McClatchy: Easing of laws that led to detainee abuse hatched in secret

[babylonsister]

* Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2008


Easing of laws that led to detainee abuse hatched in secret


By Tom Lasseter | McClatchy Newspapers



WASHINGTON — The framework under which detainees were imprisoned for years without charges at Guantanamo and in many cases abused in Afghanistan wasn't the product of American military policy or the fault of a few rogue soldiers.

It was largely the work of five White House, Pentagon and Justice Department lawyers who, following the orders of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, reinterpreted or tossed out the U.S. and international laws that govern the treatment of prisoners in wartime, according to former U.S. defense and Bush administration officials.

The Supreme Court now has struck down many of their legal interpretations. It ruled last Thursday that preventing detainees from challenging their detention in federal courts was unconstitutional.

The quintet of lawyers, who called themselves the “War Council," drafted legal opinions that circumvented the military's code of justice, the federal court system and America's international treaties in order to prevent anyone — from soldiers on the ground to the president — from being held accountable for activities that at other times have been considered war crimes.

Sen. Carl Levin, who's leading an investigation into the origins of the harsh interrogation techniques, said at a hearing Tuesday that the abuse wasn't the result of "a few bad apples" within the military, as the White House has claimed. "The truth is that senior officials in the United States government sought information on aggressive techniques, twisted the law to create the appearance of their legality and authorized their use against detainees," said Levin, a Michigan Democrat.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/story/38886.html

[mmonk]

1. The great thing about this part of the series concerning the "War Council"

are the words "activities that at other times have been considered WAR CRIMES". It's so nice to finally see those words in a mainstream media source.

[babylonsister]

2. McClatchy has been really rigorous about reporting on this, yet

not a word from the cable m$m. I'm not surprised, just disappointed.

[mmonk]

5. Maybe there are still some people in this country that read

the news.

[Supersedeas]

6. strange, ain't it

[madokie]

3. Yes it is

[calimary]

4. Basically they're the only news organization that was correct about the war.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/17/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981.html?page=3

[seemslikeadream]

7. K