The Spooks Are Haunted

The Spooks Are Haunted

The spooks are spooked. Not by anything that foreign enemies might do to America — but by what our CIA and its political overseers did to America. By “America,” I mean the essence of our country: our ideals and the moral values we hold up as a beacon to...
Torturing Obama’s Legacy

Torturing Obama’s Legacy

An old bumper sticker offered a stinging response to the Bush-Cheney regime’s enthusiasm for waterboarding: “Impeach Bush,” it urged. “Torture Cheney.” Bush and Cheney escaped unscathed. The Senate has just released an astonishing report...

A Tortured Twist on Ethics

George Orwell wisely observed that our understanding of the past, and the meaning associated with it, directly influences the future. And as the unprecedented public feud between the CIA and Congress makes clear, there are still significant aspects of our recent...
A Tortured History

A Tortured History

NATO forces have refused to turn Afghan prisoners over to some local jails due to concerns about the torture committed in many of those detention centers. After a dozen years of U.S. efforts to export democracy to Afghanistan, that’s just one example of why this...
New World Disorder

New World Disorder

They were droning on about drones the other day in Washington. The Senate Intelligence (ha-ha) Committee was grilling CIA chief-designate John Brennan on the use of unmanned aircraft during his tenure as President Barack Obama’s adviser on terrorism. Drones are...