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Amir was a salesman before being arrested and taken to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003. During his time there, he says, he was forced to lay down in urine and feces, stay naked in his cell for days, and "howl like dogs do" while being pulled by a dog leash. According to his accounts, he was also sodomized with a broomstick and had his genitals stepped on.
Accused terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay complained of abuse that they said led them to tell their CIA interrogators lies, according to sections of U.S. government transcripts made public on Monday.
The current debate over controversial interrogation practices -- tactics that some say constitute torture -- is rooted in the early years of the fight against terrorism and the Iraq war.
The former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who retired over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is calling for a truth commission to investigate Bush-era policies behind the abuse and controversial interrogations of detainees.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says former Vice President Dick Cheney's claims -- that classified CIA memos show enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding worked -- are wrong.
The men first ordered Ken Cordier to strip naked.
President Obama on Thursday defended his decision to shutter the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the prison has made the United States less safe and set back the country's "moral authority."
Former Vice President Dick Cheney Thursday said the Bush administration's "enhanced" interrogations of al Qaeda prisoners, saved "thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands" of lives.
A Republican congressman Wednesday asked the head of the FBI to investigate allegations that the CIA lied to Congress about the Bush administration's use of "alternative" interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.
Last week President Obama announced that he would suppress prisoner abuse photographs that he earlier said he would release. Given the president's stated commitment to government transparency, this reversal was both surprising and profoundly disappointing.
Amir was a salesman before being arrested and taken to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003. During his time there, he says, he was forced to lay down in urine and feces, stay naked in his cell for days, and "howl like dogs do" while being pulled by a dog leash. According to his accounts, he was also sodomized with a broomstick and had his genitals stepped on.
Accused terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay complained of abuse that they said led them to tell their CIA interrogators lies, according to sections of U.S. government transcripts made public on Monday.
The current debate over controversial interrogation practices -- tactics that some say constitute torture -- is rooted in the early years of the fight against terrorism and the Iraq war.
The former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who retired over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is calling for a truth commission to investigate Bush-era policies behind the abuse and controversial interrogations of detainees.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says former Vice President Dick Cheney's claims -- that classified CIA memos show enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding worked -- are wrong.
The men first ordered Ken Cordier to strip naked.
President Obama on Thursday defended his decision to shutter the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the prison has made the United States less safe and set back the country's "moral authority."
Former Vice President Dick Cheney Thursday said the Bush administration's "enhanced" interrogations of al Qaeda prisoners, saved "thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands" of lives.
A Republican congressman Wednesday asked the head of the FBI to investigate allegations that the CIA lied to Congress about the Bush administration's use of "alternative" interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.
Last week President Obama announced that he would suppress prisoner abuse photographs that he earlier said he would release. Given the president's stated commitment to government transparency, this reversal was both surprising and profoundly disappointing.
When the legendary journalist Helen Thomas was poking White House spokesman Robert Gibbs in the briefing room earlier this week, the topic was gun control, as she demanded in her over-the-top style to know why President Obama backs away from everything these days.
As congressional Republicans continued Monday to stoke the flames over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusation that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding, House Democrats appeared to be standing behind their leader.
Top Republicans are demanding an apology from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or proof to back her claim that the CIA misled Congress about the use of harsh interrogation tactics.
A coalition of progressive groups sought Monday to have 12 Bush administration lawyers disbarred for their roles in crafting the legal rationale for so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that many view as torture.
A key Republican leader demanded Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi produce evidence to back up her assertion that she was misled by the CIA on the use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is engaging in a "despicable, dishonest and vicious political effort" to withhold what she knew about the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques, former Speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday.
Finding a "smoking gun" linking Iraq and al Qaeda became the main purpose of the abusive interrogation program the Bush administration authorized in 2002, a former State Department official told CNN on Thursday.
The No. 2 Democrat in the House on Thursday dismissed talk of what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew or didn't know about the CIA's interrogation techniques.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday the Justice Department is prepared to defend in court President Obama's decision to oppose the release of Defense Department photos showing alleged abuse of detainees.
The contentious debate over so-called enhanced interrogation techniques took center stage Wednesday on Capitol Hill as a former FBI agent involved in the questioning of terror suspects testified that such tactics -- including waterboarding -- are ineffective.
President Obama said Wednesday he told government lawyers to object to a court-ordered release of additional images showing alleged abuse of detainees because the release could affect the safety of U.S. troops and "inflame anti-American opinion."
A national poll indicates that most Americans don't want to see an investigation of Bush administration officials who authorized harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists, even though most people think such procedures were forms of torture.
A Spanish judge will ask United States judicial authorities if they are already probing or plan to investigate potential charges against six former Bush administration officials for allegedly sanctioning torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, according to a court document.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the Bush administration's policies on the interrogation of terrorism suspects Sunday, saying former President George W. Bush would not have authorized anything illegal.
Popular clichés notwithstanding, not all is fair in war. The idea that war is subject to legal rules is an ancient one.
An independent commission is needed to determine who authorized the use of abusive interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists, a leading advocate of such a panel said Sunday.
Top Bush administration officials gave the CIA approval to use waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique, as early as 2002, a Senate intelligence report shows.
She said she was a scapegoat. She said she was just following orders. She said she was demoted unfairly.
Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that he would "follow the law" as he weighed potential prosecutions of Bush administration officials who authorized controversial harsh interrogation techniques.
Senior Bush administration officials authorized aggressive interrogation techniques -- including forced nudity and waterboarding -- on suspected terrorists, despite concerns from military psychologists and attorneys, according to a Senate report released Tuesday.
