This editorial from the Washington Post questions a federal District Court decision, which allowed a torture lawsuit brought by American citizens to proceed against high-level U.S. officials, including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The editorial suggests that judges should not be "second-guessing or micromanaging" the executive's battlefield decisions. Yet the plaintiffs' kidnapping and torture -- which occurred three years after the invasion of Iraq began -- was made possible by the harsh-interrogation tactic policies put forth by high-level Bush administration officials, including Rumsfeld.
The real responsibility lies with these officers, argues GAP Homeland Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack. None of these persons have been held accountable for the use of coercive interrogation techniques. Furthermore, this case reflects the larger problem of U.S. citizens being treated as "enemy combatants," or taken captive for fear of their potential whistleblowing.
Click here to read more on GAP's blog
Associated Press: Climate Science Panel Needs Change at the Top
An independent review panel is recommending that the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change undergo major reform of its leadership process and the methods by which it manages the assessment of climate change.
Related Article: New York Times
The New York Times: Lenders Back Off of Environmental Risks
Large banks are curtailing lending projects that are regarded as detrimental to the environment, as well as damaging to their reputations. Most recently, Wells Fargo stated it was backing off from financing mountaintop removal mining -- a controversial process that involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the debris below. These policy changes reflect a global interest in developing best practices for assessing the environmental risks of financed projects.
