Obama Administration

 
Content Section
From Newsweek

Obama Intelligence Czar Attacks U.K. Court Disclosures

The office of the Obama administration's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, late on Wednesday denounced a British court decision that earlier in the day made public allegations that U.K. resident Binyamin Mohamed was mistreated while detained under U.S. control in Pakistan.

In a two-paragraph written statement, the intelligence czar's office criticized Britain's Court of Appeals for releasing seven paragraphs of long-censored information in a formal ruling that confirms that Mohamed had been "intentionally" subjected to sleep deprivation in 2002 following his arrest as a terror suspect. More details of the U.K. court decision are featured in an item posted on Declassified earlier on Wednesday.

Here's the full text of the national intelligence director's statement: "The protection of confidential information is essential to strong, effective security and intelligence cooperation among allies. The decision by a United Kingdom court to release classified information provided by the United States is not helpful, and we deeply regret it. The United States and the United Kingdom have a long history of close cooperation that relies on mutual respect for the handling of classified information. This court decision creates additional challenges, but our two countries will remain united in our efforts to fight against violent extremist groups."

As our earlier item noted, the U.K. court only decided to release the supposedly contentious material following the ruling last December by a U.S. District Court judge that found credible a far more lurid set of allegations by Mohamed about how he had been mistreated at the instigation or direct hand of U.S. authorities. Both the Bush administration and the Obama administration pressured the U.K. government to keep secret even the relatively tame information made public in today's U.K. court ruling. The statement by Blair's office may well raise new concern among Obama's liberal base about his administration's commitment to openness and its purported repudiation of controversial Bush administration counterterrorism policies.

Like The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates all day long.

Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.

Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.

Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."

Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.

He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

View As Single Page

You Might Also Like

Comments