Torture tape delays U.S.-UAE nuclear deal, say U.S. officials

[sabra]

Source: CNN

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said.

In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates.

The senior U.S. officials said the administration has held off on the ratification process because it believes sensitivities over the story can hurt its passage. The tape emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Former business partners, the men had a falling out, in part over the tape. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh's U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute.

The civil nuclear agreement was signed in January between the United Arab Emirates and the Bush administration, but after the new administration took office, the deal had to be recertified. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently signed the document and sent it to President Obama for his signature. It should have reached Capitol Hill by now, the senior U.S. officials say, but Obama hasn't yet signed it. And officials say it deliberately has not yet been sent to Congress for ratification.

"It's being temporarily held up because of that tape," one senior official said.

Read more: http://m.cnn.com/cnn/lt_ne/lt_ne/detail/293962/full

[MasonJar]

1. Now we know why the country is reviewing its decision to move on

because nothing happened. I figured justice was not involved, no, just a good old US nuke deal.

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. While I think torture is abhorrent behavior, - I sorta understand the mentality of it

.
.
.

But RECORDING it is really sick,

and STUPID!