New Army Manual Recalls Abuse

[Judi Lynn]

New Army Manual Recalls Abuse
Explicit Interrogation Guidelines Are Meant to Deter Missteps
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 9, 2006; Page A08

The chief architect of the new Army field manual on interrogations said yesterday that the document aims to preserve the memory of the detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere so future generations of U.S. soldiers do not repeat the same mistakes.

Thomas Gandy, a senior civilian Army intelligence official, told reporters at the Pentagon that the new manual's explicit guidelines on what U.S. military personnel can and cannot do when questioning detainees arose out of the alarming photographs from Abu Ghraib and the dozen military investigations that examined abuse reported in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. He said it was important to "keep these things vivid" so soldiers understand their boundaries and the effects of crossing them.

The manual, which is an extensive volume covering U.S. human intelligence collection operations, reads far more like direct instructions to military interrogators than did the previous field manual. It even includes highlight boxes filled with vital points top leaders wanted to make crystal clear. One such section warns troops that acts of violence or torture could lead to criminal charges and information of questionable value.

"Use of torture by U.S. personnel would bring discredit upon the U.S. and its armed forces while undermining domestic and international support for the war effort," the manual says. "It also could place U.S. and allied personnel in enemy hands at a greater risk of abuse by their captors. Conversely, knowing the enemy has abused U.S. and allied POWs does not justify using methods of interrogation specifically prohibited by law, treaty, agreement, and policy."
(snip/...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801575.html?nav=rss_nation

[seafan]

1. It's far, far too late to unring this bell.

The manual, which is an extensive volume covering U.S. human intelligence collection operations, reads far more like direct instructions to military interrogators than did the previous field manual. It even includes highlight boxes filled with vital points top leaders wanted to make crystal clear. One such section warns troops that acts of violence or torture could lead to criminal charges and information of questionable value.

"Use of torture by U.S. personnel would bring discredit upon the U.S. and its armed forces while undermining domestic and international support for the war effort," the manual says. "It also could place U.S. and allied personnel in enemy hands at a greater risk of abuse by their captors. Conversely, knowing the enemy has abused U.S. and allied POWs does not justify using methods of interrogation specifically prohibited by law, treaty, agreement, and policy."

Like THIS?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2814231

Who is going to bring justice to our own brand of giggling murderers? When?