Daily News Channel
In a move that could reignite tensions with liberals in his own party, President Obama is planning on Friday to resume the Bush administration’s highly controversial military tribunal system — which Obama suspended his first week in office — for some Guantanamo detainees, according to three administration officials.
The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival opened in style on Wednesday as the film world descended on the French Riviera for the premiere of Pixar’s new 3D animated film "Up" — the first time an animated movie has ever opened the festival. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Holder repeated Obama’s assertion that the decision to oppose the photos’ release had been made “consistent with the best interests of our troops.” Holder emphasized Obama’s conclusion that making the photos public would endanger U.S. troops and have a “negative impact” on the military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan
U.S.
The contentious debate over so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" took center stage on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as a former FBI agent involved in the questioning of terror suspects testified that such techniques — including waterboarding — are ineffective. Ali Soufan, an FBI special agent from 1997 to 2005, told members of a key Senate Judiciary subcommittee that such “techniques, from an operational perspective, are ineffective, slow and unreliable, and harmful to our efforts to defeat al Qaeda.” His remarks followed heated exchanges between committee members with sharply differing views on both the value of the techniques and the purpose of the hearing itself
The United States is rushing emergency aid to Pakistan — an initial $5 million — to help people uprooted by the fighting against extremists, according to the State Department. The United States urged the Pakistanis to launch the military action that in recent days drove hundreds of thousands of people from their villages.
Far from a secure, undisclosed location, former Vice President Dick Cheney is out in the open and increasing his criticism on the Obama administration and even fellow Republicans. “If I don’t speak out, then where do we find ourselves … Then the critics have free run, and there isn’t anybody there on the other side to tell the truth,” Cheney said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday
Public beheadings in Afghanistan are usually associated with the Taliban, but on Monday it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates metaphorically wielding the axe from the Pentagon platform. Gates announced that he had asked for and requested the resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, after only 11 months in that theater. The 37-year veteran will be replaced by Army Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal
Are you ready for Abu Ghraib, Act II? Five years ago, people around the world were sickened by photographs that surfaced showing U.S.
Are you ready for Abu Ghraib, Act II? Five years ago, people around the world were sickened by photographs that surfaced showing U.S. troops abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
From his earliest days as Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner’s biggest challenge has been restoring confidence in America’s fragile banks without taking the politically costly step of asking Congress for more money. To judge by the results of the government-run stress tests released Thursday afternoon, Geithner has somehow pulled it off — at least for now. Not that three months of supervisory scrutiny of the country’s top 19 banks hasn’t produced some grim news.