"Just a couple of weeks ago I visited our troops in Afghanistan. While I was there I spoke to a senior intelligence officer who told me that treating detainees harshly is actually an impediment -- a 'roadblock' to use that officer's word – to getting intelligence from them... Here's why, he said -- al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists are taught to expect Americans to abuse them. They're recruited based on false propaganda that says the United States is out to destroy Islam. Treating detainees harshly only reinforces their distorted view and increases their resistance to cooperate. The abuse at Abu Ghraib was a potent recruiting tool for al Qaeda and handed al Qaeda a propaganda weapon they could use to peddle their violent ideology."
- Sen. Carl Levin, Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing: The Origins of Aggressive Interrogation Techniques, June 17, 2008.
"I know the counter-argument well -- that we need the rough stuff for the truly hard cases, such as battle-hardened core leaders of al-Qaeda, not just run-of-the-mill Iraqi insurgents. But that's not always true: We turned several hard cases, including some foreign fighters, by using our new techniques. A few of them never abandoned the jihadist cause but still gave up critical information. One actually told me, 'I thought you would torture me, and when you didn't, I decided that everything I was told about Americans was wrong. That's why I decided to cooperate.'
- Matthew Alexander, (pseudonym) a lead interrogator who was assigned to a Special Operations task force in Iraq in 2006.
President Bush unequivocally stated, "This government does not torture people."1 The illegality of torture has broad and long-standing recognition and is laid out in Common Article III of the Geneva Conventions, accepted by 194 countries, including the US. However, in the name of the "War on Terror," the Bush administration systematically undermined the internationally accepted prohibition on torture by authorizing its use against detainees. The use of torture, indefinite detention, and extraordinary rendition does not improve America's security, has damaged the reputation of the US in the international community and has fueled terrorist recruitment.
The Bush administration broke important national and international laws by authorizing the use of torture, putting our own troops at risk. A 2002 memo signed by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized harsh interrogation methods for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.2 A February 7, 2002 memo signed by President Bush declared that "alleged al Qaida or Taliban members wouldn't be considered prisoners of war and, further, that they wouldn't be granted protection under Common Article Three," a part of the Geneva Conventions that sets "the minimum standard for conduct in any conflict, whether internal or international."3
These documents paved the way for the shocking abuse of prisoners that occurred in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, and Guantánamo under US supervision. Inhumane treatment of detainees included "isolating people for long periods of time, using stress positions, exploiting fear of dogs, and implementing sleep and light deprivation."4 Newly disclosed memos show that the Bush administration in 2003 and 2004 approved the CIA's use of interrogation techniques that included torture, such as waterboarding.5 In addition, at Guantánamo, military officials routinely denied detainees access to monitors from the International Red Cross.6 It is estimated that 250 detainees are still at Guantánamo and some have been held for six years without being formally charged with a crime.7
Torture does not improve our security. Intelligence experts note that torture is unnecessary and counterproductive to gathering intelligence as physical and mental abuses can harden prisoners or lead to worthless information.8 "You don't learn anything if you torture people," says Arthur Hulnick, a 35-year veteran of the CIA and military intelligence who supervised the questioning of North Korean defectors.9 An interrogator who uses the pseudonym Matthew Alexander prohibited the use of torture when he led an interrogations team assigned to a Special Operations task force in Iraq. Instead, they adhered to the US Army Field Manual and used methods "based on building rapport with suspects, showing cultural understanding and using good old-fashioned brainpower to tease out information"8 that achieved results. Their work led to learning the location of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.9
The abuses at Abu Ghraib came to light five years ago. However, their memory, along with the ongoing abuses at Guantánamo, still defines America's reputation in many parts of the world, especially the Middle East.
The new president and Congress should:
1. Immediately announce the intention to close Guantánamo and set a date for completion. Closing Guantánamo would signal respect for human rights and a return to the rule of law. Doing so would improve US relations with the rest of the world and help affirm US commitment to the prohibition on torture. At a roundtable discussion of bipartisan advice to the next administration, five former Secretaries of State called for closing Guantánamo.10
2. Issue an executive order to ban torture and cruel treatment, as defined by international law. The abuse and harsh interrogation of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo were not isolated incidents conducted by a few wayward individuals. All orders, memoranda and legal opinions authorizing cruel treatment or secret detention should be rescinded. A report by the bipartisan Leadership Group on US-Muslim Engagement states that a US commitment to the prohibition of all forms of torture is one of the first steps that should be taken to help restore US-Muslim relations and undercut support for extremism.11
3. Restore habeas corpus and basic criminal justice rights. The global "War on Terror" was used to justify eliminating detainees' rights under the Geneva Conventions. In June 2008, the US Supreme Court ruled that detainees have the right to habeas corpus, a long-standing legal principle in the US Constitution.12 The new president and Congress should act in accordance with this ruling.
4. Create an independent commission to investigate detentions and interrogations by the US government during the "War on Terror." We need to understand the extent and impact of abuses in order to make informed decisions in the future. Recommendations on how to avoid abuse and cruel treatment should be quickly implemented.
5. End the use of extraordinary renditions. The transfer of detainees, terrorism suspects, and others to countries where they may be tortured or receive ill treatment undermines international law prohibiting torture.
Footnotes
1. "Bush Says Interrogation Methods Aren't Torture," New York Times, October 6, 2007
2. "Documents Helped Sow Abuse, Army Report Finds," Washington Post, August 30, 2004.
3. "Day 4: Easing of laws that led to detainee abuse hatched in secret," mcclatchydc.com, June 18, 2008.
4. "Documents Helped Sow Abuse, Army Report Finds," Washington Post, August 30, 2004.
5. "CIA Tactics Endorsed In Secret Memos," Washington Post, October 15, 2008
6. "Red Cross Monitors Barred From Guantánamo," New York Times, November 16, 2007
7. "Bin Laden aide gets life sentence at Guantánamo trial," Agence France-Presse, November 3, 2008
8. "I'm Still Tortured by What I Saw in Iraq," Washington Post, November 30, 2008.
9. "Lessons from Abu Ghraib," Christian Science Monitor, May 5, 2004.
10. "Former secretaries of State: Close Guantánamo", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 27, 2008.
11. "Changing Course – A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World," Leadership Group on U.S.-Muslim Engagement, September 2008, pp. 76-77
12. "Guantánamo prisoners can appeal," International Herald Tribune, June 13, 2008
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