be just

Economist: U.S. More Permissive Of Torture Than China : "Six in 10 Americans approve of having an international convention saying that 'governments should never use physical torture' as a means of trying to get information, while 39 percent say such a ban is too restrictive, according to a new WorldPublicOpinion.org/Knowledge Networks poll. A majority also opposes nearly all methods for coercing detainees to give information, even when it might be critical to stopping a terrorist attack against the US. Respondents were presented a scenario in which a detainee is being held who is likely to have 'information about a possible terrorist attack on the US that may prove critical to stopping the attack.' They were then presented a series of methods for coercing the respondent to reveal the information."

The Hell of War Comes Home: Newspaper Series Documents Murder, Suicide, Kidnappings by Iraq Vets : "A startling two-part series published in the Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs titled “Casualties of War” examines a part of war seldom discussed by the media or government officials: the difficulty of returning to civilian life after being trained to be a killer. The story focuses on a single battalion based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment. Soldiers from the brigade have have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides. The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs. We speak with the reporter who broke the story and get the Army’s response. [includes rush transcript]"

Christopher Pyle, Whistleblower Who Sparked Church Hearings of 1970s, on Military Spying of Olympia Peace Activists : "The news of peace activists in Olympia, Washington exposing Army spying, infiltration and intelligence gathering on their groups may strengthen congressional demands for a full-scale investigation of US intelligence activities like those of the 1970s. We speak with law professor and former Army whistleblower Christopher Pyle, whose 1970 disclosure of the military’s widespread surveillance of civilian groups triggered scores of congressional probes, including the Church Committee hearings, where he served as an investigator. [includes rush transcript]"

Israeli Soldiers' Revelations from Gaza : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Israeli soldiers involved in the attacks on Gaza at the start of this year claim that they were ordered to fire, regardless of the risk to civilians. Alex Thomson reports."

ei: Why Obama's peace process is still going nowhere : "Much of the debate about US President Barack Obama's push for Middle East peace resembles the proverbial argument about whether the glass is half full or half empty. But even a full glass is not very useful if you need to fill an entire reservoir. A common assumption is that earlier American administrations were insufficiently 'engaged.' Obama's early moves, including the appointment of former Northern Ireland mediator George Mitchell as his envoy, have therefore been widely welcomed. The problem was never a lack of American engagement, but what kind. Indeed, the Bush administration took engagement to unprecedented lengths. It pushed for Palestinian elections, and then when Hamas defeated the US-backed Fatah faction, America attempted to overturn the result. The Bush administration helped arm and train Palestinian militias opposed to Hamas and vetoed a Palestinian 'national unity government.' It su...

Judge Orders Young Gitmo Detainee's Release : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Judge Orders Young Gitmo Detainee's Release Mohammed Jawad Arrived At Guantanamo At About Age 12 By NEDRA PICKLER Associated Press Writer July 30, 2009 'The Guardian' -- -- A judge ruled today that one of the youngest detainees brought to Guantánamo Bay is being held illegally and must be released. US district judge Ellen Huvelle's order does not end the case of Mohammed Jawad, however. Deputy assistant attorney general Ian Gershengorn told the judge that as the United States negotiates with the detainee's home country of Afghanistan for his return next month, the US justice department also is pursuing a criminal investigation. Gershengorn said Eric Holder, the US attorney general, has not yet decided whether to indict Jawad, who allegedly threw a grenade that wounded two US soldiers and their interpreter in December 2002. That means it's possible he could be brought t...

Al Jazeera English - Africa - Senior Islamist among Nigeria dead : "The deputy leader of a Muslim group battling security forces in northern Nigeria was among dozens of people killed after troops shelled their base in the city of Maiduguri, military officials said. Heavy fighting was reported overnight into Thursday as the army attacked a compound and mosque used by the Boko Haram group. 'The deputy leader of the Taliban by the name Abubakar Shekau was in the early hours of today killed along with 200 followers by Nigerian troops,' a police officer told the AFP news agency. The Nigerian government had vowed to hunt down members of the group after hundreds of people were killed following a series of apparently co-ordinated attacks on police in four northern states."