Secret Detention Practised in All Corners of the World

What was already an open secret, detentions in secret prisons in the fight against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the U.S., has been clearly documented in a report on these abuses that was discussed Thursday by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

CIA Drone Operators Oppose Strikes as Helping al Qaeda

Some CIA officers involved in the agency's drone strikes programme in Pakistan and elsewhere are privately expressing their opposition to the programme within the agency, because it is helping al Qaeda and its allies recruit, according to a retired military officer in contact with them.

Guantanamo Deaths in 2006 Won’t Go Away

A leading good-government group is asking the U.S. Justice Department to disclose details of its investigation into the deaths of three Guantanamo prisoners in 2006.

U.N. Expert Calls On U.S. To Halt CIA Targeted Killings

Targeted killings, including those using drones, are increasingly being applied in ways that violate international law, according to a report issued Wednesday by a United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings.

Child Soldier Case to Kick Off Guantanamo Trials

Legal experts and civil libertarians are attacking the administration of President Barack Obama for resusiscitating what they regard as "deeply flawed" military commissions to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay - and their choice of a "child soldier" as the first defendant.

Indefinite Detention at Gitmo Criticised as “Legal Nihilism”

A new U.S. government report is recommending that 48 men currently detained at Guantanamo Bay should be held indefinitely without trial because "for many of the detainees, there are no witnesses who are available to testify in any proceeding against them".

U.S. Drone Strikes Draw Int’l Scrutiny

On the heels of reports that the Barack Obama administration altered a new manual on military commission rules to accommodate an illegal drone programme, a senior United Nations official is expected to call on the U.S. this week to stop Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone strikes against people suspected of belonging to al Qaeda.

Legal Groups Protest Probe of Guantanamo Lawyers

The American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and numerous other legal organisations are demanding that the Senate Armed Services Committee reject a provision in a House of Representatives bill that would mandate an investigation into lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Rights Groups Condemn Ruling on Bagram Detainees

Human rights advocates are expressing shock at a federal court ruling that detainees held by the United States in Afghanistan do not have the right to challenge their detention in a U.S. federal court - and dismay that their path to a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court may be blocked.

McChrystal Strategy Shifts to Raids – and Wali Karzai

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's team once talked openly about the need to remove Ahmed Wali Karzai, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother and the most powerful man in Kandahar, from power.

U.S. Towns Open Doors to Cleared Gitmo Prisoners

As Congress stiffens its resistance to moving any Guantánamo prisoners anywhere near the continental U.S., some communities are putting out the welcome mat.

AFRICA: Military Manoeuvres in the Sahel

Military exercises are under way in the Sahel region as part of the United States-led Trans-Saharan Counter Terrorism Partnership. Participating militaries are enthusiastic, but civil society cautions that force may not be enough to ensure regional security.

Obama, Karzai Still Split on Peace Talks with Taliban

U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to portray a united front on the issue of a political settlement with the Taliban in their joint press conference Wednesday. But their comments underlined the deep rift that divides Karzai and the United States over the issue.

U.S. Urged to Probe “Second Prison” at Bagram

Pressure is mounting on the U.S. government to investigate reports that inmates from the notorious prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have been moved to a second separate facility - known as the Tor Jail, which translates as "black jail" - where they say they were held in isolation in cold cells with a light on day and night and deprived of sleep by U.S. military personnel.

US: Govt Can’t Shut Down Charities Without a Warrant, Court Rules

In a major decision overturning a George W. Bush-era policy that has been continued by the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court ruled that the U.S. Treasury Department cannot freeze a charity's assets without a warrant, and must also give access to any classified evidence before effectively shutting the group down.

Pentagon Faces Battle in Effort to Reverse Military Contracting

Pentagon chief Robert Gates has called for a cutback of 15 billion dollars in wasteful military spending on contractors as well as government bureaucracy, or risk not being able to pay for its current force.

High Court Nominee Already Drawing Fire from Left and Right

The question of whether U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will move the court to the right or the left continued to be among the main points of contention among legal scholars Monday.

Pentagon Doubts Grow on McChrystal War Plan

Although Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's plan for wresting the Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar from the Taliban is still in its early stages of implementation, there are already signs that setbacks and obstacles it has encountered have raised serious doubts among top military officials in Washington about whether the plan is going to work.

INDIA: Hanging for Pakistani Sets Back Anti-Death Penalty Campaign

The death sentence awarded to Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, 22, for his role in the 2008 terror attack on the western port city of Mumbai that killed 166 people is being seen as a setback to a campaign to have the extreme punishment abolished in India.

Aborted Bomb Plot Tests US-Pakistan Ties

Amid mounting evidence that Saturday's aborted car-bombing in New York's Times Square was linked to violent Islamist groups in Pakistan, observers here are expressing concern that recently enhanced cooperation between Washington and Islamabad could be negatively affected.

Pentagon Map Shows Wide Taliban Zone in the South

The Pentagon was still trying to spin its report on the war in Afghanistan issued this week as holding out hope because the instability had leveled off, even as some news outlets were noting that it documents the continued expansion of Taliban capabilities and operations.