Avoiding Torture's Taint (MoJo)

[struggle4progress]

By Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium
July 26, 2008

... McCahon suggested first that detainees subjected to harsh treatment be interrogated at a facility other than Guantanamo. In addition, though, he recommended that those selected for harsh interrogations "not be .. considered for referral to the Military Commission" in order to "reduce the risk that the more aggressive techniques used against a few detainees .. be revealed." His last request was that "CITF personnel should not participate in aggressive techniques...<to> preserve the integrity of our investigations <and> insulate CITF personnel from potential administrative or criminal liability." The goal, in other words, was to keep blood off CITF's hands ...

"We may need to curb the harsher operations while ICRC is around," Beaver told the group, referring to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to minutes of the meeting. "It is better not to expose them to any controversial techniques...They will be in and out, scrutinizing our operations, unless they are displeased and decide to protest and leave. This would draw a lot of negative attention" ...

Bernard Barrett, spokesperson for the ICRC in Washington, DC, said leaders of his organization knew that the military was not providing the group access to all prisoners when they began meeting with detainees at Guantanamo Bay in January 2002 ...

.. the FBI did not require agents to report incidents of abuse until the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in 2004. The IG report showed "a failure of leadership on the part of senior FBI officials," Jameel Jaffer, director of the national security program at the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Associated Press at the time.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2008/06/torture-guantanamo-red-cross.html