Typically, the majority of this article pertains to the period following the events of 911 and preceding the Invasion of Iraq. I believe the next actions were a precursor towards the Iraq War, and part of a significantly broader plan to establish major U.S. military presence in the oil-rich Middle-East that our economy funnels over $700,000,000,000 a year purchasing oil; assets greatly endangered by philosophical differences.
In the year 2000, a new Republican administration Lead by newly elected President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, began leading what would become a fundamental drift away from the accepted morality of yankee Democracy, once we have known it, since WWII. As a result of the events on 911, type in the philosophical sell-out of American ideals would be Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. A participating group of lawyers that came into existence known as the “War Council” would shape another view of america of America, through the rest of the World. David Addington, William Jim Haynes, Tim Flanagan, Alberto Gonzalez, and particularly John Yoo, would craft legal opinions that become Presidential orders that will grant obama, unprecedented powers. During a period of time, they would literally rewrite the “Rules of War” because the World saw them, for over Half a century. It’s generally accepted that Vice-President, Dick Cheney, spear-headed this push for new Executive Power.
The resulting changes to our policy would infuriate the rest of the World, and bring shame about the people in our country. Subversion of the U.S. Constitution, challenges towards the authority from the U.S. Top court, and corruption of the responsibility of the U.S. Congress, brought about by “fear mongering” would lead to denial of the Geneva Conventions, and produce Global respect for the Usa for an all time, historical low! Many would suggest that this Administration’s policies had perpetrated “war crimes” and abolished the idea of “humane treatment” the U.S., itself had spear-headed in the Geneva Conventions, following a atrocities of WWII, basing interrogation and detainment techniques on those of the Communist governments of Russia and N. Korea!
Maj. Gen. Thomas Romig (2001-05), a senior advisor in the office from the Judge Advocate General (JAG) found the course the “War Council” was pursuing, profoundly disturbing, from the very beginning. His opinion would normally be of the highest regard and incredibly desired in this major policy revision, as “rules of conflict”. He was effectively excluded from the process. Inside a significant ending up in senior military lawyers, Cheney and the 5 lawyers would finalize the original opinion, in the form of the official memo, and sign off on it with no JAG presence. Within hours, President Bush would sign it. At the Department of Defense, the resulting policy changes would also be opposed by Richard Shiffrin (1993-2003), Deputy General Counsel on Intelligence as having questionable legal ramifications. Thus, with notable opposition, the Bush Administration began an excursion in to the detainment and torture of those that would be termed “enemy combatants” within the U.S. “War on Terror”!
On 911, the political idea of gaining power through terrorism was brought the place to find america of America. Within an elaborate plan, a Muslim Extremist organization termed as Al Quieda (led by Osama Bin Ladin, and known to few Americans) would be executed that will strike fear into the hearts of the entire country. Death and destruction once we had never experienced by ourselves territory, left the whole country in a state of shock! It is this unprecedented fear that the Bush Administration would take advantage of to accept Usa into territory nothing you’ve seen prior ventured. Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, and the American Civil Liberties Union would condemn their actions in years in the future.
…The U.S. Army field manual on interrogation defines torture as, “The infliction of intense pain to the body or mind to extract a confession, or information, or sadistic pleasure.”
A chance to conduct war with little or no rules was now at the disposal of the U.S. Government. Over a period of time, legal opinions could be crafted by the War Council and signed off through the President that really setup detailed permissions regarding detainment and interrogation, trying to avoid potential legal ramifications. Colonel Steven Kleinman Senior Intelligence Officer for the U.S. Air Force, who had served both in Iraq wars (1985-2008), has told you that, at that time, the CIA had no structured interrogation procedures. But, the U.S. Military SERE program did have a vast variety of torture techniques learned from North Korea, used in survival training. These procedures could be fundamental in coming legal opinions compiled by John Yoo, aimed at expanding the power of the Commander-in-Chief in regard to detainment and interrogation of enemy combatants.
Then Deputy Secretary of State (2001-05), Richard L. Armitage, who was also left out of these processes and states he would have had no a part of them anyway, says he had found Yoo’s legal reasoning seriously flawed. In accordance, the Department of State warned the Administration that violating Section 3 of the Geneva Conventions would raise the chance of future justice by more events from the Geneva Conventions for “war crimes”. It further warned these prosecutions would not exclude President Bush and participating Staff members. In the same time frame, Amnesty International warned the Bush Administration that the utilization of sensory deprivation violated the same portion of the conventions’ laws, because they had acquired proof of the use of hooding, shaving, chaining down and drugging of detainees. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated publicly these interrogation techniques weren’t a violation of civil and human rights, as the detainees in the Guantanamo detainee camp were probably the most dangerous, well-trained, vicious killers about the face of the world. This was quite alarming to a lot of, as the great majority of detainees were “suspects” and not determination of guilt had been established. The type of alarmed; along with his Deputy Armitage, was Secretary of State, Colin Powell. A most certainly imperative meeting to go over Powell’s concerns was subverted by Cheney and lawyers Addington and Gonzalez. They approached Bush using the indisputable fact that the Geneva Conventions were last century thinking and obsolete in regard to the current world issues and problems facing america. They further advised him that opting from Geneva would significantly help in avoiding potential criminal prosecutions. Bush would follow suit, jettisoning the Geneva Law, declaring that the detainees, not “Prisoners of War”, but instead that they are “Illegal Enemy Combatants” who would in any case, be treated humanely. Sadly, this complete mess will make Colin Powell’s continued participation within the Bush Administration, a lasting scar on his life-long plan to his country.
