Torturing Evidence in Iraq

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According to a "privately contracted interrogator working for American forces in Iraq, near the Iranian border," U.S. intelligence activities in Iraq are skewed to find incriminating evidence against Iran. Micah Brose told The Observer that U.S. officials "push a lot for us to establish a link with Iran. They have pre-categories for us to go through, and by the sheer volume of categories there's clearly a lot more for Iran than there is for other stuff. Of all the recent requests I've had, I'd say 60 to 70 per cent are about Iran. ... We're not asked to manufacture information, we're asked to find it. But if a detainee wants to tell me what I want to hear so he can get out of jail ... you know what I'm saying." Meanwhile, the New York Sun reports that the $75 million U.S. program to aid dissidents in Iran has been moved to the State Department's Office of Iranian Affairs. The controversial program, which used to be under State's Middle East Partnership Initiative, has funded "training for Web site operators to evade Internet censorship, political polling, and training on increasing recruitment for civil society groups." The program's former director said that the move has "effectively killed" the program.