51–60 of 579 posts
Still, I wonder about some of the side-effects of this. Instead of arresting and interrogating terrorists we kill them with drones as its less messy.
Falsehood right in the forward: "the largest attack against the American homeland in our history". War of 1812?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
the first paragraph makes it clear: "On April 3, 2014, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted to send the Findings and Conclusions and the Executive Summary of its final Study on the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program to the President for declassification and subsequent public release"... EDIT: also the fact that it's stamped "Unclassified" everywhere. If it was stamped as still classified and had b…
Wait what? >>EDIT: also the fact that it's stamped "Unclassified" everywhere. If it was stamped as still classified and had been leaked, anyone with a clearance would risk losing it by reading the file. So a person with clearance can't read a leaked classified document? I'm confused, more explanation please ;-) This IS sounding vaguely familiar in some way, but I don't get it. EDIT: Thanks for all the replies. Also,…
> TOP SECRET [blackbox] NOFORN
on it. That's crossed out and UNCLASSIFIED is inserted, but what's that black box covering up? Is it another level of secret access so secret we can't know the name?
Local and national news TV programs have been going on for days about how all of our embassies are on "High Alert" in anticipation of violence directed at them/us on the basis of what's in the report. I take that by itself as an admission that the government's conduct has been what should be considered unacceptable, and is probably only "lawful" in the most meaningless sense of the word (if at all).
Had we done things the right (slow) way, we would have a lot more friends in the region. Because the long, slow way of intelligence gathering involves building trust and developing friendship with people. But the American public doesn't have the patience for long peacekeeping missions like that, and the international community doesn't either.
There are so many layers of secret courts and classified legal opinions that it's hard to say the US has much rule of law anymore. People have lost faith in the legal system much the same as they have lost faith in our legislative system. All that's left is the executive branch, which leaves us dangerously at risk of a dictator taking over if we elect the wrong person, because the other two branches of government are too weak to stop him. I hate to get all tinfoil-hat, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched anymore.
> Interrogation techniques such as slaps and "wallings" (slamming detainees against a wall) were used in combination, frequently concurrent with sleep deprivation and nudity. Records do not support CIA representations that the CIA initially used an "an open, non-threatening approach," or that interrogations began with the "least coercive technique possible" and escalated to more coercive techniques only as necessary.…
There are many techniques, but it seems like we have forgotten it is fundamentally manipulative and abusive. I mean, we are surprised to find that threats are used? What?
> Interrogation techniques such as slaps and "wallings" (slamming detainees against a wall) were used in combination, frequently concurrent with sleep deprivation and nudity. Records do not support CIA representations that the CIA initially used an "an open, non-threatening approach," or that interrogations began with the "least coercive technique possible" and escalated to more coercive techniques only as necessary.…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
the first paragraph makes it clear: "On April 3, 2014, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted to send the Findings and Conclusions and the Executive Summary of its final Study on the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program to the President for declassification and subsequent public release"... EDIT: also the fact that it's stamped "Unclassified" everywhere. If it was stamped as still classified and had b…
Wait what? >>EDIT: also the fact that it's stamped "Unclassified" everywhere. If it was stamped as still classified and had been leaked, anyone with a clearance would risk losing it by reading the file. So a person with clearance can't read a leaked classified document? I'm confused, more explanation please ;-) This IS sounding vaguely familiar in some way, but I don't get it. EDIT: Thanks for all the replies. Also,…
So just to go into a little more detail...
When a person with a clearance comes across classified information they must possess the proper clearance level along with being read-on to specific caveats (some of which actually cannot be discussed here but let's just say they're part of the markings that specify the classification level of a document).
While some classified folks may or may not be at a level of clearance and read-on to the correct caveats they still cannot mishandle classified information which would include reading or handling classified material in any way outside of a secure office. So even if you're cleared enough to read it you would be mishandling it on the public internet and thus could get your clearance taken. You also MUST report that this occurred as finding out after the fact also puts your clearance at risk.
In the foreword: > Reading them, it is easy to forget the context in which the program began - not that the context should serve as an excuse, but rather as a warning for the future. Well said.