US Senate House Leader Bill Frist, currently being investigated for insider trading, has drafted a letter to Republicans on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence calling for an investigation into how information about the CIA's secret prison network was leaked (shown at right is a covert Afghanistan prison).

A year ago, torture was something the Bush administration felt secure in engaging in, but the political tide has turned. Only in July, Frist sided with Vice President Cheney in trying to block a bill amendment banning torture. Now, realizing torture is a political liability and that the Bush administration is weakened, Frist is working with the anti-torture Republican faction to pressure the administration to avoid further embarassment by at least pretending to deal with the issue.

In Frist's letter, he carefully claims that he doesn't know if the prison network actually exists, but it is doubtful that a US senator would call for a probe into the leaking of fake information. Frist's concern is not the question of why the US needs to run overseas gulags, but that "such an egregious disclosure could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences, and will imperil our efforts to protect the American people and our homeland from terrorist attacks".

Military Accused of Threatening Whistleblowers

According to US military accounts included in the reports of various human rights organizations, torture by the US military is systematic and internal investigations are focused on whitewashing, rather than fixing, the problem. One torture whistleblower told the New York Times that he felt he could be subjected to charges by the military for coming forward:

"I'm convinced this [investigation] is going in a direction that's not consistent with why we came forward," Captain Fishback told the New York Times. "We came forward because of the larger issue that prisoner abuse is systemic in the Army. I'm concerned this will take a new twist, and they'll try to scapegoat some of the younger soldiers. This is a leadership problem."

It has been reported that Fishback is being subjected to continuous threats from the Pentagon leadership and some fellow officers—including accusations that he is siding with the enemy and working for their cause—and that he could be subjected to charges.

Source here.