Film

An Enhanced Interrogation of an American Shame

Carrie Rickey / Truthdig Apr 26, 2024 In “I Am Gitmo,” French director Philippe Diaz recreates the torture rooms inside the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Gina Haspel Debate Spotlights America’s Soul Sickness

John Kiriakou / Truthdig May 8, 2018 The U.S. has become a country that supports torture, so the fight to stop the godmother of the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" program may be futile. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

CIA Nominee Reportedly Offered to Withdraw

ZEKE MILLER and DEB RIECHMANN / The Associated Press May 6, 2018 Gina Haspel—facing a firestorm over her role in torture—later was reassured by White House aides, two administration officials say. Her confirmation hearing opens Wednesday. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

We Should Not Reward the Authors of Torture

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Mar 24, 2018 Violations of U.S. and international law cannot be rationalized or ignored in considering Gina Haspel's nomination to be the new CIA director. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Trump’s CIA Pick Oversaw Waterboarding at Secret Prison

DEB RIECHMANN / The Associated Press Mar 13, 2018 Gina Haspel, a career spymaster, had a front-row seat to the CIA's use of harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects between 2003 and 2005. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Daniel Jones, the Senate’s Chief Investigator Into Torture by the CIA

BLANK Sep 18, 2016 Jones—who became a target of the CIA because he searched for the truth—this week spoke out for the first time. He has been a key force in the disclosure of a scandal that one senator compared to Watergate. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

American War Crimes: Candidates Compete to Promise the Most Torture and Slaughter

By Rebecca Gordon / TomDispatch Jan 7, 2016 There’s nothing like the heady combination of a “populist” Republican race for the presidency and a national hysteria over terrorism to make Americans want to reach for those “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

VIDEO: John Oliver: ‘Torture Is Medieval, Brutal and Beneath Us,’ So Let’s Make It Illegal

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Jun 15, 2015 In anticipation of this week's vote on a proposed law against torture, drafted by Sens. John McCain and Dianne Feinstein, HBO's "Last Week Tonight" host gave an impassioned monologue on the Senate Committee Report on Torture. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Truthdiggers of the Week: Critics of the American Psychological Association Role in Torture Program

BLANK May 3, 2015 Health care professionals and human rights experts have blown the whistle on the American Psychological Association for providing the US with ethical and legal cover for torture of terrorism suspects . Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Experts Allege the American Psychological Association Secretly Collaborated With Bush on Torture

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Apr 30, 2015 A group of dissident psychologists say the professional academic organization provided legal and ethical cover to George W. Bush’s torture regime in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The American Public Gets Distracted From Torture

Donald Kaufman / Truthdig Dec 28, 2014 News this holiday season of the hacking of Sony studios and new U.S. relations with Cuba "flushed" the bad news of the Senate's torture report from the public mind, Robert Hennelly writes at Salon. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Did the CIA Torture So Bush Could Invade Iraq? (Video)

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Dec 23, 2014 The Bush administration and the CIA tortured al-Qaida suspects because they wanted evidence that linked Saddam Hussein to 9/11 and could be used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Middle East expert Patrick Cockburn writes at The Independent.The Bush administration and the CIA tortured al-Qaida suspects because they wanted evidence that linked Saddam Hussein to 9/11 and could be used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, says Middle East expert Patrick Cockburn. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )