Clem’s Chronicles: Torture Memos/Home Foreclosures/Drug Highways of America

Clem Lane here — lots of news tonight!

TORTURE MEMOS-Some potentially embarrassing memos from the Bush Administration discussing the legality of certain types of CIA interrogation techniques were released today. Jan Crawford-Greenburg, in her WORLD NEWS piece, called them “chilling in their detail” and a quick look at some specifics tended to support that conclusion. They include:

1)prisoners placed in a “cramped confinement box with an insect”
2)the use of “shackling to keep the detainee awake” for up to one week.
3)and top suspects repeatedly subjected to simulated drowning known as the waterboard.
Crawford-Greenburg picks up the story again: “The question the CIA asked the Justice Department: were those harsh methods torture? The answer, after pages of legal analysis, NO.”
While the original techniques were being used on top al-Qaeda suspects in secret prisons around the world in the post 9/11 climate, there were adjustments made in US techniques.

Crawford-Greenburg: “in 2005, the Justice Department replaced that memo and authorized additional harsh techniques on high-value detainees…there were some new ones like ‘water dousing’ from pitchers or hoses as cold as 41 degrees. The most severe of the CIA’s original methods remained and were ruled legal: sleep deprivation and waterboarding.”

This was not some policy from rogue elements of the Bush Administration’s Justice Department. In an interview with Jon Karl  done last December, Karl notes that “Vice-President Cheney acknowledged that he personally supported the use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques used by the CIA. He also insisted that none of those techniques went too far.”

The Obama Administration, for its part, isn’t looking to prosecute anybody. "We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history," President Obama said today in a statement accompanying the release of the memos. "But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past." Attorney General Eric Holder told the CIA that the government would provide free legal representation to CIA employees in any legal proceeding or congressional investigation related to the program and would repay any financial judgment.

TORTURE MEMOS/DC REACTION-George Stephanopoulos was asked by Charles Gibson on WORLD NEWS about Washington political reaction to the release of the memos. Stephanopoulos noted that “some Congressional officials who had the highest security clearances were surprised by some of the details today, especially the fact of the torture with the insect in a box.” There was plenty of criticism for the Obama Administration’s decision to release the memos, and it was a rare case of bi-partisanship(albeit for different reasons). Stephanopoulos: “On the left, some of the left saying that he shouldn’t be ruling out prosecutions for those who used these techniques but also from the right. The ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee (Kit Bond of Missouri) echoed Vice-President Cheney. He says this release today is going to make America less safe, and provide propaganda for al-Qaeda’s media machine. He believes it’s going to be a road map for al-Qaeda operatives for how to resist interrogation.”

HOME FORECLOSURES-After several months of a cooling off in the foreclosure market (brought about at least partially by an Obama Administration request to banks to stop foreclosures while it developed a plan to help homeowners), last month was U-G-L-Y. Betsy Stark, reporting for WORLD NEWS, noted that “foreclosures surged to a record last month-one in every 159 homeowners has now received a foreclosure notice.” Worst hit areas? Stark again: “The markets that have gone coldest are the ones that were once red-hot: the so-called sand states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida alone account for 57 percent of foreclosures. Just 10 states account for 77 percent.” More troubling is who makes up this recent spurt in foreclosures. The rise in foreclosures so far have been driven by homeowners unable to sustain mortgages they couldn’t afford. But according to Guy Cecala, the publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, “the next serious wave, which we’re just starting to see now, is caused by economic situations. Massive unemployment is the biggest cause.” This wave is not likely to disappear quickly. Stark notes that “with 13 million Americans unemployed…and more to come…it will be difficult to slow these down until companies start hiring again.

PRESIDENT OBAMA MEETS WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALDERON IN MEXICO CITY-President Obama arrived in Mexico City early this afternoon for talks with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon. At the top of their agenda? Fighting the drug wars. But as Brian Ross noted in his WORLD NEWS piece written up below, “the battle, Charlie, won’t be won just by sending troops or building walls along the border.”

MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS HEART THE US INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM-Brian Ross had a very interesting report tonight showing just how entrenched the drug cartels are INSIDE our country. Take Atlanta for example, Ross tells us, “a city that has become a key hub in their distribution system.” Why? Location. Location. Location. Ross: “the city’s location at the junction of major interstate highways makes it a perfect place.” And forget speed boats off the coast of Florida carrying drugs into the country-that’s your father’s drug highway (or you’re just watching too many old episodes of MIAMI VICE). Ross tells us that “the vast majority of drugs coming from Mexico are being smuggled in container trucks with hidden compartments. DEA agents…are now trailing 18-wheelers, conducting surveillance at truck stops.” Well isn’t it hard to just waltz across the US/Mexico border with a  semi full of drugs? Apparently not-Ross notes that “US officials say only about 5 percent of the trucks are being inspected.” And you non-Georgians better not be smug about “location location location” because Ross tells us at the end of his piece that “Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles are considered the other major hubs for the Mexican cartels, each cartel staking out its own territory, like the mafia families of old, prepared to use violence to protect its turf.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA IN MEXICO CITY/TRUCKS ON THE AGENDA TOO- In light of Mr. Ross’ story above, it might be accurate to assume that the US ban on Mexican trucks operating in the US is the “right thing for the wrong reason” as one of my colleagues noted. Associated Press included the following in their Obama coverage-“A flap erupted last month when the U.S. Congress voted to end a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States, a move Mexico said violated the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. The truck ban prompted Mexico to slap higher tariffs on a long list of U.S. exports like fruits and industrial goods worth an estimated $2.4 billion. ‘My team is working with President Calderon’s team to resolve this issue and I’m hopeful that we can resolve it in an effective way,’ Obama told reporters after talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Under NAFTA the United States committed to open its roads but the U.S. Teamsters union has continued to fight that move, saying Mexican trucks are unsafe. Mexico has said it would lift the tariffs on some 90 U.S. products as soon as the United States removes the trucking ban. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sent recommendations on ending the dispute to the White House ahead of Obama’s visit to Mexico."

