![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forsythBecause he (or at least a staffer) sent me a letter that was tragically, comedicly, wrong, on many counts. Mostly tragically, since it's about the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and elsewhere. My letter's below the read more thing. If you want more about the torture, check Andrew Sullivan's site. He's conservative, and wrong on many issues, but on the torture stuff, he's thorough and condemning it, and a good compiler of the information from many sources. And no, it's NOT happy reading.
To the Honorable John Warner,
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, your reply contains a major error which is pertinent to my original letter. Therefore I felt I should point it out to you, in case it had not come to your attention yet.
To begin with, your letter states "Detainees held in the war on terrorism do not meet the criteria of a lawful combatant set out under the Geneva Conventions." This is technically true, at least when applied to Al Queda members. However, many of the people who have been detained in Iraq and Afghanistan have proved to not be Taliban, Al Queda, or insurgents, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time or were turned in by enemies or for reward money. There have been several cases in Guantanamo, and estimates of the number of innocent civilians detained at Abu Ghraib have been as high as fifty percent. As such, they are not "unlawful combatants" and should not, in fact, even be detained. Article 5 of the Geneva Convention require that any of the contracting parties treat all prisoners as if the Conventions applied, until such time as a competent tribunal is held to determine the prisoner's status. The Bush Administration has resisted and stalled and not held any tribunals on the prisoners in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, or anywhere else. So until we do, we can't tell if someone detained is a civilian or a terrorist or an insurgent or a baker. And until a tribunal is held, the detainees are, contrary to your assertion, entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
This same assumption crops up in several places in the letter I received, as when you say "It is also important to keep in mind that the detainees that are currently being held represent a clear and present danger to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces." This is also false. While some of the detainees are, indubitably, Al Queda, Taliban, or Iraqi insurgents, many are not. It would be ludicrous to expect our soldiers to only ever capture threats and not have any innocent civilians who were in the area, or looked similar, or had a similar name, or were turned in by local enemies. For all the excellent work they are doing, most of our soldiers are young, in a vastly different country, and under extreme stress and fear for their lives, they are certain to err on the side of caution and detain anyone they believe might be a threat, not only actual threats. And whatever legal or moral justification can be offered for "coercive interrogation" of terrorists, there is absolutely no moral or legal case for using the same techniques on civilians.
And the final place I must disagree with your letter is in your statement that "The detainees are not subjected, in any way, to physical or mental abuse, torture, or cruel treatment." That is, frankly, false. There was not merely the most widely published photographed abuses at Abu Ghraib, for which a few low-ranking soldiers are being tried now. The FBI has released a number of memos under a Freedom of Information Act request, which include statements by agents working at or investigating Guantanamo Bay.
Some excerpts:
“Here is a brief summary of what I observed at GTMO. On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand a foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food, or water. Most times they had urinated or defecated on themselves and had been left there for 18 24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. . . . On another occasion, the A/C had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room probably well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his own hair out throughout the night. . . .”
“The following information provides initial details from an individual REDACTED who observed serious physical abuses of civilian detainees in REDACTED Iraq during the period of REDACTED. . . . REDACTED observed numerous physical abuse incidents of Iraqi civilian detainees conducted in REDACTED Iraq. He described that such abuses included strangulation, beatings, placement of lit cigarettes into the detainees ear openings, and unauthorized interrogations. REDACTED was providing this information to the FBI based on his knowledge that REDACTED cover-up of these abuses. He stated these cover-up efforts included REDACTED . . . .”
Also, the military, in its own investigation, by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, which I am sure you have seen, disagrees with your statement about "...not subjected, in any way, to physical or mental abuse, torture, or cruel treatment." The actions listed in the Taguba report include, but are not limited to, "Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; Threatening male detainees with rape; Sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick. Using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee." These are related to the abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, but similar treatment has been reported at Guantanamo and other camps, most notably by the Red Cross.
These are serious and troubling reports, that have done much to undermine the war on terror and the war in Iraq. As the United States of America, we have a moral duty to set the example for how countries should behave, especially in a war which is supposed to be to liberate the people from a dictator. As one of the ranking members on the Senate Armed Forces committee, you are in an excellent position to demand answers and accountability on this issue. The reports of abuse and torture are too widespread to be dismissed as a few "bad apples." It is imperative, for the country and for the military, that these abuses be investigated fully, not ignored because they are politically inconvenient or because we don't wish to know. Anyone involved in the widespread torture and abuse of detainees must face justice.
In conclusion, without the tribunals required by United States law and the Geneva Conventions, we do not know if detainees are Al Queda, Taliban, insurgents, or civilians. With the widespread evidence of torture and abuse, not just at Abu Ghraib, but also Guantanamo and other places, we cannot dismiss them as a few "bad apples" one one shift at one prison. Therefore I again implore you to urge your colleagues to investigate this matter and hold those responsible accountable. The torture and abuse of many detainees is a stain upon our country and military, that requires thorough action to begin to cleanse. Thank you for your time and action on this.
