Not surprising...

I have to be honest that when I read this article I was not surprised. Living overseas (and perhaps some of you in the states have the same experience?) I have often heard the question "how is it possible that the US government has not yet found Osama Bin Laden?" Here is one of the answers that is thrown out there, which I am now very happy to have some evidence to support: "Al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden was 'within grasp' of US " check out his article in the BBC from Nov. 29th.

Why one should speak their mind

Check out this important post by Helena Cobban, who herself was posting on the activities of David Remez and Adam Horowitz. And, congratulations to Columbia Sportswear for making such a respectable decision.

Understanding Iran and the Non Proliferation Treaty

As you might have read in today's paper Iran has announced the planning of ten new uranium enrichment sites - just after the condemnation by the UN of the site that they recently submitted to the UN nuclear proliferation watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is such a bummer of a situation and one that I really don't understand well.

It should be noted that in the recent press it was often reported that the international community "discovered" the existance of the recent site in Qom. In fact, the BBC article that came out today says "On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution that was heavily critical of Iran for covering up a uranium enrichment plant near the town of Qom." This is quite interesting BECAUSE - the site was not discovered at all. Iran submitted a letter to the IAEA stating that they were building a new site. ** It should be noted here** that in the Nuclear Non Profliferation Treaty (that Iran has signed) signatory states are required to notify the IAEA 180 days before the site is operational. Iran's letter to the agency said that the site would be operational in about THREE YEARS.

The site was not discovered - it was announced by Iran in the legal terms set out by the NPT.

Today's turn of events prompted me to read the NPT - why not? Here is the link - it's only five pages and quite short (i read it in less than five minutes). Article X is quite interesting: it reserves the right of all signatory parties to WITHDRAW from the treaty at any time if they believe that their country's "supreme interest" is in jepordy. They are required to give the IAEA three months notification. Food for though.

Seymour Hersh - quick interview

Here is a quick and informative interview with Seymour Hersh who is known for his exceptional work as a journalist. He has in the last decade become known for his writing on US intervention in Iran.

Shin Bet in South Africa?

Here are two interesting articles that I found as I was browsing the news this evening. One about secret Israeli activity in South Africa and the other about Sarah Palin's connection to the Christian Zionism. The second one is on a blog that I have recently discovered that I think gives an interesting perspective. Check it out - let me know what you think!

Guantanamo Men - Aquited by Algerian court

Sorry for the LONG absence! I'll try to check in more regularly - promise!

Here is some exceptionally great news coming from the BBC (even if it has few details). I would sum up the information except that it would probably be longer than the article itself - check it out. For now I have found no other details but I will post them when I do.

Eyes on Iran

Sorry it has taken me so long to write on this - here are some quick posts that link to information on what is going on in Iran.

A short update: in the last weeks Iranians have been preparing for the presidential elections that took place last friday. These elections where somewhat different than previous elections since there were live televised debates between the candidates (that got pretty intense!). Since the election restults there have been serious acusations of election fraud particularly by Mousavi, the candidate who "lost" to the incumbant candidate Ahmadinejad. Most people imagined that there would be at least a close tie therefore necessitating a second run off. However the official election results show that Ahmadinejad won with 62.3 % of the vote. It is this number that has caused many people to think there might have been fraud.

So in the days since the election there has been MUCH activity. I can't talk about it all right now and I am definitly not the most qualified either :) So instead I will you point you in some good directions.

1) the BBC launched this year their Persian site which is a team of Persians and non persians working in London. They are now providing some of the most upto date information. Especially since for a while all phonelines, internet and even some TV broadcasting what cut from inside Iran. I recommend going particularly to this page of analysis.

2) I also encourage you (as always) to check out Helena Cobban's site and her analysis of the situation. Here is the link.

I promise to write more soon and keep you updated!

Another great one from Helena

Here is an important and easy to understand posting from Helena Cobban's blog titled Just World News (which I love and highly recommend to those interested in world affairs and more specifically the Israel and Palestinian conflict). She in turn posted this editorial which was written by Amos Gvirtz, an Israeli citizen who works intentionaly to inform his compatriots of how the Israeli government's occupation is affecting Palestinians. As Helena explains, "He was the founding chairperson of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, and every week since summer 2006 he has published a short essay under the title “Don’t Say We Did Not Know.”

Here is a link to his website (which is worth checking out) and his editorial that was featured today on JWN.

