Torture of Terrorism Suspects
The Law and Politics of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
Aug 25, 2009 Renato Bautista, Jr.
During his inaugural address, President Barack Obama rejected as false the choice between America's ideals and security. This meant that he will not allow the use of torture and other unconstitutional means in protecting America against those who would undermine its safety.
As a sign of his resolve, President Obama, two days after his inauguration, signed two executive orders: (a) the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, seen by many as a monument to detainee abuses, within a year's time and (b) adoption of the Army Field Manual on interrogations, which follows international law standards against torture. Another big step is the release on April 16, 2009 of four justice department memos from the Bush Administration, which enumerate allowable interrogation techniques to be used on terrorism suspects, such as sleep deprivation, forced nudity, starvation and waterboarding, among others.
President Obama's actions have both been lauded and criticized by liberals and conservatives, respectively. Foremost among his critics is former Vice President Dick Cheney who claims Obama has made America less safe.
CIA Report on Interrogation of Suspected Terrorists
The release on Monday of a 2004 report by the CIA's Inspector General, which details the use of certain interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists, has once again sparked the debate on torture. In a heavily-redacted May 7, 2004 report by the Office of the CIA-IG entitled Special Review: Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Actitivities, declassified by the Obama Administration, the following details angered liberals and various groups opposed to torture:
- Interrogators used waterboarding (the continuous pouring of water over the mouth of a hooded detainee while lying on his back with feet raised, to simulate drowning), which even went beyond the guidelines under the Bush justice department memos.
- Interrogators threatened to kill the children of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, alleged mastermind of 9/11, should there be another attack on the US.
- An interrogator applied pressure on the carotid vein of a suspect until he passed out.
- Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, accused of plotting the attack in 2000 of the USS Cole - which killed 17 US sailors, was threatened by interrogators with the use of a power drill on his head.
- Mock executions were staged to make suspects talk, which is against US law on torture.
- Terror suspect Abu Subaydah was waterboarded several times.
The IG also noted that the CIA used "unauthorized, improvised, inhumane and undocumented detention and interrogation techniques."
High Value Detainee Interrogation Group
In an effort to put a stop to these types of interrogations, the Obama Administration has created a special task force, the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, under the supervision of the National Security Council, to undertake the interrogation of so-called high value terrorists. This will remove interrogation of terror suspects from the CIA and will put the FBI on the lead.
Investigation of CIA Interrogations
Attorney General Eric Holder has designated Federal Prosecutor John Durham to investigate the legality of CIA interrogations. He, however, made clear that CIA personnel who acted in good faith and in accordance with the Bush lawyers' memos would not be prosecuted. But the non-inclusion of Bush administration officials in the investigation has roiled human rights groups, such as Amnesty International-USA (AI). According to its director of terrorism, counterterrorism and human rights, Tom Parker, investigating the interrogators only is like "going after the drug mule and leaving the drug king pin alone."
Also, in an April 17, 2009 statement by AI entitled USA: Torture in Black and White, But Impunity Continues, while lauding the release of the justice department memos that provided legal cover to interrogation techniques employed during the Bush years, it criticized President Obama and Attorney General Holder for their stand in not prosecuting CIA operatives who "acted in good faith." According to AI there is no legal justification for torture; it stressed that good faith is not a defense under international law.
Dick Cheney Defends Interrogations
Those opposed to President Obama and Attorney General Holder's decision to investigate CIA interrogators, particularly former Vice President Dick Cheney, claim that the administration is making a big mistake. According to Cheney, those who interrogated suspected terrorists deserve America's gratitued instead of becoming the target of political investigations. He claims that the interrogations have produced valuable information that helped save many American lives. Other critics also claim such investigations would demoralize the CIA.
Waterboarding
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