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Summary: U.S. President Bush's push for legislation that narrowly defines U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions would allow the CIA to continue using highly controversial interrogation techniques, the Washington Post reports. One source said the techniques include prolonged sleep deprivation and forced standing or other stress positions. Another source said they match the techniques used by the agency in the past, except that the CIA no longer seeks to use "waterboarding," which is meant to simulate drowning.
The White House and Senate Republicans who revolted against the president's proposal on CIA interrogations said Sunday a compromise was possible, Reuters reports. Newsweek magazine, in its September 25 issue, said the CIA has sought to use techniques that include induced hypothermia, long periods of forced standing, sleep deprivation, "belly slap," and sound and light manipulation.
Iran Time magazine reports on U.S. plans for a military attack on Iran. A "Prepare to Deploy" order to several ships and a review of long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports sent a buzz through the Navy. No one is talking about a ground invasion, Time says. Too many troops are tied down elsewhere, and besides, it isn't necessary. If the U.S. goal is simply to stunt Iran's nuclear program, it can be done better and more safely by air. An attack limited to Iran's nuclear facilities would nonetheless require a massive campaign, Time concludes.
Some officials said they're concerned that the offices of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney may be receiving a stream of questionable information that originates with Iranian exiles, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Officials said the Pentagon's Iranian directorate has been headed by Abram Shulsky. Shulsky was head of the Office of Special Plans, whose role in allegedly manipulating Iraq intelligence is under investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general.
European efforts to get Iran and the US to negotiate are at an advanced yet sensitive stage, reports Dafna Linzer for the Washington Post.
Iraq Doctors say traumatic brain injuries are the signature wound of the Iraq war. About 1,000 patients have been treated for the symptoms, AP reports. Some fear there may be thousands more who are suffering undiagnosed.
Before they could participate in the US reconstruction of Iraq, applicants had to pass a political loyalty test to the Bush Administration, writes Rajiv Chandrasekaran in the Washington Post in an excerpt from "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," Many who were chosen lacked vital skills and experience.
The U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law, AP reports. Many former detainees say they were interrogated around the clock, then released without apology, compensation or any word on why they were taken.
Shiite militiamen and criminals entrenched throughout Iraq's police and internal security forces are blocking efforts by Iraqi leaders and the American military to root them out, the New York Times reports.
The U.S. has imprisoned an AP photographer in Iraq for five months, never filing charges or permitting a public hearing, AP reports. He says he was targeted because his photos from Ramadi and Fallujah were deemed unwelcome.
Israel The Israeli government established a committee Sunday to investigate the political and military leadership's handling of the recent war in Lebanon. Protesters demanded that the investigation be carried out by a state commission with greater powers and independence.
Palestine A Palestinian official said internal Palestinian talks were in a state of crisis. He said Hamas needed to accept previous agreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis, or a new government would not win international acceptance. Hamas said that its position had not changed, and that it still refused to recognize Israel.
Over the past six years, more than 70,000 people have applied without success to immigrate to the West Bank or Gaza to join relatives, according an Israeli human rights group, the New York Times reports. Palestinians say Israel is pursuing a systematic policy of limiting the population in the Palestinian areas, even if it means separating family members.
Afghanistan After NATO's leaders demanded reinforcements for their mission in Afghanistan, only one member offered more troops, the Washington Post reports. NATO's forces are suffering the highest casualty rates of the five-year-long conflict.
Pope's Comments on Islam Pope Benedict XVI said yesterday he is "deeply sorry" about the reaction to a speech in which he quoted a 14th-century emperor as saying that the prophet Muhammad brought "only evil and inhuman" things to the world. The statement was the third attempt by Vatican officials to cool the reaction to his speech.
In this issue: U.S. 1) Behind the Debate, Controversial CIA Techniques 2) White House: deal possible on CIA interrogations 3) Torture and the Content of our Character Iran 4) What War With Iran Would Look Like 5) In a Replay of Iraq, A Battle is Brewing Over Intelligence on Iran 6) Europeans Trying to Grease Wheels for U.S. Talks With Iran Iraq 7) Iraq war's signature wound: brain injury 8) Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq 9) U.S. War Prisons Legal Vacuum for 14, 000 10) Iraq Stumbling in Bid to Purge Its Rogue Police 11) U.S. Jails Journalist in Iraq Israel 12) Israel Forms Committee to Investigate Lebanon War Palestine 13) Israeli Visa Policy Traps Thousands of Palestinians in a Legal Quandary Afghanistan 14) NATO Faces Growing Hurdle As Call for Troops Falls Short Pope's Comments on Islam 15) Pope 'Sorry' About Reaction to Islam Remark
Contents: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/index.html
-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org
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