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April 16, 2013

Landmark Report Confirms U.S. Tortured Prisoners After 9/11 
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A landmark nonpartisan report has confirmed it is "indisputable" the
United States tortured people after the 9/11 attacks and says the
highest officials in the George W. Bush administration are responsible.
The Constitution Project says never before in U.S. history had there
been "the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred
after 9/11 directly involving a president and his top advisers on the
wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some
detainees in our custody." The task force, led by two former congress
members, a Republican, Asa Hutchinson, and a Democrat, James R. Jones,
said it found no compelling evidence torture produced helpful
information that could not have been found without it. It details how
the CIA water-boarded not only al-Qaeda suspects,but also at least one
Libyan suspect, and says prisoners were slammed into walls, chained for
hours in difficult positions and kept awake for days. The report also
criticizes a lack of transparency by the Obama administration, saying
its practice of hiding details about rendition and torture "cannot
continue to be justified on the basis of national security."

 

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