Pentagon Plans Tighter Control of Interrogation

[cal04]

The Pentagon has approved a new policy directive governing interrogations as part of an effort to tighten controls over the questioning of terror suspects and other prisoners by American soldiers

The eight-page directive, which was signed without any public announcement last Thursday by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England, will allow the Army to issue a long-delayed field manual for interrogators that is supposed to incorporate the lessons gleaned from the prisoner-abuse scandals last year.

The Army intends, for example, to ensure that interrogation techniques are approved at the highest levels in the Pentagon, that interrogators are properly trained, and that personnel in the field are required to report any abuses, defense officials said. Such changes have been under consideration since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were disclosed in April 2004, and reflect continuing problems with abuses by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq since then.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, is sponsoring a measure to ban abusive treatment of prisoners in American custody. The new interrogations directive is also part of a wider effort by the Defense Department, which began last December, to review the treatment of prisoners in military custody. A second directive, governing all aspects of prisoner detentions, not just interrogation methods, has caused sharp debate within the Bush administration. At issue is whether the Pentagon's broad guidelines on detention should include language from the Geneva Conventions barring the use of "cruel," "humiliating" and degrading treatment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/politics/08abuse.html?hp&ex=1131512400&en=86f6c1f61eaa62b0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. No more day passes for reporters at the secret prisons?

Their idea of "control".

[sabra]

2. Pentagon bans dogs in interrogations

http://www.kron4.com/global/story.asp?s=4089764&ClientType=Printable

Pentagon bans dogs in interrogations


PENTAGON The Pentagon says no more dogs will be used in the questioning of military prisoners.

The Defense Department has issued new guidelines for treating prisoners humanely.

The only specific ban is on using dogs. It says canines "shall not be used as part of an interrogations approach or to harass, intimidate threaten or coerce a detainee for interrogations purposes."

...

The Pentagon directive is the first to pull together all existing policies and memos covering prisoners in the U-S war on terror. The move comes as Congress considers a ban on inhumane treatment of prisoners.

[htuttle]

3. But what about dog leashes?

[saigon68]

8. LIKE THE LEASH LADY

[afdip]

4. right . . . instead, pigs will be the preferred method of

interrogating muslims.

[timber84]

5. What about the Cats?

:sarcasm:

i hear they use them so the prisoners will get a nasty allergic reaction.

[yellowcanine]

13. gerbils?

[UpInArms]

7. waterboarding is good, though? .............eom

[yellowcanine]

11. Dang - I was going to rent my poodle out to the army to use in

interrogations. He is really fierce. Make them terraists talk right away.

[cyberpj]

6. So now, IF/WHEN any new photos are finally released they say "we fixed it"

We fixed it already - that was then, this is now.

[saigon68]

9. Like this One

[yellowcanine]

10. No digital cameras allowed?

[cyberpj]

14. No cameras -

and pretty soon...

no letters
no blogs
and perhaps no words at all - the armed forces will be sworn to secrecy with penalties for even talking about it!

Welcome to the land of the free!

[cal04]

12. Pentagon Issues New Rules on Detainees

Thrown on the defensive by prisoner abuse scandals in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon has issued a broad new directive mandating that detainees be treated humanely and has banned the use of dogs to intimidate or harass suspects.

The directive, provided by the Defense Department, pulls together for the first time all of its existing policies and memos covering the interrogation of detainees taken in the war against terrorism. It comes as Congress is considering a ban on the inhumane treatment of U.S. prisoners and Democrats have launched a long-shot effort to create a commission to investigate abuse.

While the policy maps out broad requirements for humane treatment and for reporting any violations, it is just the first step in the development of a new Army manual that would more precisely detail which interrogation techniques are acceptable and which are not.
The only specific prohibition in the directive says that dogs used by any government agency "shall not be used as part of an interrogations approach or to harass, intimidate threaten or coerce a detainee for interrogations purposes."

Investigations into detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib facility in Iraq found that unmuzzled dogs were used to intimidate inmates. The new policy governs the treatment of any detainee under Defense Department control. It leaves open the possibility that prisoners in DOD facilities, such as Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, could at times be considered under the control of another agency — such as the Central Intelligence Agency — and therefore would not be subject to the directive's policies.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051108/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_detainees

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. US issues new torture safeguards

8 November 2005

The US defence department has issued new instructions prohibiting physical or mental torture of prisoners.

The directive says all detainees shall be treated humanely and it specifically bans the use of dogs to intimidate those in custody.

It sets policy for all US military personnel and contractors, but does not cover other agencies, such as the CIA.

The US has been criticised by human rights groups over its treatment of detainees from Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that five more soldiers were being charged with abusing detainees in Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4419568.stm


As usual, too little too late.

[Land Shark]

16. yes, and the Washington Post will gladly conceal the crimes, see

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5300664>

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. How many members of the press

will end up being charged has willing co-conspirators?

[papau]

18. Pentagon interrogation rules allow exceptions (no torture -except)

So, All physical and mental torture is prohibited, the use of guard dogs - which were used at Abu Ghraib to intimidate prisoners - is banned during interrogations, interrogations will be conducted only by trained and certified interrogators, and all suspected abuses will be reported by medical personnel and others up the chain of command-Prison guards are also barred from participating in interrogations, any other U.S. government agencies or foreign government representatives who ask to interrogate prisoners held by the Defense Department must agree to abide by Pentagon policies before being granted access to them....... except if ..........

And we are told the directive leaves open the possibility that prisoners in DOD facilities, such as Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, could at times be considered under the control of another agency — such as the Central Intelligence Agency — and therefore would not be subject to the directive's policies.

Lovely....... :-(





http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051109/ts_usatoday/pentagoninterrogationrulesallowexceptions;_ylt=AmcqqsP3j9GhncvLCi0XvSPaB2YD;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Pentagon interrogation rules allow exceptions

Wed Nov 9, 7:03 AM ET

A new Pentagon policy governing the interrogation of prisoners allows for exceptions if authorized in writing by top Defense Department officials.

The new directive, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England last week, formalizes many rules created since U.S. troops' abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad was revealed in April 2004.

Elisa Massimino, Washington director for Human Rights First, a group that has lobbied for stricter limits on interrogations after Abu Ghraib, says the exceptions could lead to abuses: "This is what got us into problems in the first place."

Massimino described the exceptions as similar to one that Vice President Cheney has advocated for CIA personnel interrogating prisoners in the war on terrorism.<snip>

[leveymg]

19. This just sets the exception into law, and returns things to the status

quo ante, as things were before. Only now, the Pentagon just has to declare that a particular prisoner or facility is not under DoD jurisdiction, and that's the end of it, as far as the uniformed military is concerned. The torture goes on, but the Army can pretend it's hands are clean just by rendering its detainees to CIA or some other agency who will take custody.

Of course, the next Republican presidential candidate gets to claim that he "reformed" the system and "stopped" torture by soldiers.

This is really disgusting. :eyes:

[GliderGuider]

20. "We have never tortured prisoners..."

"And we certainly won't do it again!"