“In February 2009 the provincial government [in Swat, the northern region of Pakistan] did a deal with the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah…which allowed his self-styled religious warriors to impose their version of sharia law on the region’s inhabitants. As they had with other ‘peace’ deals, the Taliban took the agreement as an opportunity […]
2/5/2009
Suspected USS Cole bomber Abd Al Rahim “Al-Nashiri has stated that any self-incriminating evidence he may have provided while in detention was entirely the result of torture during interrogations… In February [5] 2009, all charges against Al-Nashiri were dropped without prejudice when President [Barack] Obama suspended the military commissions for further review.” – M. Cherif […]
2/5/2009
“…former vice president [Dick] Cheney–in the course of defending the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding and other such measures–claimed in February [5] 2009 that such an attack [with WMD] was ‘a high probability,’ adding that ‘whether or not they can pull it off depends on whether or not we keep in place policies that have […]
2/3/2009
“After he left office, former vice president Dick Cheney vehemently defended the practices of the Bush administration, saying in February [3] 2009, ‘If it hadn’t been for what we did–with respect to the terrorist surveillance program, or enhanced interrogation techniques for high-value detainees, the Patriot Act, and so forth–then we would have been attacked again.’ […]
1/27/2009
“In an Executive Order [No. 13491] issued January 27, 2009, President [Barack] Obama reinstated the Geneva Conventions’ Common Article 3 and revoked all Executive Directives, Orders, and Regulations issued from 9/11 to the end of the Bush Administration which are consistent with this new Order. Detainees are to be treated in accordance with the CAT […]
1/27/2009
"President [Barack] Obama's third, fourth, and fifth Executive Orders, issued on January 27, 2009, were to ensure lawful interrogations, set a one-year deadline to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and establish a Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition." – M. Cherif Bassiouni, The Institutionalization of Torture by the Bush Administration, xvi […]
1/24/2009
“In early [January 24] 2009, [President Barack] Obama had ordered an intensification of the drone strikes in FATA [Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas]. Now it became apparent he had also secretly authorized the CIA to conduct large-scale recruitment of Pakistanis to establish a clandestine intelligence operation, with the help of fifty CIA officers and American […]
1/22/2009
“On his second full day in office [January 22, 2009], President Obama vowed to close the facility [Guantanamo] ‘promptly.’ Years later, however, Guantanamo remains open, undoubtedly because the Obama administration, despite its promises, has not found a practical alternative.” – Donald Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown, Page 573 […]
1/22/2009
“On January 22, 2009, two days after his inauguration, President [Barack] Obama gave a speech at the State Department declaring that Afghanistan and Pakistan were the ‘central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism.’ “ – Peter Bergen, The Longest War, Page 309 […]
1/22/2009
On January 22, 2009, “Two days after his inauguration, President [Barack] Obama issued a landmark executive order, ‘Ensuring Lawful Interrogations.’ It revoked all directives, orders, and regulations inconsistent with the new order since September 11, 2001. Obama’s new executive order was ‘to improve human intelligence-gathering, to promote the safe, lawful and humane treatment of individuals […]