France to accept one Gitmo detainee

French President Nicholas Sarkozy said his country will accept one Guantánamo Bay detainee in a symbolic effort to aid the closure of the detention center.

Hugo Chávez offers to accept Gitmo detainees

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he is willing to accept detainees from the Guantánamo Bay military prison. But his ally China is demanding extradition of the 17 Uighurs detained at Gitmo.

Obama’s biggest foreign policy challenge: our readers write

Our March issue featured stories on new challenges to the Pentagon’s Afghanistan operation, fears of Mexico’s imminent destabilization, and NAFTA’s hidden military agenda. Our multiple-choice March Exit Poll was: Which will be Obama’s biggest foreign policy challenge? We received 17… Read moreObama’s biggest foreign policy challenge: our readers write

US interrogation tactics were torture: ex-State Department attorney

Former US State Department lawyer Vijay Padmanabhan publicly criticized the administration of ex-president Bush for approving the use of torture against terrorism suspects.

US, Yemen should allow “meaningful legal process” in Gitmo repatriation: HRW

Human Rights Watch called for the US and Yemen to agree on a repatriation plan that provides “meaningful legal process” for the nearly 100 Yemeni detainees still at Guantánamo Bay.

Spanish judge weighs probe of US federal attorneys on Gitmo

Crusading Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon has asked prosecutors to investigate the US lawyers reportedly behind the establishment of the Guantánamo Bay detention center.

Federal judge sets timetable for reports on CIA torture tape destruction

A US judge in New York March 27 ordered the CIA to release reports on the destruction of 92 videotapes of terrorism suspect interrogations within 30 days or explain why it should not do so.

UK to investigate MI5 role in US detainee abuse

UK Attorney General Baroness Scotland said police will conduct an investigation into claims that MI5 agents took part in the abusive interrogation of ex-Gitmo detainee Binyam Mohamed.

Obama administration drops GWOT nomenclature

The Obama administration has formally abandoned the phrase “Global War on Terrorism” for the more clinical and antiseptic “Overseas Contingency Operation.”

Rights advocates welcome rehearing denial in detainee photo case

The ACLU hailed a decision denying the Pentagon’s appeal of a ruling that it must disclose photographs of apparent detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Freeman affair opens window on intra-elite paleo-neocon wars

Chas Freeman’s withdrawal as chair the National Intelligence Council—allegedly due to pressure from the “Israel Lobby”—opens a window into the paleo-neocon jockeying in the Obama administration.

Obama administration drops “enemy combatant” nomenclature

The Obama administration officially abandoned the term “enemy combatant,” stating in a Justice Department brief that it will seek a new standard for authority to hold detainees at Guantánamo Bay.