tagged w/ gitmo's photos
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The first full-time female FBI agent stationed at the US prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba says she witnessed a drunken “spring break” atmosphere during her tenure — and has photographs to prove it.
In a little noticed complaint Friday, the 43-year-old agent, Theresa Foley, alleges that she experienced a “generally sexist, discriminatory and ‘boys club’ atmosphere” during her time at Camp Delta in Cuba and that she contracted a permanent debilitating disease as a result of being forced to sleep in rat-infested quarters. Foley is suing the Justice Department over her illness and purported sexual harassment.
Her illness has led to a hysterectomy and spinal collapse.
Other FBI agents, she says, ostracized her because she refused to participate in the alleged carousing. She claims to have attended parties with other FBI agents in which they wore a “mocking imitation of Arab or Afghan attire” and has pictures of “personnel at Guantanamo engaged in drunken carousing in a sexually charged atmosphere, day and night,” including shots of “female employees in bathing suits or revealing attire sitting on the laps of male employees, and female employees being hugged, kissed and likely groped by male employees.”
Foley claims she was dubbed a lesbian by male FBI agents and told, among other things, that her “nipples were leaking.”The first full-time female FBI agent stationed at the US prison in Guantanamo, Bay,... more
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The American Civil Liberties Union sued the government Thursday, seeking release of legal memos which authorized torture, authored by Bush administration lawyers. The lawsuit also seeks release of communications between the Bush White House and the Central Intelligence Agency related to the interrogation of terror war prisoners.
The civil rights group said in a Thursday media advisory that the suit was filed following the White House’s failure to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request.
“The information already in the public domain makes clear that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration, but there are still unanswered questions about precisely what the policies permitted, how they were implemented and who specifically signed off on them,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project, in a release. “This lawsuit is an effort to fill some of the gaps in the narrative.”The American Civil Liberties Union sued the government Thursday, seeking release of... more
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Senate and House negotiators tasked with finalizing a compromise on a $105 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rejected a provision Thursday night that would have prohibited the release of detainee abuse photos.
The provision was dropped after President Barack Obama raised objections in a letter addressed to the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
"I'm writing to urge you to oppose the McConnell Amendment," the president wrote, referring to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's attempt to block the photos from being made public.
In the letter, Obama restated his own opposition to releasing the photos and his belief that "that the most direct consequence of releasing them would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger." But the president bowed to the political reality: if the legislation included the ban, it would not have enough votes to be approved in the House, where liberal Democrats have demanded that all information be released regarding the detention of enemy combatants.
"I deeply appreciate all you have done to help with the effort to secure funding for the troops, and assure you that I will continue to take every legal and administrative remedy available to me to ensure the DoD detainee photographs are not released. Should a legislative solution prove necessary, I am committed to working with the Congress to enact legislation that achieves the objectives we share," added Obama.Senate and House negotiators tasked with finalizing a compromise on a $105 billion... more
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* Big win for liberals: In an interview set to air on Ed Schultz’s show tonight, Nancy Pelosi will make it official: She’s opposed to allowing the measure banning the release of detainee photos to remain in the final war spending bill.
“I don’t think Congress should make an exception to FOIA,” Pelosi will say, her spokesperson, Brendan Daly, confirms to me.
Meanwhile, Dem Rep Louise Slaughter confirmed today that the final bill definitely will not contain the measure, which is an amendment first proposed by Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham that would give the President the power to bar FOIA releases of detainee photos in the name of national security. It passed the Senate and was sought by the White House, but House liberals balked.
The stripping of the measure is a big victory for liberals and civil libertarians, and puts the House Dem leadership at odds with the White House on a highly sensitive national security and civil liberties issue. It also sets up a major confrontation with Lieberman.* Big win for liberals: In an interview set to air on Ed Schultz’s show tonight,... more
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The United States cannot conceal pictures of abusive treatment of detainees by its soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan by saying their release might cause enemies to hurt someone, a federal appeals court said Monday in ordering the release of 20 photographs.
The United States cannot conceal pictures of abusive treatment of detainees by its... more
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