Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: EEkid () aol com
Date: August 9, 2006 8:04:24 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush

Proposed War Crimes Act protection for Bush administration would  
apply retroactively


WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration drafted amendments to the  
War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from  
possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and  
degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen  
the proposal.

The move by the administration is the latest effort to deal with  
treatment of those taken into custody in the war on terror.

At issue are interrogations carried out by the CIA, and the degree to  
which harsh tactics such as water-boarding were authorized by  
administration officials. A separate law, the Uniform Code of  
Military Justice, applies to the military.

The Washington Post first reported on the War Crimes Act amendments  
Wednesday.

One section of the draft would outlaw torture and inhuman or cruel  
treatment, but it does not contain prohibitions from Article 3 of the  
Geneva Conventions against "outrages upon personal dignity, in  
particular humiliating and degrading treatment." A copy of the  
section of the draft was obtained by The Associated Press.

Another section would apply the legislation retroactively, according  
to two lawyers who have seen the contents of the section and who  
spoke on condition of anonymity because their sources did not  
authorize them to release the information.

One of the two attorneys said the draft is in the revision stage, but  
that the administration seems intent on pushing forward the draft's  
major points in Congress after Labor Day.

"I think what this bill can do is in effect immunize past crimes.  
That's why it's so dangerous," said a third attorney, Eugene Fidell,  
president of the National Institute of Military Justice.

Fidell said the initiative is "not just protection of political  
appointees, but also CIA personnel who led interrogations."

Interrogation practices "follow from policies that were formed at the  
highest levels of the administration," said a fourth attorney, Scott  
Horton, who has followed detainee issues closely. "The administration  
is trying to insulate policymakers under the War Crimes Act."

A White House spokesman said Common Article 3 of the Geneva  
Conventions includes a number of vague terms that are susceptible to  
different interpretations.

The administration believes it is very important to bring clarity to  
the War Crimes Act so that those on the front lines in the war on  
terror "have clear rules that are defined in law," said the White  
House spokesman.

Extreme interrogation practices have been a flash-point for criticism  
of the administration.

When interrogators engage in waterboarding, prisoners are strapped to  
a plank and dunked in water until nearly drowning.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articleArchive/aug2006/warcrimesact.php

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