Morning Brief: Guantanamo revelations
Top Story Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images “If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong.” That’s what a CIA lawyer told military and intelligence officials about interrogations in Guantánamo back in 2002, according to documents released by the U.S. Senate. “[I]f someone dies while aggressive techniques are being used, regardless of cause of death, the backlash of ...
Top Story
Top Story
“If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong.” That’s what a CIA lawyer told military and intelligence officials about interrogations in Guantánamo back in 2002, according to documents released by the U.S. Senate. “[I]f someone dies while aggressive techniques are being used, regardless of cause of death, the backlash of attention would be severely detrimental,” the lawyer added. Officials also hid certain detainees from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Asia
Afghan and NATO forces have launched a “huge offensive” against Taliban positions outside Kandahar.
Burma’s humanitarian disaster after Cyclone Nargis was not as bad as originally reported.
Multinational companies are beginning to find China too expensive.
China and Japan have reached agreement on disputed gas fields in the East China Sea.
Middle East and Africa
Iraq’s fragile calm was shattered Tuesday by a massive explosion in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad.
Israel has confirmed its ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Americas
Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban television for the first time since January.
Europe
A radical preacher linked to Osama bin Laden has been freed on bail in Britain.
A Russian cloud-seeding experiment went awry when a 55-lb bag of cement landed on a house.
Meet Curveball, the Iraqi defector who maintains he is “not guilty” of spreading disinformation about WMD.
Decision ’08
John McCain and Barack Obama traded barbs on terrorism.
Today’s Agenda
President Bush plans to ask Congress to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.
Bush will also welcome Bulgaria’s prime minister to the White House.
Belgian truckers are going on strike to protest high fuel prices.
Yesterday on Passport
Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
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Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
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