Prioritizing Peace over Settlements

By Amos Gvirtz

A short while after his victory in the 1977 elections and his appointment as prime minister, Menahem Begin announced: "There will be many more Elon Morehs [an early ideological West Bank settlement]." And he went on to say, "So that a left-wing government will not be able to return the territories."

In order to give weight to this announcement, the Begin government declared the settlements to be areas of national priority. This meant that the government viewed the construction and development of settlements in the occupied territories as a supreme Israeli interest. And in fact, since then and until today the settlers receive extensive benefits, far beyond what is allocated to any other population in Israel. This is also true for industrialists and business people who build their factories and businesses in the occupied territories.

Since the Begin government, no Israeli government has changed this priority, including the Rabin government, which while it froze settlement construction, paved bypass roads for the settlers, with all their ramifications.

Thus even during the seven years of the Oslo process, no Israeli government changed the policy which viewed the establishment and development of settlements as a supreme Israeli interest! We witnessed a political process, which seemed to most of us to be a peace process, at a time when the occupation actually continued to deepen! And in fact, during the time of the Oslo process, the number of settlers increased from 110,000 to 204,000; Israel demolished more than 1,000 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories; implemented two expulsions; and confiscated some 40,000 acres of Palestinian land. From the Palestinian point of view, these are unilateral acts of war by an occupying power against a defenseless civilian population.

After the 1999 elections, Prime Minister Ehud Barak added fuel to the fire when he appointed Yitzhak Levy of the National Religious Party as Minister of Housing in his government. The results were not long in coming: construction in the settlements reached new heights. The Meretz Party, which also sat in Barak's government, fought against the corruption of the Sephardic religious party Shas (thereby deepening the rift with the Sephardic population in Israel), but failed in its role as guardian of the peace process. This failure marked one of the biggest mistakes of the Israeli Left, which occupied itself with political issues, while the Right created facts on the ground, with the goal of making the settlement process irreversible.

Israeli governments have developed a fixed pattern of behavior: they "agree" to American and European demands on the peace process, and at the same time deepen the occupation. We saw how the Olmert government did this during the Anapolis process.

Given all this, I have reached the conclusion that today the central demand of the Israeli Left must be, first and foremost, the cancellation of the priority status of the settlements in the occupied territories; the total cessation of funding for the settlements and the illegal outposts; upholding the law against settlers who expel Palestinian farmers from their lands and then take them over; the cessation of all land theft; a total cessation of house demolitions; a total cessation of the expulsion of Palestinians from the areas of the Southern Hebron Hills, the Jordan Valley, Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim; the encouragement of settlers to return to Israel; and of course an end to the theft of West Bank and Golan Hight water. Only when these conditions are fulfilled, can it be said that the government of Israel has changed its policy from prioritizing the occupation to prioritizing peace, and only then will there be a chance for a political peace process to succeed."

Palestinian Resistance Art

Here is a post that comes from the blog KABOBfest. It's a very cool site that should be checked out on it's own account. This map was published by Strange Maps and made by a French man named Julien Bousac. The main point is "an illustration of the West Bank’s ongoing fragmentation based on the (originally temporary) A/B/C zoning which came out of the Oslo process, still valid until now. To make things clear, areas ‘under water’ strictly reflect C zones, plus the East Jerusalem area, i.e. areas that have officially remained under full Israeli control and occupation following the Agreements. These include all Israeli settlements and outposts as well as Palestinian populated areas.”

There is an interesting and short explination of some of the reactions to the map on Strange Maps
Feel free to ignore the on-going comments at the end - they are useless and unforutnately take away from the power of the artwork and the artist's original intent.

Mr. Lakhdar comes to Paris

Here is a short article from Le Monde mentioning that it has now been confirmed by the White House that the French government will be accepting Lakhdar Boumedienne, the man for whome the case Boumediene v. Bush was named. As you know from my pervious posts Boumediene and five other native algerians (who were living in Bosnia before their illegal abduction by US personelle)who figured in the prominent and important case that was handed down by the US supereme court this last June. Their case was the biggest turning poing and what you could call the iciing on the cake of a series of previous cases when the US Supreme Court determined that the legal framework set up by the Bush administration at GB was in fact illegal. Boumediene v. Bush famously restored the right to Habeas Corpus for detainees being held off US soil by US Military or CIA.

