CAMP LEJEUNE: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he approves of the Obama administration's release of Bush-era memos on harsh interrogations of terrorist suspects because he expects that the documents inevitably will become public.Gates says he was most concerned with the protection of CIA agents involved in the interrogations, which included harsh techniques that some in the Obama administration are calling torture. Gates says he wants the CIA personnel protected from prosecution.Gates responded Thursday to questions about the Bush-era memos during a trip to Camp Lejeune to talk with Marines heading to Afghanistan.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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