Col. Larry Wilkerson, Chief of Staff towards the Secretary of State (2002-05), also Powell’s very long time aid and 31 year military Veteran, states that he believed this move was spearheaded by David Addington and was simply an action of convenience. He is quoted as saying, “They were built with a vision, were ruthless in undergoing it, and executed it perfectly.”
On February 7, 2002, George Bush publicly jettisoned Geneva and U.S. law, and declared the detainees to become Enemy Combatants.
U.S. Torture Statute, 1994: defines “Torture” as “an act committed with a person… Specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering… Upon someone else within his custody or physical control.”
America would not be constrained by the moral and humane prohibitions of Geneva. Cruelty and injustice had prevailed over principles long accepted ideals, ingrained in the American Philosophy of life, liberty and the quest for happiness. “Laws of War” would protect no prisoners in U.S. confinement. Our military began “routine” use of interrogation tactics that evolved in Stalin’s Russian prison camps and the POW camps of North Korea. In fact, “water-boarding” specifically, goes back to the “Spanish Inquisition”, among the cruelest periods in the good reputation for mankind. It was additionally a tool commonly used by the KGB.
The CIA wasn’t so quick to jump on the bandwagon. Some understanding of the goings on, continues to be provided by Martin Lederman, Associate Professor in the Georgetown University, Law Center: The Whitehouse urged the CIA to make use of interrogation Techniques that appeared to be illegal. Fearing potential intervention by Congress the CIA insisted on a “Golden Shield” of defense against prosecution. On August 1, 2002 the Department of Justice released a memo; another legal opinion beginning in the office of John Yoo. It stated that, “Congress can forget about interfere with a President’s conduct of the interrogation of enemy combatants, of computer can dictate strategic or tactical decisions about the battlefield.” It further defined that, “Any attempt by Congress to interfere with a Presidential order, even when it crossed the road into torture, would be un-Constitutional, and then any interrogation could be legal unless it caused pain equal to the pain accompanying serious injuries, for example organ failure, impairment of bodily processes, as well as death.” The CIA had the green light to conduct interrogation with few limitations.
Sec/State, Staff Chief, Wilkerson observed: If you’re able to define torture as death or almost death, then you can operate and say that you don’t do torture, and “I think that’s what they were doing.”
When the “Golden Shield” had been established, secret Whitehouse meetings chaired by Condoleeza Rice were held. At these a committee of top officials including Cheney, Rumsfeld, and CIA Director George Tennant, reviewed and approved the more knowledge about on the dozen harsh interrogations, such as the “water torture” technique. Following WWII and Vietnam this method of interrogation had been prosecuted by the United States like a “War Crime”. Richard Armitage had experienced water-boarding in SEER training and said he found it enormously unpleasant and frightening. Within an interview this subject emerged and that he stated, “There isn’t any question i believe, there’s no question in a reasonable individual… there really should not be, this is “Torture”. Then he appeared somewhat embarrassed because he stated, “I’m ashamed that we’re even having one of these conversation.” This is from a distinguished public servant who served 3 combat tours in Vietnam.
The “Golden Shield” of August 1, 2002 included another attempt for derailing future justice of interrogators and their superiors, stating: “For purely mental pain or suffering to add up to torture, it has to result in significant psychological harm, of significant duration, lasting for months as well as years.” After these legal opinions had taken effect and been employed for a period of time, on December 2, 2002, Donald Rumsfeld approved another memo, this time signed off by Jim Haines. This one approved 15, interrogation techniques, many of which again defied our military’s own definition of cruel and inhumane treatment.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice: Prohibits U.S. Military from engaging in cruelty, oppression or maltreatment of prisoners, and communicating a threat, to wrongfully injure a detainee. Before his firing, Rumsfeld rescinded some of the techniques among the previous number of 15. Many more, though, happen to be a routine part of interrogations for a long time since.
Under many years of pressure from the ACLU and several International organizations, the U.S. Supreme Court, in 2006, ruled the detainees at Guantanamo were entitled to the protections from the Geneva Conventions. With that time many of those prisoners had been detained for over 5 years, without recourse. After that ruling, only weeks before the 2006 mid-term elections the U.S. Congress came to the Bush Administrations rescue. They passed new law that stripped the courts from the power to hear cases according to Geneva, that also granted retro-active immunity to officials that may have carried our or ordered torture. Thus, in finality, all 3 branches of the U.S. government had effectively failed the cause of “Human Rights” and the United states citizens!
After the passing of more years of confinement for a lot of detainees of the U.S. a Supreme Court ruling stuck! Now many of those prisoners have been detained for more than Many years. On June 12, 2008 the high court ruled that Guantanamo prisoners have the right to challenge their detention. The Whitehouse may very well, now, need to answer for its practices and treatment of detainees, in U.S. Federal Courts. But, don’t count on it!
Recently pressure to close the Guantanamo facility has grown, as well as over 500 prisoners have been released (Think they’re worried?). But, it’s still operating and the War continues… costing taxpayers lives contributing to $10,000,000,000 a month!
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Like a Veteran I found this whole subject to be rather disturbing, from the beginning. Being an American citizen I have and still do feel totally shamed by it. I have long been an associate from the ACLU, since it became clear in my experience long ago after i was in the Navy, that someone needs to watch our Government, aside from the government. That, though, is yet another entire subject that I will never discuss due to the security clearance I worked under within the military, and my loyalty to oaths I took. At any rate, over the years I’ve tried my best to stay informed of the items is being conducted with my Country. The article has hardly any opinion inside it, though there’s some. Typically, though, the facts were gathered from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Associated Press, Reuters news agency, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Public Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, Satisfy the Press, Whitehouse Press conferences, a number of other newspapers and books, and Internet encyclopedias.