The Bush-era interrogation techniques that many view as torture may have yielded important information about terrorists, President Obama's national intelligence director said in an internal memo.
President Obama, visiting CIA headquarters Monday, defended his decision to release Bush-era memos on interrogation tactics, saying the country will ultimately be stronger as a result.
A former head of the CIA slammed President Obama on Sunday for releasing four Bush-era memos, saying the new president has compromised national security.
Interrogation tactics such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation and slapping did not violate laws against torture when there was no intent to cause severe pain, according to a Bush-era memo on the tactics released Thursday.
Human rights organizations reacted angrily Thursday to the Obama administration's announcement that CIA officials would not be prosecuted for past waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics.
Prosecutors will recommend that a Spanish court drop its investigation of six former officials in the administration of U.S. George W. Bush for alleged torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Spain's attorney general said Thursday.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has launched a review of the Bush administration's controversial interrogation and detention program.
The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman called Wednesday for the establishment of a nonpartisan "commission of inquiry" to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against former Bush administration officials in their prosecution of the war on terrorism.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing a review of the CIA's controversial interrogation programs under the Bush White House, a Senate Democratic aide told CNN.
A new Defense Department review of detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, concludes that the operation does not torture detainees but rather treats them humanely and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration's record on prisoner interrogations, telling a veterans' group that its use of "alternative" techniques against suspects was legal and proper.
The controversial interrogation technique of waterboarding has served a "valuable" purpose and does not constitute torture, former Attorney General John Ashcroft told a House committee Thursday.
Former terrorist suspects detained by the United States were tortured, according to medical examinations detailed in a report released Wednesday by a human rights group.
The Justice Department said Friday it is investigating whether its attorneys properly authorized and reviewed the use of waterboarding by CIA investigators.
A Senate committee will hear allegations that a young U.S. resident was tortured and videotaped
During five hours of heated wrangling with frustrated Senate Democrats, Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Wednesday to budge from his position that the controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding is not clearly illegal.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Tuesday ruled out declaring openly whether he believes the interrogation technique known as waterboarding constitutes torture.
The CIA asked the Justice Department to investigate whether former operative John Kiriakou illegally disclosed classified information when he talked about the waterboarding of a terrorism suspect, government officials say.
Analysis: Despite the furor over destroyed interrogation tapes, Congress's track record on torture does not bode well for a hard-hitting investigation
A former CIA agent who participated in interrogations of terror suspects said Tuesday that the controversial interrogation technique of "waterboarding" has saved lives, but he considers the method torture and now opposes its use.
An Egyptian human rights activist who posted videos about police abuse says YouTube has shut down his account because of complaints that the videos contain "inappropriate material."
Retired federal judge Michael Mukasey officially became attorney general Friday, taking the oath of office without fanfare from a Justice Department official.
After weeks of controversy over Michael Mukasey's views on waterboarding, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved the former judge's nomination for attorney general.
A majority of Americans consider waterboarding a form of torture, but some of those say it's OK for the U.S. government to use the technique, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Even with the Democrats about to confirm Michael Mukasey as Attorney General, the fight over waterboarding is proving particularly hard to quit
The confirmation of Michael Mukasey as attorney general was all but assured Friday when two key Democratic senators said they will vote in favor of the nominee despite questions about his views on "waterboarding" and the president's power to order electronic surveillance.
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said Thursday he will oppose President Bush's nominee for attorney general.
President Bush's pick for attorney general called the interrogation technique known as waterboarding a "repugnant" practice Tuesday, but again refused to say whether it violates U.S. laws banning torture.
A top GOP senator Wednesday warned that Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general is "at risk" because the retired federal judge refused to categorically declare that a controversial interrogation technique is torture.
The three leading Democratic presidential candidates announced Tuesday they will oppose President Bush's nomination for attorney general, citing his recent testimony on torture and executive power.
By turning waterboarding into a make-or-break issue for the Attorney General nominee, the Democrats are using the President's favored weapon of moral clarity against him
A senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday he plans to vote against Michael Mukasey's confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
The refusal of attorney general-nominee Michael Mukasey to directly disavow waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques frustrated Senate Democrats Thursday.
The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Carter said Wednesday.
President Bush on Friday defended his administration's methods of interrogating terrorism suspects, insisting, "This government does not torture people."
The British government was under renewed pressure over allegations of so-called extraordinary rendition after reports of a leaked memo suggested Washington may have used UK airspace to transport detainees more often than officials have said.
Since 9/11, the Administration has deployed aggressive legal and tactical tools to track and hold terrorists. The approach has been criticized in Congress and in the courts.
Iraq's interior minister has defended a government facility that was found to be holding dozens of prisoners, including some showing signs of torture, saying it held "the most criminal terrorists."
The Senate confirmed White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales as attorney general on a 60-36 vote Thursday, with many Democrats objecting to his role in crafting Bush administration policies on the treatment of prisoners.
Lawyers representing allegedly abused Iraqi prisoners filed suit in U.S. federal court Tuesday alleging killing, torture and other abuses against the prisoners or their family members in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
President Bush said Tuesday that he had never sanctioned any torture techniques, as the White House sought to defuse questions about the interrogation of military prisoners.
The Bush administration "circumvented" the Geneva Convention with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
A classified report prepared more than a year ago for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld contends the U.S. government's detention of al Qaeda and Taliban members is not bound by the Geneva Conventions regarding the use of torture.
With the Army general who investigated abuse of prisoners in Iraq set to testify before a Senate committee Tuesday, Pentagon sources told CNN there are 200 to 300 more photographs of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
Iraqi detainees considered likely intelligence sources faced coercion that in some cases was "tantamount to torture," a Red Cross report concluded in February.
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