(Untitled)- May 14, 2004 "Methods too close to the rack and the screw": Slate has just published my Jurisprudence article "Tainted by Torture" on the legal problems associated with the use of "intensive questioning" in certain cases. The crux of the argument is that evidence gotten through torture is inadmissible, thus, the use of torture on terrorists means that they (and possibly their confederates) cannot be effectively prosecuted in federal court.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108456514691952494 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 Tech help: If you run a blog hosting server or have any recommendations for new blog software, please let me know. Blogger has moved to a new software interface that is extremely unreliable. (Example: this short post took three takes to put online.) I intend to move this site to www.intel-dump.com and a new software suite as soon as possible, and would appreciate any input from tech-savvy readers as to the best way to do that.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108455469548037960 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 Gitmo translator released before trial: More to follow later. It appears that defense attorneys for Airman Ahmad Halabi have won a stunning victory before a military judge to allow their client to be released from the brig pending his trial. A team of military attorneys is working with civilian attorney Donald Rehkopf, an expert in military law with decades of experience, on this case. I am told there are additional surprises in store for the prosecution and court here... more to follow.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108455548905337771 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 First MP to face trial speaks up Whose version of the truth is the truth Richard Serrano breaks an exclusive story in the LA Times this evening about what Army SPC Jeremy Sivits will confess to after the pleads guilty to a special court martial next week in Iraq. So far, military law pundits like me think that Sivits is being induced to plead guilty so that prosecutors will have at least one MP on the inside testifying for them, if for no other reason than to explain what's going on in all...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108449747221514336 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 Congress Takes a Second Helping of Grilled Wolfowitz If there's one guy who can be relied on to provoke intense questioning from the Senate and House Armed Services Committee, it's Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Last year, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled him in extremis for the failures to plan for post-war Iraq. Yesterday, according to Tom Ricks in the Washington Post, the Senate Armed Services Committee took its turn by excoriating the embattled appointee for the...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108455049881632996 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 A change in leadership at Abu Ghraib Shift from reserve to active MPs should make a big difference The Washington Post has a good report today on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's trip to Iraq and the Abu Ghraib prison. Whether he can salvage his job and our nation's image from this morass remains an open question. But one thing jumped out at me from the text of this story: Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad about 1 p.m. (5 a.m. EDT). He met with several top generals, including Lt. Gen. Ricardo...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108447293648332796 (Untitled)- May 14, 2004 The political book of 2004: Whether you love, hate, or feel indifferently towards him, if you care about American politics, you have to read Bill Clinton's new autobiography My Life, scheduled for release on June 30. Amazon.Com just sent me an e-mail letting me know I could pre-order a copy, which I will probably do, though I doubt I'll read it until after the California bar exam in late July.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108449647953847627 (Untitled)- May 13, 2004 How far can you go in an interrogation CIA used coercive measures to question Al Qaeda leaders That's the implicit question behind this New York Times article, which details some of the interrogation tactics used against top leaders like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. These tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) are coming to light now because of the incidents at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Many think that the overall environment of permissiveness towards coercive interrogations that has been...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108445928733892381 (Untitled)- May 12, 2004 Explaining military justice: To learn more about the military justice system and the way that SPC Jeremy Sivits' special court martial will work in Iraq next week, see this background briefing given by a JAG officer at the Pentagon. It covers all of the important legal details, from jury selection to available punishment.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108437377305590981 (Untitled)- May 12, 2004 "A Failure of Leadership" - Part II James D. Villa, an attorney in Washington DC who used to command the now-infamous 372d MP Company, has an excellent op-ed in Wednesday's Washington Post. He makes a number of solid points in this column, and I imagine these abuses would have been caught much earlier had he been in command in late 2003. Here's the part of his argument resonated the most with me: These actions were the result of huge command failures. The senior person charged thus far is...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108433889009465923 |