The XX Factor : war on terror

Indictment to Cheer

Emily Bazelon — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:51:00 GMT

The case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri was No. 1 on my list for Bush holdovers in desperate need of new thinking from the Obama administration. It wasn't a hard call. Al-Marri is the only person arrested in the United States who the government is holding...(read more)

Justice Scalia Goes Long on Torture

Dahlia Lithwick — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:43:00 GMT

Remember back when we didn’t believe in torturing people? Turns out it's way more interesting to reopen the whole question and bicker with the umps about their recent calls. Let’s go to the telestrator : Out on the field this week, we have Sen. Joe Lieberman,...(read more)

AIDS at Guantanamo?

Emily Bazelon — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:04:00 GMT

On the legal front this week, we have Michael Mukasey's can't-pin-me-down testimony of yesterday, as Dahlia reported . And also this dismaying report , via his lawyer and the LA Weekly 's blog, that a Guantanamo prisoner has contracted AIDS in the camp....(read more)

Unhappy Déjà Vu

Emily Bazelon — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:32:00 GMT

Reading the story about the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes that Dahlia points to , I couldn't help being struck by an eerie parallel. This story is unfolding a couple of days after the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the latest case about...(read more)

Just When You Think It Can't Get Sicker ...

Dahlia Lithwick — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:43:00 GMT

Remember that whole big legal debate we were having last month about water-boarding ? Remember when we were trying to understand why Michael Mukasey wouldn’t just come out and say water-boarding is torture? Remember when everyone thought the Bush administration...(read more)

"Lions for Lambs" Not "Too Paws Off"

Melinda Henneberger — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:57:00 GMT

Today's Washington Post review of the new Robert Redford movie Lions for Lambs calls it "strangely inert'' and says its take of the war on terror "plays too often like a college colloquium, with one extended scene of a classroom debate suffering from...(read more)

Clinton Opposes Mukasey Too

Emily Bazelon — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:29:00 GMT

Hillary jumps the same way as Obama: "I am deeply troubled by Judge Mukasey’s continued unwillingness to clearly state his views on torture and unchecked Executive power. The Attorney General is the chief defender of the rule of law in our country. After...(read more)

Obama Opposes Mukasey

Emily Bazelon — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:27:00 GMT

In a press release today, Obama said of Mukasey: “While his legal credentials are strong, his views on two critical and related matters are, in my view, disqualifying. We don't need another attorney general who believes that the President enjoys an unwritten...(read more)

Giuliani and Waterboarding

Emily Bazelon — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:36:00 GMT

Here's what Giuliani has to say about waterboarding, in reponse to a question about AG-choice Mukasey's refusal to say that the tactic amounts to torture: “Well, I’m not sure it is either. It depends on how it’s done. It depends on the circumstances....(read more)