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Lies and videotape?

08 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

After witnessing the Transfiguration, the disciples are instructed to keep what they have seen to themselves for the time being. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) apparently also has been keeping information to itself. The agency admitted Monday it had destroyed 92 videotapes of harsh interrogations of Al Qaeda suspects, a much greater number than it had previously acknowledged. The interrogations were a highly divisive issue during the Bush administration, with many Democrats and other critics saying that some methods used amounted to torture--a contention Bush and other officials rejected. A criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter. Monday's acknowledgment involved a civil lawsuit filed in New York by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking more details of the interrogation programs following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "The CIA can now identify the number of videotapes that were destroyed," said a letter submitted in that case by Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin. "Ninety-two videotapes were destroyed." At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday he hadn't spoken to the president about the report, but called the news about the videotapes "sad" and said Obama was committed to ending torture while also protecting American values. Source: An article by Devlin Barrett for the Associated Press

robert gibbs central intelligence agency cia videotapes al qaeda american civil liberties union lev dassin torture
Tortured arguments

26 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles for this Sunday includes this judgment of those who put Jesus to death: "You acted out of ignorance . . . ." It was the public that was in the dark until it came to light this week that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interrogators used waterboarding 266 times on two key Al Qaeda prisoners, far more than had been previously reported. Top Obama administration officials have described the near-drowning technique as illegal torture. But when the president released secret memoranda last week detailing the harsh tactics employed by the CIA, he said officers who used it and other harsh interrogation methods with the approval of the Justice Department would not be prosecuted. But under intense pressure from Democrats on Capitol Hill and human rights organizations, the president suggested Tuesday that he would not stand in the way of a full inquiry into what he has called "a dark and painful chapter" in the nation's history. The president restated his opposition to prosecuting CIA operatives who followed the Bush administration's legal guidelines in conducting interrogations. But as for lawyers or others who drew up the policies allowing techniques he has banned, Obama said it would be up to his attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., to decide what to do. The White House's shifting comments in recent days provide a glimpse into its struggle to deal with one of the thorniest issues Obama has faced since taking office. His own national intelligence director, Dennis Blair, said in an internal memo last week that the now-banned interrogation methods had produced valuable information, contrary to the White House view that they had not been effective. Blair, however, issued a statement Tuesday evening underscoring his support for the president's decision to ban the "enhanced interrogation techniques" at issue: "We do not need these techniques to keep America safe. The information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances, but there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means. The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us, and they are not essential to our national security." Source: Articles by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Peter Baker, and Scott Shane for the New York Times and Pamela Hess for the Associated Press

barack obama dennis blair justice department prisoners waterboarding eric h holder jr torture al qaeda cia central intelligence agency interrogation
Homily stories

17 Apr 2011 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle A

To me, the whole point of being a Christian is so that I will never have to stand on the side of Jesus' torturers. If I am true to my faith, then such depravity and inhumanity will be impossible for me. If I follow Jesus' way of love, then I will never be in Pilate's camp, washing my hands of one I know to be innocent. Caiaphas and the high priests, with their cowardice and powermongering, will not be part of my coterie, either. No good people will get sold down the river by me--if I choose to follow Christ. That's a big if, of course. I fear that without vigilance, I could become one of these dealers in death. We all may be capable of such extreme acts of sin--think of the torturers of Abu Graib and every other prison since the beginning of time. If we constantly and consistently choose to deny God's loving presence in our lives, we will become our own worst enemies. So I am committed to keeping God before me and taking up my cross each day. It's true that by following Jesus, I must bear ridicule, swallow my pride, go against the status quo, fight social injustice, show extreme mercy, and, all in all, do things that do not come easy for me. But, the good news is: I will save my soul in the process. Better that than losing my soul, which, as Jesus showed us, is a fate worse than death--even death on a cross.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

torture

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