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(Continued from page 32)
France sending 1,000 troops to Central African Republic to prevent 'collapse'
• PARIS (AP) -- France will send 1,000 troops to Central African Republic to keep growing chaos at bay, the defense minister said Tuesday, announcing his country's second military foray into a troubled former colony this year.
• The confirmation from Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came a day after a top U.N. official warned of mass atrocities and possible civil war in one of the world's poorest countries, which has been in turmoil since rebel groups joined forces in March and overthrew the president. The rebels have been accused by rights groups of committing scores of atrocities including killings, rapes and conscription of child soldiers.
• "It's in collapse and we cannot have a country fall apart like that. There is the violence, massacres and humanitarian chaos that follow a collapse," Le Drian told Europe 1 radio. "It will be a short mission to allow calm and stability to return."
• France has about 2,800 troops in Mali, an operation that began after rebels and al-Qaida linked militants moved to take over the capital last winter, but Le Drian dismissed any comparisons between the two missions.
• "In Mali there was an attack of jihadists, terrorists who wanted to transform Mali into a terrorist state. This is a collapse of a country with a potential for religious clashes," he said. "France has international responsibilities."
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Penny Lane: The secret Guantanamo Bay facility where CIA turned prisoners into double agents
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the early years after 9/11, the CIA turned some Guantanamo Bay prisoners into double agents then sent them home to help the U.S. kill terrorists, current and former U.S. officials said.
• The CIA promised the prisoners freedom, safety for their families and millions of dollars from the agency's secret accounts.
• It was a risky gamble. Officials knew there was a chance that some prisoners might quickly spurn their deal and kill Americans.
• For the CIA, that was an acceptable risk in a dangerous business. For the American public, which was never told, the program was one of the many secret trade-offs the government made on its behalf. At the same time the government used the risk (Continued on page 34)
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