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CIA torture shows US part of problem not solution in Middle East




Not easy to see how the US will ever be seen as an honest broker in any Middle East peace process when they wage war on Muslim countries and torture their citizens in the name of freedom.

Torturing people to reveal non-existent links between Iraq and al Qaeda shows the barbarity, and futility, of the policy.

Obama knows the public endorsement of torture by the Bush adminisrtation was counter-productive to US interests but up until yesterday had backed away from supporting the prosecution of the architects of the torture programme.

Dick Cheney's arrogant and rather stupid appearance on Fox to defend his revolting methods may have been another counter-productive move on the part of the masters of torture, as it seems to have forced Obama to again signal to those he elected that he will do something about bringing to justice the criminals in the last government, if not the torturers themselves on the ground who are still going about their dirty business at secret CIA sites or through franchised-out operation in other countries.

From the Washington Post
Intelligence and military officials under the Bush administration began preparing to conduct harsh interrogations long before they were granted legal approval to use such methods -- and weeks before the CIA captured its first high-ranking terrorism suspect, Senate investigators have concluded.

Previously secret memos and interviews show CIA and Pentagon officials exploring ways to break Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees in early 2002, up to eight months before Justice Department lawyers approved the use of waterboarding and nine other harsh methods, investigators found.

The findings are contained in a Senate Armed Services Committee report scheduled for release today that also documents multiple warnings -- from legal and trained interrogation experts -- that the techniques could backfire and might violate U.S. and international law.
And in the same paper Israel makes clear what it thinks about US plans to supposedly restart the 'peace process' in the Middle East - attack Iran before any negotiations says Netanyahu. There wont be much to talk about at the White House in a couple of months when Obama plans to being Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders together:
The new Israeli government will not move ahead on the core issues of peace talks with the Palestinians until it sees progress in U.S. efforts to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon and limit Tehran's rising influence in the region, according to top government officials familiar with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's developing policy on the issue.

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