New Pentagon Memos Show High-Level Authorization Of Detainee Abuse

Tough Interrogation Tactics Were Opposed
Pentagon Task Force Was Told Not to Use Techniques Approved in 2002, Records Show

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 13, 2006; Page A16

Members of a Defense Department investigative task force were told not to participate in aggressive interrogation techniques approved for use at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002 because officers and lawyers believed the tactics violated policy and would not elicit information, according to documents released by the Pentagon.

The aggressive techniques, approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in late 2002, led to at least one high-value detainee being placed in women's underwear, led around by a dog leash and stripped in front of female interrogators. Similar tactics later emerged in Iraq and were highlighted in photographs of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison.


Members of the Pentagon's Criminal Investigation Task Force worked with FBI agents to investigate possible crimes that the men may have committed before they were captured -- crimes that could be prosecuted in court. Declassified e-mail messages and orders show that their commanders were concerned about the tactics almost immediately after they were implemented and joined FBI officials in reporting allegations of abuse.

The memos indicate that even military units at Guantanamo Bay pushed back against the department's efforts to use new, aggressive tactics against detainees during the facility's first year. The military's top lawyers also warned that the approval of such tactics could lead to abuse and unlawful conduct.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/12/AR2006011202220.html

rhetoric of the day.

...It just confirms that the policies that were adopted at Guantanamo were adopted as a matter of policy and over significant objections, not just within the FBI but within units of the Army," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Amrit Singh, whose organization obtained the documents in a lawsuit. "It calls into question the adequacy of the investigations the military undertook. It underscores that high-ranking officers were responsible for the abusive techniques that were put in place."

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller was in charge of the Guantanamo Bay mission and the interrogations at the time top Pentagon officials approved the tactics. Miller, who later traveled to Iraq to help establish the Abu Ghraib prison, this week invoked his right not to incriminate himself in abuse cases against two low-ranking soldiers. Pentagon officials said Miller's application for retirement has been approved.

Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that there is no evidence to suggest that high-level policies authorized or condoned the abuse of detainees.

"What took place at Guantanamo is a matter of public record today, and the investigations turned up nothing that suggested that there was any policy in the department other than humane treatment," Rumsfeld said. "And it is also clear, by the very fact that some 250 people have been punished in one way or another, that there was behavior that was inappropriate."..

..Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that there is no evidence to suggest that high-level policies authorized or condoned the abuse of detainees.

"What took place at Guantanamo is a matter of public record today, and the investigations turned up nothing that suggested that there was any policy in the department other than humane treatment," Rumsfeld said. "And it is also clear, by the very fact that some 250 people have been punished in one way or another, that there was behavior that was inappropriate."..