Kabir,
Thanks for the forward. I think this one is another case of too little too late and the analysis is that this information from Mr Bush is really quite vague. I am afraid that after all the horrible tortures that this administration has sanctioned and which is still ongoing, this is just another attempt to fool people and it is so tragic.
Jabou
-----Original Message-----
From: Kabir Njaay <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 6:10 am
Subject: Fwd: Bush sanctions CIA torture program
Bush sanctions CIA torture programÂ
Â
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jul2007/tort-j23.shtmlÂ
Â
By Jerry WhiteÂ
Â
23 July 2007Â
Â
President Bush signed an executive order Friday clearing the way for theÂ
Central Intelligence Agency to resume the use of "enhanced interrogationÂ
measures" against alleged terror suspects held in US facilities around theÂ
world.Â
Â
The order, which was issued in conjunction with a classified list ofÂ
approved interrogation techniques, is designed to provide a legal sanctionÂ
for physical and psychological torture, and protect CIA operatives fromÂ
being charged with war crimes for violating US and international lawsÂ
against inhumane treatment.Â
Â
The CIA reportedly suspended its program last year as the BushÂ
administration's legal justifications for abusing detainees was dealt a blowÂ
by the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of *Hamdan v. Rumsfeld*, whichÂ
stated that all prisoners in US custody—of any nationality, being held inÂ
any country—were granted minimal protections by the Geneva Conventions.Â
Â
Last fall, in order to deflect growing international and domestic criticism,Â
Congress passed, with substantial bipartisan support, the MilitaryÂ
Commissions Act of 2006. The Act instructed the administration to issue anÂ
executive order stating that any further interrogations would comply with USÂ
and international law. The Act also established, in law, a procedure ofÂ
drumhead military commissions, after *Hamdan* invalidated the BushÂ
administration's previous procedure.Â
Â
The order publicly prohibits "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" asÂ
well as acts of sexual humiliation and those intended to denigrate religiousÂ
beliefs—two widely used methods whose exposure provoked an internationalÂ
outcry. However, the order places no restrictions on such notoriousÂ
techniques as the use of stress positions, sleep deprivation, extremeÂ
temperatures and so-called water boarding, which simulates the sensation ofÂ
drowning. These techniques are expressly prohibited by the US military.Â
Moreover, administration officials admit there are no provisions forÂ
allowing the Red Cross to visit CIA facilities or for prisoners to be inÂ
contact with their families.Â
Â
While the list of approved methods remains secret, the Bush administrationÂ
has not ruled out any technique. Administration officials have said that theÂ
new order will allow the CIA to continue with the same program that was inÂ
place before.Â
Â
Noting that the written policies governing the CIA interrogation programÂ
remained classified and independent organizations such as the Red Cross wereÂ
barred from monitoring the CIA's compliance with its guidelines, TomÂ
Malinowski of Human Rights Watch told the *Washington Post*, "All the orderÂ
really does is to have the president say, 'Everything in that other documentÂ
that I'm not going showing you is legal—trust me.'"Â
Â
Moreover, as Human Rights Watch notes, the order seeks to sanction what isÂ
an explicitly illegal operation: the CIA's detention and interrogationÂ
program, which included the kidnapping and "disappearing" of dozens ofÂ
terror suspects and their imprisonment for years inside secret facilities.Â
Some prisoners, including those "renditioned" to third countries where theyÂ
are tortured under CIA supervision, remain "disappeared." In June, HumanÂ
Rights Watch and five other human rights groups listed 39 people who remainÂ
missing, including one detainee, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, who recentlyÂ
reappeared in Pakistan.Â
Â
The new order, the Human Rights Watch says, claims that the program "fullyÂ
complies" with US obligations under the Geneva Conventions as long as theÂ
CIA follows a series of requirements in carrying out the program. "ButÂ
enforced disappearance—the hallmark of the CIA program, involving secret,Â
incommunicado detention—is itself inconsistent with the requirement underÂ
[Geneva Conventions] Common Article 3 that detainees be treated humanely,"Â
the organization said in a statement on the new order.Â
Â
"By international human rights and humanitarian law standards, the CIAÂ
program is illegal to its core," said, Joanne Mariner, terrorism andÂ
counter-terrorism director at Human Rights Watch. "Although the newÂ
executive order bars torture and other abuse, the order still can't purportÂ
to legalize a program that violates basic rights."Â
Â
With the new order in hand, Bush administration officials have toldÂ
the *WashingtonÂ
Post* that suspects in US custody could be moved immediately into theÂ
"enhanced interrogation" program and subjected to techniques that go beyondÂ
those allowed by the US military. CIA detainees have alleged that they wereÂ
left naked in cells for prolonged periods, subjected to sensory and sleepÂ
deprivation, extreme temperatures and sexually taunted. In a briefing withÂ
reporters senior administration officials said that any future use ofÂ
"extremes of hot and cold" would be subject to a 'reasonable interpretationÂ
... we're not talking about forcibly induced hypothermia.'Â
Â
According to the *Post *the secret list of CIA techniques has been theÂ
subject of intense debate within the highest levels of the US governmentÂ
over the last several months, with the State Department seeking to deflectÂ
criticism of US torture and the Defense Department concerned that CIAÂ
methods could subject captured US soldiers to similar abuses. At the sameÂ
time, Bush and Vice President Cheney, along with CIA Director Michael HaydenÂ
have defended the brutal methods, saying the CIA program was one of the mostÂ
effective tools in the so-called war on terror.Â
Â
Referring to the secret list of approved torture techniques one intelligenceÂ
official told the *Post *that, while Hayden did not get "everything [he]Â
might have wanted" in the guidelines, they contained everything the CIAÂ
needed and "more than was asked for."Â
Â
The Bush administration is doing an end-run around the Supreme CourtÂ
decision upholding the application of the Geneva Conventions to CIAÂ
prisoners, as well as widespread public and international opposition toÂ
torture. In doing so, the administration is counting on the acquiescence andÂ
complicity of the Democratic Party, which played a key role in the passageÂ
of the Military Commissions Act that sanctioned military tribunals and theÂ
indefinite detentions of prisoners, while giving the president explicitÂ
authority to "interpret" the Geneva Conventions.Â
Â
The Democrats response to Bush's executive order was predictable cowardice,Â
with their central concern being that the continued torture program be givenÂ
an adequate legal and political fig leaf.Â
Â
Democratic Senator John D. Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate IntelligenceÂ
Committee, said it was difficult to "determine what the Executive OrderÂ
really means and how it will translate into actual conduct by the CIA." TheÂ
CIA, he said, had to come before the Intelligence Committee "to explain inÂ
detail how it intends to apply the Executive Order" and the Department ofÂ
Justice had to provide a "full legal analysis" of the interrogationÂ
guidelines.Â
Â
"The stakes are too high and the issue too important to provide any commentÂ
until the Committee has been given the opportunity to fully evaluate theÂ
President's action," Rockefeller claimed about an administration that hasÂ
consistently defended the use of torture methods. "This careful review," theÂ
senator concluded, "will be part of the Committee's continuing effort toÂ
determine whether the CIA detention and interrogation program is necessary,Â
lawful and in the best interests of the United States."Â
Â
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