So now, after being held for almost seven years at Guantanamo Bay Mr. Boumediene is being moved to France. The logic is that since he is Algerian and speaks French that France will be a reasonable place for him to settle.

However, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has stated that they would accept preivous detainees of GB but that they would subsequently be put into French jails.

This is crazy as this man has never been charged of any crimes by the US or the French government and has wrongfully been held for SEVEN YEARS after being kidnapped from hims home country. He is likely in need of a good therapist, human dignity and to see his family - but he should not be put into another prison.

I will keep you updated.

International reaction to Bush administration torture

Spain's Judge Baltasar Garzon, the most prominent investigative magistrate in the country is opening up a case against former Bush administration officials for the system that they created resulting in torture that was "systematic and ordered at high levels of the US government." Read the article here.

This story is all the more intersting because Spain's court system has already used this "principle of universal justice" in an internationally high profile case against human rights abuses: that against the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. And it was the same Baltasar Garzon who brought the case!

Although Pinochet died before he was convicted of his crimes his case was (in the words of wikipedia) "the first time that several European judges applied the principle of universal jurisdiction, declaring themselves competent to judge crimes committed by former head of states, despite local amnesty laws."

Quite interesting. We will see where this goes.

Rendition and State Secrets - Federal ruling says NO

Hey guys - here you can find the link to the article in the LA Times detailing the case Mohamed vs. Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. The case deals with five men who were abucted in the CIA Extraordinary Rendition program and held for years in secret black sites by the CIA. These men alledge that they were tortured and the Bush administration and now the Obama administration have claimed that the information in the case (apparently including the information of what was done to the men while they were imprisoned) should be considered States Secrets and therefore not allowed into the courtroom.

This is an important issuse that is directly connected with the Bush doctrine but more importantly it is directly connected to the CIA's illegal and inhumane practice of Rendition which has been going on since the Clinton Administration.

Basics from a good source on Palestine and Israel conflict

I am happy to provide you with the link to some basic questions and answers about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The page comes from a SF based organization called Jewish Voice for Peace. They are a cool organization and I think they have put together a fair, thoughtful and well researched document here.

The importance of water in the Israeli Palestinian conflict

Here is a link to a pretty large report published by the World Bank on April 20, focusing on the different aspects of water sources and availablity to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. For a good overview you can skim the Executive Summary that is available at the beginning of the report. It is about 18 pages but much more consise than the 135 page original document :)

Ahmedinejad's speech at the UN Conference on Racism, April 2009

I have finally found a transcript of the entire speech given by Iranian President Ahmedinejad at the UN conference on Racism. As you likely know it caused quite a ruckus with many diplomats leaving the room. However, there was also loud applause during the speech from those left in the room. It is long but interesting and worth reading to have an understanding of what Ahmadinejad really said and what those who left the room did not hear.

Exclusive Interview Between ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Here is an interesting recent exchange between George Stephanopoulos and the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. They talk about US Iran relations, Ahmedinejad's speech at the UN Durban conference, and if Palestinians accept a two state solution. Well worth reading.

Ginsburg, torture, foreign law and being the only female supreme court justice

Here is a short and interesting article, well worth reading.

Finally some accountability for Rendition?

Here is an interesting article that I found on Al Jazeera's english site a few days ago talking about how the UN is planning on investigating the US practice of extraordinary rendition! This would be great and an important step in learning more about the systems in the US and abroad that have allowed such illegal practices to go for years (since the Clinton administration). Here is also a link to my previous posts on the practice of rendition by the US government.

Backyard garden, White House showing the way

Here is a fabulous article about the garden that Michelle Obama has just helped to plant behind the White House. The article explains well a few of the basic reasons why it is so great to grow food close to home:

"Mrs. Obama stressed that the garden was an easy -- and inexpensive -- way for families to get fruits and vegetables into their diet. She asked the children to guess how much it cost to install the garden...The organic garden, which will supply fruits, vegetables and honey for the first family, White House staff and state dinners, cost about $200 to put in place."

"Weather permitting, Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass said the first crop of lettuce, spinach and herbs will be ready in about two weeks. When asked if the first family would be alerted when produce from the garden ended up on their plates, Kass answered: "They'll know. They'll be able to taste it."

