Hillary Clinton Threatens to Cut Intelligence Sharing With UK

[mickey01023]

Doesn't pertain to firearms, penny for your thoughts


Well, so much for that famed "special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has threatened to end intelligence sharing with Britain if its High Court publishes findings that would implicate the United States in a high-profile torture case.

At issue are seven paragraphs in the testimony of one Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed is a U.K. resident who was detained by the United States government on suspicion of terrorism shortly after 9/11 and spent 6½ years in prison in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco and Guantánamo Bay. The contentious seven paragraphs are a summary of 42 CIA documents, which are said to include American admissions that the CIA tortured Mohamed while he was in its custody. Mohamed has also claimed that British intelligence agents knew about and were complicit in his torture in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Morocco.

The British judges were so astonished by Clinton's threat -- as conveyed to them by Foreign Secretary David Milliband's attorney, Karen Steyn -- that they actually sent Milliband a transcript of their hearing with Steyn over the weekend. They wanted him to confirm whether he really meant that the United States government would consider cutting off crucial intelligence-sharing with the U.K. -- thereby placing British citizens' lives at risks -- in order to keep this information out of the public domain.

In the judges' view, the seven paragraphs do not pose any national security threat to the United States. They "merely" confirm criminal acts of torture. As such, Secretary Clinton's request is -- as one judge put it -- nothing short of "an exercise of naked political power."

And it's not only the judges who are a bit miffed by this latest round of American muscle-flexing. After 10 years in which Tony Blair was not-so-affectionately described as George W. Bush's "poodle" (for Blair's unwavering support of the war in Iraq), commentators and human rights groups are livid that the U.K. is once again appearing to buckle to American pressure. As one columnist noted cynically when the Mohamed case first broke: "Our Government was prepared to fabricate threats posed by Saddam Hussein to justify America's invasion of Iraq and our own involvement in the war. Helping America to question terror suspects is small beer by comparison."

Yesterday, the Parliament's cross-party Committee on Human Rights called for a formal inquiry to investigate allegations that British intelligence and security agencies have been complicit in torture. Indeed, the Mohamed case is but one of several active cases in which British intelligence officials are accused of complicity in the detention and torture of citizens and residents while abroad.

In short, just as the clamor continues to grow in the United States for a bipartisan torture probe, so too are Brits eager to ask of their own government: "What did you know and when did you know it?"

Ironically, all of this comes just when President Obama finally seems poised to make good on his promise to close down Guantánamo. Last week, Ireland agreed to accept two Gitmo detainees. And administration officials are reportedly exploring bringing hundreds of the remaining detainees to a civilian-military prison in the United States to be held and tried.

I'm afraid that Guantánamo is proving to be the gift that just keeps on giving -- on both sides of the Atlantic. But don't despair. There's good news here too. The North Koreans may have mocked Hillary for her schoolgirl/pensioner ways. But over here in Britain, this latest move leaves no doubt that she's a full-fledged grown-up.


http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08...ring-with-b%2F

[homefront]

I don't get it.

Hillary usually love to accuse the Bush administration of wrongdoing - why is she concerned about this intel?

[Elmar]

Because now she will suffer for it.

[TXDMERC73]

be careful Billary , UK might actually sent the 007 to gather the intelligence anyways...

[FormerUser123]

I'm increasingly becoming convinced that this administration wants to cut our ties with the West. I mean it was one thing when Obama gave a bunch of garbage to the British prime minister as a gift, that was insulting enough, but now Hildog is really trying to piss off our closest, strongest (with the possible exception of Israel, whom they are also trying to sabatoge) ally.

Anyone see the video of her conference in the Congo from yesterday? The woman has no place being in office. I never thought I'd say this, but thank God Obama got the candidacy and not her. Imagine that woman as president, she can't even keep it together as Secretary of State.

[Philbert]

I'm increasingly becoming convinced that this administration wants to cut our ties with the West. I mean it was one thing when Obama gave a bunch of garbage to the British prime minister as a gift, that was insulting enough, but now Hildog is really trying to piss off our closest, strongest (with the possible exception of Israel, whom they are also trying to sabatoge) ally.

Allegedly, Bush threatened the same thing but I don't know about his gift-giving abilities so I can't comment on whether it's part of a hidden plan to alienate our friends in "old Europe" as Rumsfeld so lovingly put it.

[PeaceAndLove]

I'm increasingly becoming convinced that this administration wants to cut our ties with the West.

How does threatening to cut intelligence constitute cutting our ties with the "West"?

If you wanted to cut ties like that, wouldn't you just cut intelligence ties instead of threatening to cut them?

I see this move as "shut your mouth about things that happened in the War on Terror that everyone may find unsavory. If you don't, you lose access to goodies."

There is a lot of bitterness among the coalition countries of the idea of going to Iraq to "support America" and then wondering if that is actually in their interest or whether it is ethical.

[mickey01023]

How does threatening to cut intelligence constitute cutting our ties with the "West"?

If you wanted to cut ties like that, wouldn't you just cut intelligence ties instead of threatening to cut them?

I see this move as "shut your mouth about things that happened in the War on Terror that everyone may find unsavory. If you don't, you lose access to goodies."

There is a lot of bitterness among the coalition countries of the idea of going to Iraq to "support America" and then wondering if that is actually in their interest or whether it is ethical.

She's going from 0-60, it's like me asking you to pass the salt you say no and I punch you in face instead of saying I'll trade you the pepper.

[stephpd]

I'm not sure what's up with Hillary. She leaves the country and dumb stuff comes out of her mouth. Although I did get a kick out of watching the mangle translation and response of her channeling Bill. She looked very frumpy and full of attitude.

But then Bill did get a couple of Asian girls from North Korea and Hillary was called a schoolgirl, so go figure.

[Seventy4Blazer]

i bet we get as much needed info from them as they do from us, so this would be shooting ourselves in the foot i think.

we made some mistakes like anyone else has in the past, time to man up and pay the piper.