The Politics of Prisoner Abuse: The United States and Enemy Prisoners after 9 11

333 Pages·2011·1.34 MB·English

by  David P. Forsythe

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The Politics of Prisoner Abuse
The United States and Enemy Prisoners after 9/11
DAVID P. FORSYTHE
Whenstatesarethreatenedbywarandterrorism,canwereallyexpectthem
toabidebyhumanrightsandhumanitarianlaw?DavidP.Forsythe’sbold
analysisofUSpoliciestowardsterrorsuspectsafter9/11addressesthisissue
directly.Coveringmoral,political,andlegalaspects,heexaminestheabuse
ofenemydetaineesatthehandsoftheUS.Atthecenterofthedebateisthe
BushAdministration,whichForsythearguesdisplayeddisdainforinterna-
tional law, in contrast to the general public’s support for humanitarian
affairs. Forsythe explores the similarities and differences between
Presidents Obama and Bush on the question of prisoner treatment in an
age of terrorism and asks how the Administration should proceed. The
book traces the Pentagon’s and CIA’s records in mistreating prisoners,
providing an account which will be of interest to all those who value
humanrightsandhumanitarianlaw.
davidp.forsytheiscurrentlyProfessorEmeritusofPoliticalScienceat
the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has been a visiting professor at
universities in Geneva and Utrecht, and in 2008 he held the Fulbright
DistinguishedResearchChairofHumanRightsandInternationalStudies
atthe Danish Institute of International Studies, Copenhagen.He has also
beenonstaff fortheUnitedNations UniversityinTokyo,andhasbeena
consultanttoboththeUNOfficeoftheHighCommissionerforRefugees
andtheInternationalRedCrossandRedCrescentMovement.

The Politics of Prisoner
Abuse
The United States and Enemy Prisoners after
9/11
david p. forsythe
cambridge university press
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521181105
©DavidP.Forsythe2011
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2011
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
Forsythe,DavidP.,1941–
Thepoliticsofprisonerabuse:theUnitedStatesandenemyprisonersafter9/11/David
P.Forsythe.
p. cm.
ISBN978-1-107-00466-5
1. Torture–UnitedStates. 2. Politicalprisoners–Abuseof–United
States. 3. Prisonersofwar–Abuseof–UnitedStates. 4. September11Terrorist
Attacks,2001. 5. WaronTerrorism,2001–2009. I. Title.
HV8599.U6F67 2011
355.10296–dc22
2011010558
ISBN978-1-107-00466-5Hardback
ISBN978-0-521-18110-5Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
Themeasureofacountryishowitactsinperil.
(DavidM.Brahms,Brig.Gen.,USMarines(ret.),quotedinRichard
Bernstein,“GuantánamoLawyersShowedTheirMoralFiber,”NewYork
Times,October6,2010,www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/us/07iht-letter.html)

Contents
Preface pageix
Listofabbreviationsandacronyms xiv
1 Tortureandpoliticalmoralityinhistoricalperspective 1
2 PoliticalmoralityandtheBushAdministration 28
3 Bushlawyers:thepoliticsoflegalinterpretation 60
4 Themilitary:Afghanistan,Guantánamo,Iraq 95
5 TheCIA:kidnapping,BlackSites,extraordinaryrendition 136
6 Dueprocess:detentionclassification,Military
Commissions 162
7 Prisonerabuseandthepoliticsoftransitionaljustice 192
AnnexA Castofprincipalcharacters 231
AnnexB ReportsonUSpolicytowardenemyprisoners 235
1 USreports 235
a MillerreportonchangesatAbuGhraib,Iraq 235
b RyderreportonUSdetentioninIraq 235
c “Taguba”reportonUSMPinIraq 236
d HelgersonreportonCIAdetentionand
interrogation 236
e JacobyreportonUSmilitarydetention 236
f MikolashekreportonUSmilitarydetention 236
g Fay–JonesreportonUSMIinIraq 237
h SchlesingerreportonAbuGhraibinIraq 237
i ChurchreportonUSmilitarydetention 237
j ArmySurgeonGeneralreportonprisonermedical
issues 238
k SchmidtreportonGuantánamoandComm.Miller 238
vii
viii Contents
l FormicareportonmilitarydetentioninIraq 239
m McCaffreyreportonGuantánamoasof2006 239
n DODOIGreportonmilitarydetentioninIraq 240
o DOJIGFBIreportonFBIrecordreabuse 240
p LevinreportonUSmilitarydetention 240
q DOJOPRethicsreportonDOJlawyers 241
r Margolis’memotoHolderonethicsofDOJ
lawyers 241
2 NGOreports 241
a AmnestyInternational 241
b HumanRightsWatch 249
c HumanRightsFirst 252
d CenterforConstitutionalRights 254
e InternationalCommissionofJurists 256
f AmericanCivilLibertiesUnion 256
3 Otherreports:ICRCandUnitedNations 257
AnnexC Somerelevantlegalnorms:selectedprovisions 260
1 CommonArticle3,1949GenevaConventionIV
(WarVictims) 260
2 1949GenevaConventionIII(POWConvention) 261
3 1949GenevaConventionIV(CivilianConvention) 264
4 1949GenevaConventions:1977Additional
ProtocolI 265
5 1949GenevaConventions:1977Additional
ProtocolII 268
6 1984UNConventionagainstTorture 273
7 1966InternationalCovenantonCivilandPolitical
Rights 276
8 2006UNConventionAgainstForcedDisappearance 278
9 ICRCStatement,FundamentalGuaranteesofIHL
FoundinCIL 280
10 1996USWarCrimesAct,Amended 285
AnnexD Timeline,selectedevents,BushAdministration 291
Index 299