Obama administration threatens Britain to keep torture evidence concealed

Ever since he was released from Guantanamo in February after six years of due-process-less detention and brutal torture, Binyam Mohamed has been attempting to obtain justice for what was done to him. But his torturers have been continuously protected, and Mohamed's quest for a day in court repeatedly thwarted, by one individual: Barack Obama. Today, there is new and graphic evidence of just how far the Obama administration is going to prevent evidence of the Bush administration's torture program from becoming public.

New boss backing up the old boss? ...

In February, Obama's DOJ demanded dismissal of Mohamed's lawsuit against the company which helped "render" him to be tortured on the ground that national security would be harmed if the lawsuit continued. Then, after a British High Court ruled that there was credible evidence that Mohamed was subjected to brutal torture and was entitled to obtain evidence in the possession of the British government which detailed the CIA's treatment of Mohamed, and after a formal police inquiry began into allegations that British agents collaborated in his torture, the British government cited threats from the U.S. government that it would no longer engage in intelligence-sharing with Britain -- i.e., it would no longer pass on information about terrorist threats aimed at British citizens -- if the British court disclosed the facts of Mohamed's torture.

Outrageous threat, i smell something fishy ...

Just think how despicable that threat is: if your court describes the torture to which one of your residents was subjected while in U.S. custody, we will withhold information from you that could enable you to break up terrorist plots aimed at your citizens.

Interesting summary of the threat, yet so true ...

The Washington Times' Eli Lake reported this morning that "the Obama administration [said] it may curtail Anglo-American intelligence sharing if the British High Court discloses new details of the treatment of a former Guantanamo detainee." Last month, when I interviewed Mohamed's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, he made clear just how grave of an act -- a crime -- such threats are, but nonetheless expressed hope that the Obama administration would repudiate those threats

Full Article Here

This is truly absurd ... what's the big deal? why threaten Britain for torture evidence? is this change we can believe in?! has anyone else read of this? i'm truly dumbfounded, yet not surprised by this ...

what are your thoughts?

[edit on 13-5-2009 by baseball101]

Let the US withhold their information from the UK . Everytime the UK arrests so called terrorists they are all trumped up charges and the so called terrorists released without charge . Uk spent years fighting real terrorists IRA without help from US, in fact it was the IRA that got this much vaunted US help . Let the US keep it's dubious and worthless information on pseudo terrorists , and let britain do the right thing and allow this information to be disclosed in court.

Huzzah for the "Special relationship"!

This is truly despicable. Any evidence they have should be disclosed. It's time our government stopped bowing before the US.

Edit: It should be noted that I have no problem with the US itself, just the relationship our government insists on cultivating with the US government.

[edit on 13/5/2009 by Perturabo]

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?


There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!


Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

--The Who

Change? Nope. It's business as usual in washington.

reply to post by baseball101


Did he really, he also threatened Israel
www.haaretz.com...

U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that Israel not surprise the U.S. with an Israeli military operation against Iran.

and banks, and GM, and California, and ......................

It is the english nations that help the US ,. they are the ones with the populations that speak punjabi and urdu . They are the ones with the real intel , as opposed to false testaments that are obtained out of torture. Let the UK tell US to go their own way , and remove troops from afghanistan . Pull out their sas that does all the work that so called elite marines and rangers cannot do .

So in other words he is saying that you are either with us or against us.

It really does shock me that President Obama is worse then Bush was and the majority who despised Bush loves Obama.

Obama is just the latest custodian of the US snowball as it gathers pace down the hill of ever increasing corporate greed, debt, foreign wars , corruption and a host of all other nasty factors . That snowball is unstoppable , it just goes on and on gathering momentum and size as it has done for the past 70 years . Unfortunately , it has got so big , non US people are in on the ride too ( .