Very BIG Problems With Our Present Policies on Torture & Detainees

[G_j]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/six-reasons-the-dark-side-still-exists-under-obama/

1. Executive Orders Don’t Last: The most concrete step Obama has taken to end torture — signing an executive order banning the practice — could easily be rescinded by the next administration. This could be done in secret, the report notes, without any formal announcement.

2. It Hasn’t Deleted “Appendix M”: The Bush administration edited the Army Field Manual on Interrogations, which for 50 years has provided guidance to soldiers on how to treat prisoners. The latest version, produced in 1992, specifically prohibited “abnormal sleep deprivation,” which the manual calls “mental torture,” and “forcing an individual to stand, sit, or kneel in abnormal positions for prolonged periods of time” which it considers “physical torture.”

But in 2006, the Bush administration removed that language and added Appendix M, which authorized “separation,” isolating the detainee from others to prevent him from gathering information from others or learning new counter-interrogation techniques. The report found that the tactic “could inflict significant mental and physical stress” on a detainee and could technically allow him to be interrogated for 40 hours straight, with only four-hour rest periods on either end. Appendix M also forbids sensory deprivation, but allows goggles, blindfolds and handcuffs to “generate a perception of separation” for up to 12 hours, or longer if security necessitates it, the report said.

The Obama administration to date hasn’t re-edited the manual to remove Appendix M or restore the deleted language.

3. We Still Aren’t Sure about Renditions
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4. The Obama Administration Is Still Keeping Secrets
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5. Guantanamo Is Still Open.
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6. There’s Still No Official Policy on Detainees: The U.S. has so far ignored the 9/11 Commission recommendation to develop a common approach to treatment and detention of suspected terrorists, drawing on the Geneva Conventions, that allied countries could adopt to prevent future abuses. The report said: “With the passage of time, the US’s failure to take meaningful, permanent action in this regard has put our nation’s security at greater risk.”