Topic: Torture

9/11 mastermind arraigned: Can the US deliver real, lasting justice?

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Al Qaeda's former No. 3 man, is being arraigned Saturday on 2,976 counts of murder. It's being called a modern-day Nuremberg trial that will test the fairness of US military commissions.

'Torture memos' author can't be sued for harsh interrogations, court rules

José Padilla, who claims he was tortured while being detained on allegations of terror-related activity, was suing John Yoo, the Bush aide whose memos set out broadly permissive standards for inflicting physical and mental harm during interrogations. 

6 famous dissidents in China

The surprising escape of a blind legal activist from house arrest is buoying China's embattled dissident community, even as the government cracks down on those who helped him.

In 'Hard Measures,' former CIA official Jose Rodriquez defends waterboarding

'Hard Measures' by former CIA official Jose Rodriguez also accuses Pakistan, Washington's current ally, of assisting terrorists.

Panetta apologizes over latest military scandal

The International Criminal Court's docket in Africa

With the confirmation of charges against four senior Kenyan leaders, there are now seven different countries where the International Criminal Court has filed charges of crimes against humanity. All of those cases emanate from Africa.

Torture common in Afghanistan, UN report finds. Can NATO trust local forces?

Half of all detainees in the custody of the Afghanistan intelligence service have been tortured, a year-long UN investigation found, raising questions about the readiness of local forces to take over from NATO.

Christopher Columbus: Five things you thought you knew about the explorer

It’s Columbus Day – a time when faulty lore about the “discoverer of America” abounds. The myths surrounding the epic voyages of Christopher Columbus are as plentiful as the riches he supposedly discovered. Here are some commonly held beliefs that have endured since, well, 1492.

From Guantánamo to Pakistan: One man shares his story

Human rights activists say that 10 years after 9/11, cases of extraordinary rendition such as Islamic scholar Saad Iqbal Madni's remain common because Guantánamo Bay has not been shut down.

The decade since 9/11 has eroded – and confirmed – American values

US actions over the past 10 years have called into question America’s commitment to justice, freedom, and respect for human rights. But the decade has also confirmed how resilient the country's democratic values really are.

How US, British intelligence worked to bring Qaddafi's Libya in from the cold

Documents uncovered by Human Rights Watch in Tripoli detail how the CIA and Britain’s MI6 worked to develop warm ties with Libya's Muammar Qaddafi after he vowed to give up weapons of mass destruction.

Might Dick Cheney really be tried for war crimes?

Lawrence Wilkerson, a former top aide to Colin Powell, with whom Dick Cheney is currently embroiled in a spat, says Cheney fears that very thing. It is highly unlikely, however.

Dick Cheney versus Colin Powell: Memoir feeds the feud.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's new memoir, 'In My Time,' has passages critical of Colin Powell. The former secretary of State took his shots on Sunday, and Cheney is jabbing back.

Cheney's memoir: few apologies, some evasion, and critical words for Condi Rice

An early review of Cheney's "In My Time" suggests that readers of the memoir will react more with frustration than with anger.

Police torture cases from Daley era vex Chicago's Rahm Emanuel

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this week that Chicago will pay to defend former Mayor Richard M. Daley in lawsuits alleging police torture during his tenure. Wrong message, say critics.

Rumsfeld torture lawsuit moves forward

Rumsfeld torture lawsuit: a lawsuit brought against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been allowed to move forward. The suit involves a US citizen who says he was tortured in a foreign prison.

Appeals court allows US citizens' torture suit against Rumsfeld

The judges ruled 2-to-1 that two US citizens can bring a civil suit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for their alleged torture while they were held in a US military prison in Iraq in 2006.

Bush should face criminal probe over post-9/11 'torture,' report urges

Human Rights Watch urges a criminal investigation of former President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and two others over their alleged authorization of torture of terrorism suspects after 9/11. The Obama administration has narrowed its probe to the deaths of two men in CIA custody.

Supreme Court declines to take up Abu Ghraib detainee lawsuit

The Supreme Court declined without comment the case of 250 former Abu Ghraib detainees whose lawsuit against private contractors, for allegedly abusing and torturing Abu Ghraib inmates, had been thrown out of federal court.

My time with John McCain, and why I know he’s so adamantly anti-torture

Possible presidential candidate Rick Santorum says Sen. John McCain 'doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works.' Who knows better than the former POW?

Supreme Court refuses terror suspects' case alleging CIA torture

US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case of five foreigners seeking to pursue a lawsuit alleging CIA-directed torture abroad. With that, appeals court ruling stands, disallowing the suit to protect 'state secrets.'

The First Grader: movie review

Based on a true story, 'The First Grader' is an uplifting tale about a Kenyan ex-freedom fighter who finally gets to attend school in his 80s.

The bin Laden effect: How the Al Qaeda leader changed America

In life, Osama bin Laden made a huge impact on the US, all in the name of preventing another 9/11. If he and Al Qaeda fueled antagonism between the US and the Muslim world, they also pushed America toward a better understanding of the Middle East.

Military interrogators: Waterboarding didn't yield tips that led to bin Laden

Several former military interrogators refute assertions that waterboarding and other 'enhanced' methods provided intelligence that led the US to bin Laden. Some lament lost opportunity to grill Al Qaeda's leader.