[IP] Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush
Begin forwarded message:
From: EEkid@xxxxxxx
Date: August 9, 2006 8:04:24 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush
Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush administration would
apply retroactively
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration drafted amendments to the
War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from
possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and
degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen
the proposal.
The move by the administration is the latest effort to deal with
treatment of those taken into custody in the war on terror.
At issue are interrogations carried out by the CIA, and the degree to
which harsh tactics such as water-boarding were authorized by
administration officials. A separate law, the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, applies to the military.
The Washington Post first reported on the War Crimes Act amendments
Wednesday.
One section of the draft would outlaw torture and inhuman or cruel
treatment, but it does not contain prohibitions from Article 3 of the
Geneva Conventions against "outrages upon personal dignity, in
particular humiliating and degrading treatment." A copy of the
section of the draft was obtained by The Associated Press.
Another section would apply the legislation retroactively, according
to two lawyers who have seen the contents of the section and who
spoke on condition of anonymity because their sources did not
authorize them to release the information.
One of the two attorneys said the draft is in the revision stage, but
that the administration seems intent on pushing forward the draft's
major points in Congress after Labor Day.
"I think what this bill can do is in effect immunize past crimes.
That's why it's so dangerous," said a third attorney, Eugene Fidell,
president of the National Institute of Military Justice.
Fidell said the initiative is "not just protection of political
appointees, but also CIA personnel who led interrogations."
Interrogation practices "follow from policies that were formed at the
highest levels of the administration," said a fourth attorney, Scott
Horton, who has followed detainee issues closely. "The administration
is trying to insulate policymakers under the War Crimes Act."
A White House spokesman said Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions includes a number of vague terms that are susceptible to
different interpretations.
The administration believes it is very important to bring clarity to
the War Crimes Act so that those on the front lines in the war on
terror "have clear rules that are defined in law," said the White
House spokesman.
Extreme interrogation practices have been a flash-point for criticism
of the administration.
When interrogators engage in waterboarding, prisoners are strapped to
a plank and dunked in water until nearly drowning.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articleArchive/aug2006/warcrimesact.php
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