MAQzine

By Marc Ambinder Several readers have asked me to provide more information on the   Army Field Manual's Appendix M , which sanctions a "restricted" interrogation technique, but which the D.I.A.'s interrogators are using, under secret orders, to employ harsher techniques. The Appendix is not classified. It applies to a category of detainees -- "unlawful combatants" -- that isn't terribly well-defined in current law. In theory, the Appendix's technique can only be applied to "specific unlawful enemy combatants for whom proper approvals have been granted in accordance with this appendix." But it appears as if this approval has been granted   a priori   and in secret. And that's an issue, because detainees' official statuses aren't usually determined until AFTER they've passed through the D.I.A. facility. That means that, so far as the D.I.A's interrogators and intelligence collectors are concerned, a lot of detainees ca...

Weekend Edition May 21 - 23, 2010 Obama's Afghan Torture Center and the American Psychological Association By STEPHEN SOLDZ A   recent pair of articles by Marc Ambinder of the   Atlantic   has shed new light upon activities in the secret so-called “black jail” on the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan . Among other aspects, these new revelations suggest that psychologists may be playing a major role inside the facility, raising questions about the reasons for American Psychological Association (APA) lobbying activities in support of the agency that Ambinder reports is running the detention center.   In recent months the   Washington Post ,   New York Times , and   BBC   reported on a secret prison on fringes of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan . Referred to by former prisoners as the “black jail,” this institution is reportedly a site where prisoner abuse is regular and systematic. The   BBC   reported that all nine former prisoners...