Torturing Democracy: Further Reading

For further reading and resources, please see the following:

Articles:

Rose, David. Tortured Reasoning. Vanity Fair, December 16, 2008
George W. Bush defended harsh interrogations by pointing to intelligence breakthroughs, but a surprising number of counterterrorist officials say that, apart from being wrong, torture just doesn’t work. Delving into two high-profile cases, the author exposes the tactical costs of prisoner abuse.

Blogs and Online Resources:

  • Balkinization
    Though a broad-ranging blog focusing on a variety of legal topics, Balkinization has posted some of the most insightful analysis of legal issues pertaining to interrogation policy and the war on terror. See specifically the postings of Martin Lederman, a former attorney with the Office of Legal Counsel, and now a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
  • Convictions (Slate)
    Another blog covering a range of legal issues, but with significant focus on issues pertaining to interrogation and detention policy in the war on terror. See specifically posts by Martin Lederman of Georgetown University Law Center, and Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law School.
  • SCOTUSblog
    A blog focusing on cases before the United States Supreme Court, SCOTUSblog is an outstanding resource for information pertaining to the various cases before appellate courts dealing with detainees held at Guantanamo.
  • American Civil Liberties Union Blog
    The premier advocacy organization for civil liberties in the United States, the ACLU's blog gives first-hand insight into the legal issues surrounding America's interrogation and detention policy in the war on terror.
  • CagePrisoners
    Cageprisoners is a British-based human rights organization that seeks to "raise awareness of the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other detainees held as part of the War on Terror."
  • Reprieve.org.uk
    Reprieve is a human rights group headed by Clive Stafford Smith providing legal representation to numerous detainees in the war on terror.
  • The Guantanamo Testimonials Project at UC Davis
    The Guantanamo Testimonials Project was designed to host "testimonies of prisoner abuse in Guantanamo, to organize them in meaningful ways, to make them widely available online, and to preserve them there in perpetuity."
  • Human Rights First Blog
    A premier international group fighting for human rights, HRF has been advocating for humane treatment for detainees at Guantanamo since the prison camp opened in January 2002. This blog details their first hand observations of the legal proceedings at Guantanamo.
  • Human Rights Watch
    One of the world's largest and well-regarded human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch is a fierce advocate for the rights of detainees held at Guantanamo.
  • Human Rights Watch, Timeline of Detainee Abuse Allegations and Responses, 2006
    Containing articles, memos, and statements, this timeline spans from December 25, 2002 to May 3, 2004 and highlights significant moments and themes relating to concerns about mistreatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locationss.
  • No Comment (Scott Horton @ Harper's)
    Blog of New York human rights attorney and Harper's contributor Scott Horton.
  • Humans Rights First, Chronology of Denial of Habeas Corpus
    This timeline, from December 28, 2001 to December 5, 2007, outlines changes to detainee rights during the post 9-11 years.
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
    As an independent and neutral international organization, the ICRC is committed to ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance to victims of war and violence, including the proper treatment of detainees at facilities such as Guantanamo Bay.

Books:

Alexander, Matthew with John Bruning. How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq, Free Press, 2008.

  • Begg, Moazzam. Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar. New Press, 2007.
  • Danner, Mark. Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror. New York Review Books, 2004.
  • Gellman, Barton. Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. Penguin Press HC, 2008.
  • Goldsmith, Jack. The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration. W. W. Norton, 2007.
  • Greenberg, Karen and Joshua Dratel. The Torture Papers, The Road to Abu Ghraib. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  • Gourevitch, Philip and Errol Morris. Standard Operating Procedure. Penguin Press HC, 2008.
  • Hersh, Seymour. Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. Harper Perennial, 2005.
  • Jaffer, Jameel and Amrit Singh. Administration of Torture: A Documentary Record from Washington to Abu Ghraib and Beyond. Columbia University Press, 2007.
  • Khan, Mahvish. My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me. PublicAffairs, 2008.
  • Kurnaz, Murat. Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
  • Mahler, Jonathan. The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
  • Margulies, Joseph. Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power. Simon & Schuster, 2006.
  • Mayer, Jane. The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals. Doubleday, 2008.
  • McCoy, Alfred. A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror. Holt Paperbacks, 2006.
  • Rejali, Darius. Torture and Democracy. Princeton University Press, 2007.
  • Saar, Erik and Viveca Novak. Inside the Wire: A Military Intelligence Soldier's Eyewitness Account of Life at Guantanamo. Penguin Press HC, 2005.
  • Sands, Phillippe. Torture Team: Rumsfeld's Memo and the Betrayal of American Values. Palgrave Macmillan. 2008.
  • Savage, Charles. Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy. Back Bay Books, 2008.
  • Smith, Clive Stafford. The Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side: Fighting the Lawless World of Guantanamo Bay. Nation Books, 2007.
  • Suskind, Ron. The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11. Simon & Schuster, 2007.
  • Wax, Steven T. Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror - A Public Defender's Inside Account. Other Press, 2008.
  • Worthington, Andy. The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 759 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison. Pluto Press, 2007.