Laila El-Haddad stuck in Egypt

I am writing this post to let you know about a women whose blog I have recomended a few times. Her name is Laila El-Haddad and she is a Palestinian mother and journalist who has been living in the states as her husband has been denied the right to live in Palestine. Laila was traveling to visit her family in Palestine and has been stopped in Egypt. She is being refused entry into Palestine because the Rafa checkpoint is closed. She is traveling with her four year old and her 15 month old baby. What is more, her US visa has expired and she was planning on renewing it after her time in Palestine by going through Beirut. She is really in a tough situation. Please, if there is anyone you know to contact do it now! She could really use our help. Here is a link to her blog and here is a link to her Twitter.

France taking a Guantanamo Prisoner - to put him in jail

Here is a link to the most complete article I found concerning Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement that France would be accepting an prisoner transfered to their territory from Guantanamo Bay. Unfortunately President Sarkozy clarified that Mr Lakhdar Boumediene (for whom the important Bouediene v. Bush case was named) will be going to a French prison! This seems outrageous to me. Boumediene v. Bush is the case that was overturned by the US Supreme Court in June 2008 allowing (finally!) for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to demand writs of habeas corpus. It was a huge move for the court system and an important step in bringing our legal system into balance after to Bush years of the war on terror.

As you know if you have followed my blogging on this case Mr. Boumediene was captured in Bosnia (where he was living as a legal resident with his family) in 2002 upon suspicion of the US government that he was planning to bomb the US embassy in Sarajevo. After a four month investigation by the Bosnian police he was cleared of all charges put under humanitarian protection so that he would not be taken out of the country. He was then promptly handed over the American forces when the US threatened to break diplomatic ties with Bosnia. He has been held in GB since January of 2002. The US government quickly dropped charges for planning a bombing in Bosnia. However he has not been released.

You can read for yourself the article. I will try to find one in English.

The main point is: Why would he go into prison in France? The US government does not have evidence against him that allows him to be labeled an enemy combatant and he is, for all legal purposes, supposed to be released from prison. The Obama administration has said that they would share all information on the cases of particular detainees moving to European countries with their host countries. There should be no reason for Mr. Boumediene to be sent to prison upon his arrival in France.

I believe that the reason he would be coming to France is because he has Algerian origins (and likely speaks French). However this is only my assumption.

I hope Obama does something about this. We will see. Here is a link to an English version of the story, however they do not mention Sarkozy's final remark about sending Mr. Boumediene to a French prison. I will keep you updated on what I find.

Here is another short but interesting article about previous GB detainees in the French court system - perhaps Sarkozy is thinking that Boumediene's case will be reseen within the French court system?

Taliban, article venant du Monde

Ici ce trouve un article venant du journal Le Monde ce matain. C'est particulièrement intéressant comme l'homme qui est le sujet de l'article est un ancien prisonnier de Guantanamo. C'est un autre point de vu que je n'ai pas beaucoup présenté mais c'est aussi important.

Here is an article that was on writen for Le Monde, one of the most prominent French international newspapers. It is interesting for a number of reasons, one being that the subject of the article is a previous prisoner of Guantanamo. This is a perspective that I have not often posted but still an important one.

Warning!! It's in French. If I find an equivilant article in english I will post it.

follow up on Guantanamo

Here is an article from the NYT today talking about some of the follow up by the Obama administration with Guantanamo Bay prisoners. More to come soon

Food for Thought

Here is a very interesting article, from the Christian Science Monitor, about words that are often used in discourse between Muslims and non-Muslims. I think it is well written and, although it is not a black and white rule book it brings about an interesting reflection on the language we all use.

Sorry for the wait, and some interesting articles for now

First of all, I appologize for my long abscense. Life is busy, what can I say? I am hoping that in the next few weeks I can pick up regular blogging again. In the meantime here are two articles that I found interesting. The first is by David Ignatius written for the Washington Post. It focuses on the interesting and little known tax deductable money going towards Israeli settlements from the US. The second is found on the BBC and briefly talks about a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who is, in his home country of Spain, considering bringing charges against US officials for torture.

I would also encourage you to continue checking out Helena Cobban's blog Just World News. She never ceases to provide insightful, indepth information and resources to some of the most important questions in Middle East Politics (but not limited to the Middle East either).

Executive Orders - Obama is the man

As you know closing down Guantanamo Bay has been on Obama's list of campaign promises. In the first few days of his presidency Obama has taken quick and hopefully effective measures to abide by his committments. President Obama has issued five executive orders in his five days in office and four of them are linked to undoing the political and legal damage caused by the Bush administration's policies in the war on terror. By the way you can see all of his proclamations and executive orders here on his website.