PRESIDENT OBAMA/ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN-In Terry Moran’s interview with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that aired last night, President Calderon told Moran that he would like to see the US assault weapons ban reinstated (it expired in 2004). President Obama commented on that today during his presser with his Mexican counterpart. From Jake Tapper: “Asked about the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, the White House has indicated it is not willing to expend political capital on the issue, even with Mexican President Calderon making the case that things were much safer in Mexico before the ban expired and he very much wants the ban reinstated. At a joint press conference with President Calderon, President Obama just now said that he has not backed ‘off at all from my belief that the assault weapons ban made sense…Having said that, none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy.’ ‘What we’ve focused on is how we can improve our enforcement under existing laws,’ Mr. Obama said. We believe this is the first time the President since taking office has spoken about this campaign promise, which he seems to be backing off. Calderon said (in Spanish) that he understands that ‘this is a politically delicate topic’ in the US.

CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?-With the crew of the Maersk Alabama now safely back in the US, where’s their Captain? Cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips is coming home. The 53-year-old sea captain is expected to fly to Vermont in a chartered airplane, arriving Friday afternoon at Burlington International Airport before being taken to his home in Underhill, Vermont.

SOMALI PIRATE TO BE TRIED IN NY-There are reports out tonight that the Somali pirate captured during the Maersk Alabama hostage stand-off will be brought to NY to stand trial.  Pierre Thomas just confirmed: “From senior adm officials familiar with the investigation: the justice dept. Has decided the pirate suspect who is in custody will be charged and prosecuted and that the trial will be done in the southern district of ny. The suspect is expected to arrive in ny early next week — perhaps Monday or tues.” 

AFGHAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS:  A new law restricting women’s rights in Afghanistan is getting more than the usual amount of attention these days.  The law, passed by both houses of parliament and signed late last month by President Hamid Karzai, regulates the actions of women of the Shiite minority, which makes up about 15 percent of the population. Nick Schifrin was in Kabul during a protest by hundreds of women: “The law they are protesting demands a wife preen for her husband, as and when he desires, and defines a wife’s duties as rediness for sex and not leaving the house without permission.”  According to Nick: “Afghanistan’s only female governor says the law is like returning to the days of the Taliban, when women couldn’t work or go to school.”  And because of the new law, some countries have threatened to pull troops out of Afghanistan.  That could be one reason why President Karzai appears to be having second thoughts and has ordered that the law not be enforced pending a judicial review. (thanks to Ed Bailey for this entry) 

MYSTERY DONATIONS-AP is running a neat story tonight. The world of college fundraising is the unlikely home of a developing mystery-during the past few weeks, at least 8 universities have received gifts totaling nearly $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try and find out the identity of the donor(s).  The gifts ranged from $8 million at Purdue to $1.5 million donated to the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Maryland at College Park got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million. Each was delivered since March 1 and came with the same stipulation: Most of the money must be used for student scholarships, and the remainder can be spent on various costs such as research, equipment, strategic goals and operating support. There are certainly issues raised here-what if the money is coming from “ill-gotten gains”? At least one school has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the IRS about the legal ramifications before accepting their money. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. 

AIR TRAFFIC DECLINES FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT MONTH-The Air Transport Association issued a press release today showing a continuing decline in air travel. From the release: “passenger revenue fell 23 percent in March 2009 versus the same month in 2008 – the fifth consecutive month in which passenger revenue has fallen from the prior year. March passenger traffic on U.S. airlines fell by 10 percent, while the overall cost to fly one mile fell by 13 percent. Declines extended beyond the mainland United States to transatlantic, transpacific and Latin markets. Compounding the softening demand for travel, U.S. airlines saw cargo traffic – as measured by revenue ton miles – decline 21 percent year over year in February 2009, matching the decline measured in January and marking the seventh consecutive month of declining cargo traffic. Notably, cargo traffic in the Latin region fell 27 percent. Year-over-year results were also adversely affected because February 2008 consisted of 29 days. March 2009 cargo data is not yet available.” 

JOHN MADDEN- Hall of Fame coach John Madden has retired after 30 years in broadcasting, he said today. The 73-year-old worked as a commentator for all four major U.S. television networks. His last game came in February on NBC when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in the Super Bowl. Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He began his pro career as a linebacker coach at Oakland in 1967 and was made head coach two years later, at 33 the youngest coach in what was then the American Football League. Madden led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory (a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 1977) and retired in 1979.