Archive - Aug 25, 2009

• De-classified CIA report reveals Bush-era torture practices
• Military contractors exceed US troops in Afghanistan
• Honduras Supreme Court rejects OAS mediation plan
• Drought in India generates economic crisis and farmer suicides
• FSRN correction for RNC 8 story aired August 17th, 2009

• Simultaneous car bombs kills dozens just after preliminary poll results released in Afghanistan
• Kenya begins controversial census
• Deficit expected to reach 1.5 trillion – Bernanke reappointed
• Israel launches airstrike on Gaza-Egypt tunnel – 3 dead
• NRDC says tap water nationwide may contain unsafe levels of herbicide
• Argentina says no jail for joints
• Pakistan: Taliban members turning up dead

Yesterday’s release of a classified report on interrogations shows that the CIA used violence and psychological torture when questioning suspects and detainees.  The secret program appears to be a covert operation working outside the confines of the law.

Interrogators operated with little direction and had no system to follow. What resulted were intense interrogations that many allege constitute torture. This is the clearest look to date at the interrogation program created after September 11th, 2002.  The findings of the released information prompted Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.

FSRN's Washington Editor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, discussed the details of the report.

The CIA report, released recently by the Department of Justice, also talks about how the intelligence agency used contractors or paramilitary officers to carry out interrogations.

One part cites the example of a contractor who beats a detainee with a metal flashlight and kicks him during interrogations.  The detainee dies in custody and the contractor is moved to another job.  The report admits that the contractor, whose name is redacted, had received no training in interrogation methods.

A report by the US Defense Department that was recently published in the Wall Street Journal, says that at the end of June there were 74,000 contractors in Afghanistan, compared to 58,000 US soldiers.

The number of contractors could be even higher, with two contractors for every US soldier in Afghanistan. To look deeper into the issue of US contractors, FSRN spoke to  Pratap Chatterjee. Chatterjee is a contributing editor of corpwatch.org and he recently published, “Halliburton´s Army.”

In Honduras today, the Organization of American States continued meetings in Tegucigalpa. The OAS mission, led by Secretary General Miguel Insulza, is there to pressure the Roberto Micheletti de facto government to accept a political resolution to the 58-day-old Honduran conflict.

But they might not have an easy job. The Honduran Supreme Court has said that the proposal is unconstitutional. And the de facto President is also rejecting the mediation plan known as the San Jose Agreement.  FSRN´s Tim Russo has the story.

In India, a delayed and deficient monsoon season has severely affected farmers. Nearly a third of the country’s districts are experiencing drought and communities there are facing a grave situation. The affected areas include some of the most populous and poor states where many, including farmers, are struggling to get by.

The drought has already pushed the prices of many essential commodities up and is also expected to slow down the country’s economic growth. From New Delhi, FSRN'S Bismillah Geelani has the story.

On Monday August 17, FSRN aired a story by Andrew Stelzer on the RNC 8 that included the assertion that a spokesperson for the Ramsey County’s attorney´s office would not comment specifically on "any connection between the RNC 8 and other cases." In fact, the spokesperson refused to comment further on the cases in general.

The story also incorrectly stated that one of the charges against the RNC 8 was "conspiracy to destroy federal property." The charge was actually "conspiracy to destroy property." Additionally, we stated that 37 people pleaded guilty to charges brought by Ramsey County. In fact, that’s the number of people who pleaded guilty to charges brought by the city of St Paul, Ramsey County and the federal government combined. FSRN regrets the errors and any misunderstanding this may have created.

A corrected version of the radio story has replaced the original version.