CIA Director Backs Pakistan Attacks, Rendition
Meanwhile Panetta reiterated the Obama administration’s commitment to continue several Bush administration policies in the so-called war on terror. Panetta told reporters the U.S. will continue controversial drone attacks in Pakistan that have killed hundreds of civilians. He also said the U.S. will continue to practice “rendition”—the kidnapping and sending of foreign suspects to other countries. And he said that while interrogators will have to abide by the Army Field Manual, President Obama can still approve harsher techniques using war-time powers.
Palestinian Factions Hold Unity Talks
In Egypt, members of the leading Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have begun reconciliation talks. The two sides are discussing forming a Palestinian unity government and the release of hundreds of prisoners held by both sides. The U.S.-backed Fatah controls the West Bank while Hamas controls the Gaza Strip. The sides were due to meet earlier this year but the talks were pre-empted by the Israeli attack on Gaza.
Israel Bombs Gaza, Blocks Food Aid
Meanwhile Israeli warplanes have launched new attacks on smuggling tunnels near Gaza’s Egypt border. A resident of Rafah said her family narrowly escaped injury.
Resident: “Planes bombed, rockets fell near the house. My husband with the children were in the car just five minutes before the strike. They would have been attacked if they had stayed in it.”
Meanwhile the Israeli government is facing new international criticism over its latest refusal to allow aid into the Gaza Strip. The aid group Mercy Corps says Israel is blocking a ninety-ton shipment of macaroni into Gaza. Much of Gaza’s one point four million population relies on humanitarian aid. The U.S. is expected to pledge around $900 million dollars for Gaza at a donors’ conference beginning on Monday. All of the money would go to non-governmental organizations.
Attorney: Gitmo Conditions Worsen
Another attorney for Guantanamo Bay prisoners is claiming conditions have worsened sharply since President Obama took office. Ahmed Ghappour says Guantanamo guards are acting even more aggressive before Obama’s year-long deadline to shut the prison down. Ghappour said he’s heard recent accounts of beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding hunger-striking prisoners. Other attorneys including military lawyer Yvonne Bradley have made similar claims since Obama ordered Guantanamo’s closure.
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