Obama has addressed interrogation techniques demanding that the all US agencies (including the CIA) be held legally responsible to interrogation methods as layed out in the Army Field Manual and the Geneva conventions. He has catagorically denied the argument that prisoners being held outside of American territory by American forces do not have legal, and humanitrian protection under the AFM and the GC (this was a major argument for the Bush administration).

What is more, Obama has revoked the CIA's right to hold their own detention facilities. THIS IS HUGE. The biggest worry that I have had about closing Guantanamo has been that it is often likened to the tip of the iceburg. Because the CIA hold secret prisons (thought to be in five different countries in Asia and Eastern Europe) we know that they hold prisoners there that are have little to no legal assistance and have no reason to believe they will ever be released. It doen't make sense to talk about closing Guantanamo if you do nothing to curtail the ability of the CIA to keep secret prisons around the world that are basically lawless black holes. So Obama did something about it:

"Sec. 4. Prohibition of Certain Detention Facilities, and Red Cross Access to Detained Individuals.

(a) CIA Detention. The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future."

These short sentances have HUGE ramifications. It remains to be seen how this is carried out and what the consequences are in the future. I am proud of Obama.

What is more - Obama has invalidated the executive orders of Bush that made access to Presidential records almost impossible for decades to come. About a year back it was reported that Bush had closed his presidential files to the public for 100 years. The short version of what Bush ordered is that any living member of the family of a former president (and sometimes officials within that administration) could ask that any of the presidential papers be kept from public review. Obama has revoked this executive order and written in it's place that when there is a request for presidential documents the former president (if living) is notified and has 30 days to deny the request. If he does this then the request goes to before the attorney general and before the head of the national archives to determine if the denial is valid. Only documents that are concerning current national security are allowed to be kept from public scrutiny.

Obama has shown in his first five days in office wisdom and intention to really be the post transparent administration yet. He has worked out tons of new ways to allow citizens to be a greater part of government. One example: he has agreed to post all non-emergency legislation on the whitehouse website for five days before he signs it so that it is open to public comment and citizen opinions (I'll get you the link asap). Further more for his economic recovery plan he has set up the page recovery.gov that (once the bill is passed) will allow americans to see how their tax money is being used and to comment on it so as to help reduce wasteful spending.

I really encourage you to go to the website and see the other things the Obama administration is doing.

A true and important story

I found this article on the BBC Middle East Page today. I think it is an important story that should be retold - it is just one of thousands but It is also unique.

Today is the day that we as Americans are celebrating the end of the Bush years - the end of eight long years and hopefully the beginnng of something bright and new. It is important that we continue to look at what is going on - at what american policies are doing around the world - good and bad.

CNN Human Rights Watch video

This video is an interview with the Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Kenneth Roth, on CNN about the use of illegal weapons by the Israeli army in Gaza in the last three weeks. Thanks to Laila El-Haddad, blogger of the exceptional and impactful blog http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/.

New Additions

I would like to inform you that I have decided that I will be writing and posting in English and in French. I believe that adding french language sources will only enrich the blog. I know that most of my readers do not speak french but I have just run across too many insightful and interesting articles in french. Furthermore, I am all about encouraging the learning of languages :) I will do my best to write explinations of posts in English and in French.

There you have it! If I can do anything to make the information posted in french more accessible please let me know.

NO to "the war on terror"

Check out this article! These are great words - goes to show the power of rhetoric.
Article from the BBC 15, January 2009

The Israeli Palestinian conflict

I have not previously written about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This has mostly been because my personal research has focused on other issues. However, this is the only blog that I maintain and it is an issue about which I believe, sadly, many americans are misinformed. I would like to share what I have learned through my political studies and my perspective of living inside and outside of the United States.

We as Americans are deeply tied to this conflict through our taxes and our country's international policies. We have been so from the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

In my opinion this conflict is not based upon religion. Yes, many Jewish and Muslim believers have very strong religious convictions about their right and destiny to live in this territory, however, the origin of the conflict is not religious: it is historical and political.

For the time being I would like to provide you with some links to sites that I think provide imporatant and unique information. From there I will continue in further posts to outline more of historical and political points.

First, it should be said that the war that is currently being waged between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is an abominable humanitarian crisis. We should all be doing everything possible (writing, calling, emailing on a daily basis our senators and representatives and Obama, going to rallies, informing others etc.) to bring a quick end to the violence that has already killed more than 1000 people within the last three weeks.

