Army Finally Bans Torture
Yielding to pressure from humanitarian groups, Congress and the Supreme Court, the U.S. Army will release a new field manual that affords all detainees protection from torture under the Geneva Convention. The new document will ban several ?interrogation? methods that have drawn criticism, including simulated drowning and the use of dogs to terrorize detainees.
Yielding to pressure from humanitarian groups, Congress and the Supreme Court, the U.S. Army will release a new field manual that affords all detainees protection from torture under the Geneva Convention. The new document will ban several ?interrogation? methods that have drawn criticism, including simulated drowning and the use of dogs to terrorize detainees.
Human Rights groups are reserving judgment until the manual is officially released.
Los Angeles Times:
Wait, before you go…Under the new guidelines, prisoners of war ? defined as members of uniformed militaries captured on a battlefield ? may receive certain extra considerations as mandated by the Geneva Convention, such as being allowed to retain their personal effects and to refuse to answer detailed questions. But ceding to congressional demands, the manual establishes a single baseline standard of care and treatment for all detainees, regardless of their status.
“All detainees will be treated consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention,” said a military official who was not allowed to discuss the manual before it was made public and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Common Article 3 ? found in each of the four Geneva pacts approved in 1949 ? prohibits torture and cruel treatment. Unlike other parts of the Geneva agreements, it covers all detainees, whether they are unlawful combatants or traditional prisoners of war.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
George Orwell warned that a “lack of precision” in language can destabilize entire societies. America's 45th president is living proof.
American intelligence agencies are the nation’s enemy from within and the Praetorian Guard of sinister forces.
Aggressive policing, mass incarceration and inhumane detention facilities are products of overseas empire—imperial chickens come home to roost.
Not that Americans are paying attention, but there are important lessons to heed from the collapse of democracy in Egypt.
If we care about our civil liberties, we owe it to ourselves to defend our whistleblowers, whatever we may think about them personally.
The government has failed to learn crucial lessons from prior war crimes. The American people will pay the price.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.