U.S. Military Lawyers Felt 'Shut Out' of Prison Policy

[Spazito]

WASHINGTON — A group of senior military lawyers were so concerned about changes in the rules designed to safeguard prisoners during interrogation that they sought help outside the Defense Department, according to a New York lawyer who headed a recent study of how prisoners have been treated in the war on terrorism.


The military lawyers were part of the Army Judge Advocate General's office, which in the past has played a role in ensuring that interrogators did not violate prisoners' rights.


"They were extremely upset. They said they were being shut out of the process, and that the civilian political lawyers, not the military lawyers, were writing these new rules of engagement," said Scott Horton, who was chairman of the New York City Bar Assn. committee that filed a report this month on the interrogation of detainees by the U.S.

snip

All sides agree that the abusive treatment of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib violates international law and is far out of bounds. They disagree, however, on whether the Bush administration's legal policy toward interrogating prisoners caused or contributed to the abuses.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=4&u=/latimests/usmilitarylawyersfeltshutoutofprisonpolicy

[lovedems]

1. None of the Military lawyers will speak publicly because they

fear it will ruin their careers? That sucks. They should either be guaranteed their careers will be safe or they should say screw it, this is bigger then my career and I need to do what's right.

Look at the atmosphere this administration has created. It doesn't have any boundaries.

[maddezmom]

2. another link:Pentagon rejected appointment of lawyer to advise at Abu Ghra

Pentagon rejected appointment of lawyer to advise at Abu Ghraib prison


Saturday, May 8, 2004 5:52 PM CDT



WASHINGTON (AP) - Pentagon officials rejected an Army plan last year to send an experienced military lawyer - who is also a Republican member of Congress - to help oversee the unit blamed for prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib complex outside Baghdad.

That left the prison complex, which holds up to 7,000 Iraqis, without an onsite lawyer to guide interrogations and treatment of prisoners.

The top lawyer for the 800th Military Police Brigade, the Army unit in charge of detainees at Abu Ghraib, later came under fire in an Army report about the abuse for being ineffective and "unwilling to accept responsibility for any of his actions."

The rejected lawyer, Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., and other experts say having had a lawyer at the prison might have prevented or at least mitigated the beatings, sexual humiliation and other abuse detailed in photographs and the Army probe.


"It's always good to have a lawyer around so you've got a conscience for the command and an opportunity to vet questions," said retired Army Maj. Gen. William L. Nash, who commanded an armored brigade during the 1991 Gulf War.

Pentagon officials confirmed there was no onsite lawyer at Abu Ghraib, but spokesmen for Army Secretary Les Brownlee and Pentagon personnel officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment Friday. Bryan Whitman, a spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, referred questions to the Army.

http://www.picayuneitem.com/articles/2004/05/08/news/08lawyer.txt