To the Honorable John Warner,
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, your reply contains a major error which is pertinent to my original letter. Therefore I felt I should point it out to you, in case it had not come to your attention yet.
To begin with, your letter states "Detainees held in the war on terrorism do not meet the criteria of a lawful combatant set out under the Geneva Conventions." This is technically true, at least when applied to Al Queda members. However, many of the people who have been detained in Iraq and Afghanistan have proved to not be Taliban, Al Queda, or insurgents, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time or were turned in by enemies or for reward money. There have been several cases in Guantanamo, and estimates of the number of innocent civilians detained at Abu Ghraib have been as high as fifty percent. As such, they are not "unlawful combatants" and should not, in fact, even be detained. Article 5 of the Geneva Convention require that any of the contracting parties treat all prisoners as if the Conventions applied, until such time as a competent tribunal is held to determine the prisoner's status. The Bush Administration has resisted and stalled and not held any tribunals on the prisoners in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, or anywhere else. So until we do, we can't tell if someone detained is a civilian or a terrorist or an insurgent or a baker. And until a tribunal is held, the detainees are, contrary to your assertion, entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
This same assumption crops up in several places in the letter I received, as when you say "It is also important to keep in mind that the detainees that are currently being held represent a clear and present danger to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces." This is also false. While some of the detainees are, indubitably, Al Queda, Taliban, or Iraqi insurgents, many are not. It would be ludicrous to expect our soldiers to only ever capture threats and not have any innocent civilians who were in the area, or looked similar, or had a similar name, or were turned in by local enemies. For all the excellent work they are doing, most of our soldiers are young, in a vastly different country, and under extreme stress and fear for their lives, they are certain to err on the side of caution and detain anyone they believe might be a threat, not only actual threats. And whatever legal or moral justification can be offered for "coercive interrogation" of terrorists, there is absolutely no moral or legal case for using the same techniques on civilians.
And the final place I must disagree with your letter is in your statement that "The detainees are not subjected, in any way, to physical or mental abuse, torture, or cruel treatment." That is, frankly, false. There was not merely the most widely published photographed abuses at Abu Ghraib, for which a few low-ranking soldiers are being tried now. The FBI has released a number of memos under a Freedom of Information Act request, which include statements by agents working at or investigating Guantanamo Bay.
Some excerpts:
“Here is a brief summary of what I observed at GTMO. On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand a foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food, or water. Most times they had urinated or defecated on themselves and had been left there for 18 24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. . . . On another occasion, the A/C had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room probably well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his own hair out throughout the night. . . .”
“The following information provides initial details from an individual REDACTED who observed serious physical abuses of civilian detainees in REDACTED Iraq during the period of REDACTED. . . . REDACTED observed numerous physical abuse incidents of Iraqi civilian detainees conducted in REDACTED Iraq. He described that such abuses included strangulation, beatings, placement of lit cigarettes into the detainees ear openings, and unauthorized interrogations. REDACTED was providing this information to the FBI based on his knowledge that REDACTED cover-up of these abuses. He stated these cover-up efforts included REDACTED . . . .”
Also, the military, in its own investigation, by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, which I am sure you have seen, disagrees with your statement about "...not subjected, in any way, to physical or mental abuse, torture, or cruel treatment." The actions listed in the Taguba report include, but are not limited to, "Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; Threatening male detainees with rape; Sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick. Using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee." These are related to the abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, but similar treatment has been reported at Guantanamo and other camps, most notably by the Red Cross.
These are serious and troubling reports, that have done much to undermine the war on terror and the war in Iraq. As the United States of America, we have a moral duty to set the example for how countries should behave, especially in a war which is supposed to be to liberate the people from a dictator. As one of the ranking members on the Senate Armed Forces committee, you are in an excellent position to demand answers and accountability on this issue. The reports of abuse and torture are too widespread to be dismissed as a few "bad apples." It is imperative, for the country and for the military, that these abuses be investigated fully, not ignored because they are politically inconvenient or because we don't wish to know. Anyone involved in the widespread torture and abuse of detainees must face justice.
In conclusion, without the tribunals required by United States law and the Geneva Conventions, we do not know if detainees are Al Queda, Taliban, insurgents, or civilians. With the widespread evidence of torture and abuse, not just at Abu Ghraib, but also Guantanamo and other places, we cannot dismiss them as a few "bad apples" one one shift at one prison. Therefore I again implore you to urge your colleagues to investigate this matter and hold those responsible accountable. The torture and abuse of many detainees is a stain upon our country and military, that requires thorough action to begin to cleanse. Thank you for your time and action on this.
