Binyam Mohammad..
This one former British resident.. not a citizen though, has been held by the Americans for more than 4 years.. shifted from a 'secret' CIA compound in Morocco to another similar detention center in Afghanistan, before landing in Gitmo, is about to be released with no charges laid..
But..he has made allegations that while he was in custody he was subjected to torture.. shackled and hung..cut with razors.. by both American and British interrogators..
This has all come out in a High Court ruling.. and MP's are now demanding there be disclosure of secret documents presently in American hands, concerning the treatment of this one man..
More disturbingly is the inclusion in the High Court report, that the US is applying pressure against the release of information concerning the treatment of this man.. suggesting that if we continue in our demands.. we'll get no information at all, and the traditional cooperation between British and American security services..
This is not acceptable.
It, simply through omission of information, suggests both security services have something to hide.. some actions they have committed which would tarnish the squeaky clean image of American and British treatment of prisoners of war..
But most disturbing is that this rift between Britain and the US should happen at the very beginning of Barak's Presidency..
It does not bode well for the traditional British/US relations, with the ultimate losers being the British man on the street. The American Intelligence community is vastly larger than ours, far better funded, and apparently under less scrutiny than the British.
Mind you, it begs the question, what are our people doing out there, figuratively speaking, under the radar..?
Nick Clegg, the leader of the LibDems, went so far as to say the withholding evidence and the concomitent threats of intelligence sharing as "..nothing short of blackmail.."
Harsh words, for a President who's main focus is meant to be on repairing his own country's economy..