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Week of 3.7.08
Bush and Congress on TortureMore From NOW:
Torture Tactics
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The Candidates on Torture
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Bush and Congress on Torture
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In the wake of 9/11, the White House and Congress revisited U.S. policy banning coercive methods for interrogating suspected terrorists. After revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and detainees in Guantánamo Bay shocked the nation and the world, a battle ensued over protecting their rights.Related Reports
 Guantánamo Justice
 The Prisoner
 Guantánamo Detainees Update
Topic Search: Elections, Iraq War, Terrorism NOW looks back at key moments and decisions regarding the use of torture. The Bush Administration 
In the months following the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration took steps to change U.S. policy regarding the treatment of alleged terrorists. The CIA requested guidance from the White House regarding how aggressively it could conduct interrogations of Al-Qaeda suspects it held in custody.In response, the Bush administration's lawyers had decided against following the Geneva Conventions in interrogations of suspected terrorists. In a notorious memo from August 2002, the Justice Department defined torture narrowly and concluded that "laws outlawing torture do not bind Bush because of his constitutional authority to conduct a military campaign". More From NOW:
Torture Tactics
|
The Candidates on Torture
|
Bush and Congress on Torture
| Feedback Forum
| Transcript
Ignoring protests from the State Department, which opposed stripping detainees of protections they would normally receive as prisoners of war, the White House sided with the Justice Department's legal opinion.Related Reports
Guantánamo Justice
The Prisoner
Guantánamo Detainees Update
Topic Search: Elections, Iraq War, Terrorism In 2003, the Pentagon relied on similar legal arguments as those used by the Justice Department to develop interrogation guidelines for detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. These guidelines were developed by a working group convened by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. » Read the Bush administration memos on interrogation Conditions Criticized at Guantánamo Bay In 2003, the International Red Cross publicly criticized the conditions detainees were being held in at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Although unusual for the relief group, the Red Cross went public because it had been frustrated by the intransigence of the Bush administration over months of discussions about the detention camp. According to Human Rights Watch, four detainees have died at the camp. » NOW: History of Guantanámo Bay » Washington Post: Guantánamo Bay Timeline Abu Ghraib Abuses Disclosed In the spring of 2004, Americans learned about the use of torture taking place at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq when U.S. news media published photographs of U.S. soldiers engaged in sadistic acts. The Bush administration claimed that such severe prisoner abuse was the result of a few bad apples, not personnel acting on official policy. The Army launched an investigation. U.S. Army Major-General Antonio Taguba, who led the investigation, later testified to Congress that the mistreatment resulted from poor leadership, a "lack of discipline, no training whatsoever, and no supervision" of the troops. Ultimately, several low-ranking soldiers were convicted for their role in the abuse and Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was forced out of her position running Abu Ghraib and demoted to colonel. No higher-ranking officers were ever implicated in the scandal. General Taguba was later asked to resign. » Read the Taguba Report » CBC News: Abu Ghraib timeline Rebuked by the United Nations and the U.S. Supreme Court In the spring of 2006, the United Nations issued a strong rebuke of the Bush administration for its mistreatment of detainees in Guantanamo, in secret CIA prisons overseas, and in Iraq and Afghanistan. In early summer of the same year, the U.S. Supreme Court also rebuked the Bush administration for its controversial military tribunal system for trying alleged terrorists. Bush Admits to Secret CIA Prisons In 2007, after media reports revealed that the CIA had detained top al-Qaeda suspects in secret prisons in eight countries, including Romania and Poland, President Bush admitted to the existence of these CIA secret prisons. Bush's admission followed reports that the CIA was engaging in "extraordinary rendition"—ferrying terrorist suspects by air to countries in the Middle East that regularly torture detainees. Protecting the CIA's Ability to Use Torture UPDATE: On March 7, 2008, President Bush vetoed the Intelligence Authorization Act, criticizing the bill for abandoning "practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe." Democratic leaders said they will work to override the veto. In early 2008, President Bush threatened to veto a bill that would ban inhumane interrogation practices of detainees. The Intelligence Authorization Bill, which cleared the House in December 2007 and passed the Senate in February 2008, would ban the controversial practice known as waterboarding, as well as sensory deprivation or other harsh coercive methods to break a prisoner who refuses to answer questions. The president opposes the bill because of an amendment that requires the CIA adhere to its restrictions. The Congress 
In 2005, motivated in part by the global and domestic outcry over the Abu Ghraib scandal, Congress passed the Detainee Treatment Act, which prohibits all cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and requires that all interrogations in military facility comply with the Army Field Manual. The law was weakened by amendments and the White House's attempt at circumventing the limits on detainee torture.Congress followed this bill protecting detainees by passing the Military Commissions Act which created the framework for panels of military officers to try Guantánamo detainees who are charged with war crimes. Officially, the bill bans torture, but was controversial because it also strips detainees of basic due process rights, including the ability to challenge their detention in court or bar testimony acquired through coercion. The passage of the act was seen as a victory for President George W. Bush because it embraced his view that the battle against terrorism requires extreme limits on the rights of defendants. Latest Battle The Intelligence Authorization Bill passed Congress in 2008 and awaits the president's signature. The president has vowed to veto it because of the limits it places on the CIA. Further Reading » Defense of Bush administration's torture policy: Commentary by John Yoo, former Justice Department lawyer » Criticism of Bush administration's torture policy: Commentary by Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor for the Guantánamo military commissions |
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