I would like to redirect you to a blog that I have linked to regularly on my blog - that of Laila El-Haddad, an American Palestinian who has family in Gaza. She writes about the situtaion on the ground for those living in Gaza and it is a perspective that is essential for us to keep in mind, especially as the Israeli government has refused, up until this point, to allow foreign journalists into the war zone, making it difficult to get a variety of perspectives of what life is like for civilians living there. Please know that this blog is quite realistic, specifically because of the humanitarian crisis currently occuring in Gaza.

Next, I have found a site, called http://www.ifamericansknew.org/, that I think does a good job of summing up many of the major issues surrounding the Palestinian Israeli conflict. I do not take responsibility for what is written on the site but I can say that their historical section matches quite well with what I have learned through my undergraduate and graduate studies in France and in the United States. There is a wealth of information and many links to other interesting and little seen perspectives (for example those of the men injured in the Israeli attack of the USS Liberty, or the perspective of Orthodox Jews who do not believe in zionism. These are both interesting, and most definitly controversial, perspectives. But I believe they are as important to examine as any other.

Lastly I encourage you to visit this site, Demand a Stance, dedicated to stopping the current violence in Gaza. It is a very easy tool that connects you instantly to a form allowing you to write to your political representatives (whether you are American, British, or Canadian). They did all the work for you - it could not be easier, they even provide you with a sample letter. Take the time to do this - contacting your representatives is an essential part of changing policy.


That's all for now. Please feel free to comment. I will continue to post on the Israeli Palestinian conflict and would like to answer any questions you have or provide more information on parts that are cloudy.

Torture, Obama, and Guantanamo Bay

This post is going to serve as bit of a catch up - there has been a lot going on in the last few weeks and I would like to point you in some important directions for further research.

1) Since I am currently reseraching torture I often run across documentation of how it is ineffective. Here is a link to a well documented and interesting documentary put together by Human Rights First about the consequences on military interegators and soldiers when torture is shown in entertainment media (such as shows like Lost, Alias, or 24). Important information again demonstrating the fact that torture is not the most effective method of interogation, not to mention the moral, social, and psychological ramifications for both the victim and the torturer.

2) Yes it is true that Obama has said many times that he plans to close Guantanamo Bay within his first year in office. This is great news but unfortunately it is not the great news we are looking for. Saying one will close Guantanamo Bay is a very simplistic statement that is often mistaken for a solution to the legal, moral, social, and political problems created through the Bush administration's interrogation and detention techniques (demonstrated in an easy to see location at GB).

Unfortunately there are big questions that are not answered by this statement: where will the men who have been declared innocent (and who are still being held there) be released to? What will happen to those who are still labled enemy combattants when the prison is closed? Will there be any future oversight as to how, where and until when they will be detained?

A highly commended research report dealing with these exact questions was published in November of 2008 by Graduate Students from UC Berkeley in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights. "Guantánamo and Its Aftermath: U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices and Their Impact on Detainees, based on a two-year study, reveals in graphic detail the cumulative effect of Bush Administration policies on the lives of 62 released detainees." Click here for a link to the website where you can find the report.

Another important question that is raised here is will there be any ramifications for the illegal detention, and interrogation techniques used at GB? Obama was recently quoted in an interview on ABC's This Week saying:

"US President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday he was not ruling out possible
prosecution for abuses committed under the George Bush administration, saying no
one "is above the law".

"We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of
interrogations, detentions, and so forth,"...when asked about alleged abuses
under Bush." ... "Obviously we're going to be looking at past practices and I
don't believe that anybody is above the law," Obama said."

This is the first time that he has mentioned such an option. Furthermore it is an important statement since prosecution of elected officials within the executive branch is unheard of - to my knowledge it has never happend within the US government. Part of this is due to the ability of a president to give persidential pardons (as done on behalf of Nixon by President Ford).

Here is a link to a very well written, well documented article outlining a bit of the history behind executive prosecutions internationally, as well as the different options available for prosecuting Bush administration officials. I especially like this article because it focuses on the importance of educating the public on the crimes committed as a benefit in and of itself, apart from actual criminal prosecution. This is an essential step in creating a historical record that denounces the illegal practices and makes it less likely they will be repeated by future administrations. Furthermore it is very indepth but pretty easy to understand - I highly recommend taking the time to read it, it is a fantastic article.