Talk:Bush lies and deceptions: Uzbekispin

It's blunt and heavy handed. Tone it down a bit if you wish.

cheers --Hugh Manatee 22:53, 2 Aug 2005 (EDT)

the content i was intending to place into this is fairly complete. I'm going to work on a reclassification of the external links, plus add several more. i may still decide to add something here and there.

there is a large amount of material regarding Craig Murray that probably would be better placed within a stub with his name as title.

Here's content i didn't use, yet...

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, March 7, 2005

Q Why has the President approved of and expanded the practice of rendition, of the transfer of individuals from CIA custody to third countries for the purposes of interrogation?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Terry, we're talking about the war on terrorism. And this is a different kind of war. What took place on September 11th changed the world that we live in; it changed the eQuation, when it came to addressing the threats of the 21st century that we face. We have an obligation to the American people to gather intelligence that will help prevent attacks from happening in the first place.


 * There are people that want to do harm to America. We're talking about enemy combatants who are terrorists that have been involved in plotting and planning to attack the American people. And if they have information that can help us prevent attacks from happening in the first place, we have an obligation to learn more about what they know. That will help us prevent attacks from happening in the first place.


 * But the President has made it very clear that when it comes to the Question of torture, that we do not torture, we do not condone torture, he would never authorize the use of torture. We have laws and treaty obligations that we abide by and adhere to. This is -- the United States is a nation of laws. We also have an obligation not to render people to countries if we believe they would be tortured.


 * And so Judge Gonzales, during his testimony, provided information, talking about how we get assurances from countries to make sure that they abide by our values when it comes to the Question of torture. But this is a different kind of war, and it reQuires us to gather intelligence in order to protect the American people.

Q Well, one of the countries that receives a lot of these individuals is Uzbekistan. What is it that the Uzbekis can do in interrogations that the United States of America can't do?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, if you're asking me to talk about specific intelligence matters, you know that I'm not going to do that. But --

Q In general --

MR. McCLELLAN: Our understanding --

Q -- what is it that this country, the most advanced in national security matters of any country in the world, cannot accomplish in interrogations --

MR. McCLELLAN: Again --

Q -- that the nation of Uzbekistan can?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking me to get into specific matters, and I'm not going to do that --

Q Generally, in general --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- because of the classified nature of our intelligence. But it is important that we gather intelligence to protect the American people. We are working closely in partnership with many countries to win the war on terrorism and to prevent attacks from happening in the first place. The President will talk about some of those efforts that are being undertaken by countries around the world to win the war on terrorism tomorrow. And he looks forward to doing that.


 * But in terms of the whole Question of renditions, I think our views are very clear in terms of --

Q But I'm wondering about the rationale for rendition. Why does the President approve of it? Why has he expanded it? And what is it that countries like Uzbekistan, in general, offer the U.S.?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, in terms of the whole issue of renditions, that's relating to classified intelligence matters, which I'm not going to --

Q You can't even tell me in general why this practice occurs?

MR. McCLELLAN: Which I'm not going to get into. No, I just told you in general that we have an obligation to the American people to gather intelligence that will help prevent attacks from happening in the first place. The war on terrorism is a different kind of war. And we have sworn enemies of the United States who continue to seek to do us harm. And we are talking about enemy combatants, known terrorists, who have been involved in plotting and planning to attack the American people in the past, and who might have information that can help us prevent attacks from happening in the future.


 * Now, as we go about gathering intelligence, we have values and laws that we believe are important, that we believe need to be adhered to. And that is our commitment. The President has made it very clear to our government that we must abide by our laws and treaty obligations. And he's made it very clear that we do not torture.

--Hugh Manatee 21:22, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)