medical ethics."

The report found that medical personnel supervised and assisted in beatings, food deprivation, extreme temperature exposure, waterboarding, threats of HIV infection or withholding medical treatment, and other practices in violation of international medical ethics, primarily to support the CIA interrogation process.

International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] Report 0n the American Torture Program - How far goes the Canadian Complicity in American Torture?

CSIS/RCMP have been "working" with the CIA as already reported in both the Iacobucci Inquiry, and the Arar Inquiry.

CSIS participation in interrogation in Guantanamo is well documented and even video taped.

The CIA use of torture is again brought to light by reporter and attorney Mark Danner who has obtained a copy of the International Committee of the red Cross’ report on the torture by the CIA (American Central Inteligence Agency)

According to this secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC], the United States tortured people.

The April 9, 2009, issue of The New York Review offers first view of American torture:

US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites-by Mark Danner (clik here)

The report details in specific and explicit terms the various methods and “enhanced techniques” the CIA used to interrogate prisoners in a secret “global internment system” set up at the direction of President George W. Bush.

kidnapping, murder, "enhanced techniques" etc...And more...

Danner gives us the Table of Contents of the report, which clearly evokes the nature of the CIA program:

Contents
Introduction
1. Main Elements of the CIA Detention Program
1.1 Arrest and Transfer
1.2 Continuous Solitary Confinement and Incommunicado Detention
1.3 Other Methods of Ill-treatment
1.3.1 Suffocation by water
1.3.2 Prolonged Stress Standing
1.3.3 Beatings by use of a collar
1.3.4 Beating and kicking
1.3.5 Confinement in a box
1.3.6 Prolonged nudity
1.3.7 Sleep deprivation and use of loud music
1.3.8 Exposure to cold temperature/cold water
1.3.9 Prolonged use of handcuffs and shackles
1.3.10 Threats
1.3.11 Forced shaving
1.3.12 Deprivation/restricted provision of solid food
1.4 Further elements of the detention regime….

Here is one excerpt of what the detainees relate to the Red Cross:

After the beating I was then placed in the small box. They placed a cloth or cover over the box to cut out all light and restrict my air supply. As it was not high enough even to sit upright, I had to crouch down. It was very difficult because of my wounds. The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in the leg and stomach became very painful. I think this occurred about 3 months after my last operation. It was always cold in the room, but when the cover was placed over the box it made it hot and sweaty inside. The wound on my leg began to open and started to bleed. I don’t know how long I remained in the small box, I think I may have slept or maybe fainted.

I was then dragged from the small box, unable to walk properly and put on what looked like a hospital bed, and strapped down very tightly with belts. A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral water bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe. After a few minutes the cloth was removed and the bed was rotated into an upright position. The pressure of the straps on my wounds was very painful. I vomited. The bed was then again lowered to horizontal position and the same torture carried out again with the black cloth over my face and water poured on from a bottle. On this occasion my head was in a more backward, downwards position and the water was poured on for a longer time. I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless. I thought I was going to die. I lost control of my urine. Since then I still lose control of my urine when under stress.

I was then placed again in the tall box. While I was inside the box loud music was played again and somebody kept banging repeatedly on the box from the outside. I tried to sit down on the floor, but because of the small space the bucket with urine tipped over and spilt over me…. I was then taken out and again a towel was wrapped around my neck and I was smashed into the wall with the plywood covering and repeatedly slapped in the face by the same two interrogators as before.

I was then made to sit on the floor with a black hood over my head until the next session of torture began. The room was always kept very cold.

This went on for approximately one week. During this time the whole procedure was repeated five times. On each occasion, apart from one, I was suffocated once or twice and was put in the vertical position on the bed in between. On one occasion the suffocation was repeated three times. I vomited each time I was put in the vertical position between the suffocation.

During that week I was not given any solid food. I was only given Ensure to drink. My head and beard were shaved everyday.

I collapsed and lost consciousness on several occasions. Eventually the torture was stopped by the intervention of the doctor.

I was told during this period that I was one of the first to receive these interrogation techniques, so no rules applied. It felt like they were experimenting and trying out techniques to be used later on other people."

Danneralso gives its conclusion which makes it unequivocall that, in the ICRC’s view, the United States government committed major crimes through its “enhanced interrogation” program:

"The allegations of ill-treatment of the detainees indicate that, in many cases, the ill-treatment to which they were subjected while held in the CIA program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture. In addition, many other elements of the ill-treatment, either singly or in combination, constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

The article can be read HERE and comments on the issue by Stephen Soldz, psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist, can be read HERE.