Department of National Confusion
I freely admit to having maintained my juvenile love for slapstick comedy. That said, however, I don't find the current regime's productions terribly amusing. In fact, I find it downright embarrassing for the nation.
In today's NY Times we learn that the Army is about to issue a highly classified addendum to the new Army field manual which deals with allowable interrogation techniques.
The Army has approved a new, classified set of interrogation methods that may complicate negotiations over legislation proposed by Senator John McCain to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees in American custody, military officials said Tuesday.
...The addendum provides dozens of examples and goes into exacting detail on what procedures may or may not be used, and in what circumstances. Army interrogators have never had a set of such specific guidelines that would help teach them how to walk right up to the line between legal and illegal interrogations.
Some military officials said the new guidelines could give the impression that the Army was pushing the limits on legal interrogation at the very moment when Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, is involved in intense three-way negotiations with the House and the Bush administration to prohibit the cruel treatment of prisoners.
The new manual, the first revision in 13 years, will specifically prohibit practices like stripping prisoners, keeping them in stressful positions for a long time, imposing dietary restrictions, employing police dogs to intimidate prisoners and using sleep deprivation as a tool to get them to talk, Army officials said. In that regard, it imposes new restrictions on what interrogators are allowed to do. [Emphasis added]
The problem? Even though Mr. McCain's amendment to a military funding bill that bans cruel and inhumane treatment has been in the news for months now and is currently in conference committee to reconcile the bill with the House version (with the inestimable help of the Vice President, who wants the CIA exempt from any such limits on torture), no one from the Army has bothered to brief the senator on the contents of the new guidelines. This is a bit odd, especially since the senator's amendment contains language specifically tying it to the new Army field manual.
But wait: there's more.
During her trip through Europe, [Secretary of State Rice] made several statements about the administration's policy on torture, culminating with one in Kiev Wednesday when she said the United States prohibits "cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment" of suspects, "whether they are in the United States or outside of the United States."
She reiterated that in a truncated form on Tuesday but added that "we should be prepared to do anything that is legal to prevent another terrorist attack." [Emphasis added]
Anything? I guess it depends on what the definition of is is.
The Three Stooges would be so proud.
In today's NY Times we learn that the Army is about to issue a highly classified addendum to the new Army field manual which deals with allowable interrogation techniques.
The Army has approved a new, classified set of interrogation methods that may complicate negotiations over legislation proposed by Senator John McCain to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees in American custody, military officials said Tuesday.
...The addendum provides dozens of examples and goes into exacting detail on what procedures may or may not be used, and in what circumstances. Army interrogators have never had a set of such specific guidelines that would help teach them how to walk right up to the line between legal and illegal interrogations.
Some military officials said the new guidelines could give the impression that the Army was pushing the limits on legal interrogation at the very moment when Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, is involved in intense three-way negotiations with the House and the Bush administration to prohibit the cruel treatment of prisoners.
The new manual, the first revision in 13 years, will specifically prohibit practices like stripping prisoners, keeping them in stressful positions for a long time, imposing dietary restrictions, employing police dogs to intimidate prisoners and using sleep deprivation as a tool to get them to talk, Army officials said. In that regard, it imposes new restrictions on what interrogators are allowed to do. [Emphasis added]
The problem? Even though Mr. McCain's amendment to a military funding bill that bans cruel and inhumane treatment has been in the news for months now and is currently in conference committee to reconcile the bill with the House version (with the inestimable help of the Vice President, who wants the CIA exempt from any such limits on torture), no one from the Army has bothered to brief the senator on the contents of the new guidelines. This is a bit odd, especially since the senator's amendment contains language specifically tying it to the new Army field manual.
But wait: there's more.
During her trip through Europe, [Secretary of State Rice] made several statements about the administration's policy on torture, culminating with one in Kiev Wednesday when she said the United States prohibits "cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment" of suspects, "whether they are in the United States or outside of the United States."
She reiterated that in a truncated form on Tuesday but added that "we should be prepared to do anything that is legal to prevent another terrorist attack." [Emphasis added]
Anything? I guess it depends on what the definition of is is.
The Three Stooges would be so proud.
posted by Diane at 4:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home