Category: The Dish

Here, for the record, is the Decider’s new Executive Order giving his interpretation of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The bottom line:

On February 7, 2002, I determined for the United States that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination.

We still have no idea whether "waterboarding" or stress positions or beating are forbidden. That’s still up to the Decider. The Order does ban torture as defined in section 2340 of title !8, US Code. That definition is:

(1) "torture" means an act committed by a person acting under
      the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical
      or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering
      incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his
      custody or physical control;
        (2) "severe mental pain or suffering" means the prolonged
      mental harm caused by or resulting from –
          (A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of
        severe physical pain or suffering;
          (B) the administration or application, or threatened
        administration or application, of mind-altering substances or
        other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or
        the personality;
          (C) the threat of imminent death; or
          (D) the threat that another person will imminently be
        subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the
        administration or application of mind-altering substances or
        other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or
        personality.

I can’t see how this offers any ambiguity with respect to waterboarding, hypothermia, sleep deprivation, and "stress positions." And yet the administration will not confirm that these are illegal. Why not? They say they want to keep detainees in the dark. But if we’re in compliance with Geneva and the US Code, there’s no darkness. There’s legal clarity. At some point, you have to believe what the president says. But to be blunt: I don’t believe a word out of his mouth on this subject. But here’s the actual text. See what you make of it:

INTERPRETATION OF THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS COMMON ARTICLE 3 AS APPLIED TO A PROGRAM OF DETENTION AND INTERROGATION OPERATED BY THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

By the authority vested in me as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-366), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

     Section 1.  General Determinations.  (a)  The United States is engaged in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces.  Members of al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, and for many other terrorist attacks, including against the United States, its personnel, and its allies throughout the world.  These forces continue to fight the United States and its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, and they continue to plan additional acts of terror throughout the world.  On February 7, 2002, I determined for the United States that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination.

     (b)  The Military Commissions Act defines certain prohibitions of Common Article 3 for United States law, and it reaffirms and reinforces the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions.

     Sec. 2.  Definitions.  As used in this order:

     (a)  "Common Article 3" means Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

     (b)  "Geneva Conventions" means:

(i)   the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3114);

(ii)  the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217);

(iii) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and

(iv)  the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3516).

     (c)  "Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" means the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Sec. 3.  Compliance of a Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program with Common Article 3.  (a)  Pursuant to the authority of the President under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including the Military Commissions Act of 2006, this order interprets the meaning and application of the text of Common Article 3 with respect to certain detentions and interrogations, and shall be treated as authoritative for all purposes as a matter of United States law, including satisfaction of the international obligations of the United States.  I hereby determine that Common Article 3 shall apply to a program of detention and interrogation operated by the Central Intelligence Agency as set forth in this section.  The requirements set forth in this section shall be applied with respect to detainees in such program without adverse distinction as to their race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth, or wealth.

     (b)  I hereby determine that a program of detention and interrogation approved by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency fully complies with the obligations of the United States under Common Article 3, provided that:

(i)   the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices of the program do not include:

(A)  torture, as defined in section 2340 of title 18, United States Code;

(B)  any of the acts prohibited by section 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code, including murder, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, mutilation or maiming, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, rape, sexual assault or abuse, taking of hostages, or performing of biological experiments;

(C)  other acts of violence serious enough to be considered comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel or inhuman treatment, as defined in section 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code;

(D)  any other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited by the Military Commissions Act (subsection 6(c) of Public Law 109-366) and the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (section 1003 of Public Law 109-148 and section 1403 of Public Law 109-163);

(E)  willful and outrageous acts of personal abuse done for the purpose of humiliating or degrading the individual in a manner so serious that any reasonable person, considering the circumstances, would deem the acts to be beyond the bounds of human decency, such as sexual or sexually indecent acts undertaken for the purpose of humiliation, forcing the individual to perform sexual acts or to pose sexually, threatening the individual with sexual mutilation, or using the individual as a human shield; or

(F)  acts intended to denigrate the religion, religious practices, or religious objects of the individual;

(ii)  the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices are to be used with an alien detainee who is determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency:

(A)  to be a member or part of or supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated organizations; and 

(B)  likely to be in possession of information that:

(1)  could assist in detecting, mitigating, or preventing terrorist attacks, such as attacks within the United States or against its Armed Forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities, or against allies or other countries cooperating in the war on terror with the United States, or their armed forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities; or

(2)  could assist in locating the senior leadership of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces;

(iii) the interrogation practices are determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, based upon professional advice, to be safe for use with each detainee with whom they are used; and

(iv)  detainees in the program receive the basic necessities of life, including adequate food and water, shelter from the elements, necessary clothing, protection from extremes of heat and cold, and essential medical care.

(c)  The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall issue written policies to govern the program, including guidelines for Central Intelligence Agency personnel that implement paragraphs (i)(C), (E), and (F) of subsection 3(b) of this order, and including requirements to ensure:

(i)   safe and professional operation of the program;

(ii)  the development of an approved plan of interrogation tailored for each detainee in the program to be interrogated, consistent with subsection 3(b)(iv) of this order;

(iii) appropriate training for interrogators and all personnel operating the program;

(iv)  effective monitoring of the program, including with respect to medical matters, to ensure the safety of those in the program; and

(v)   compliance with applicable law and this order.

Sec. 4.  Assignment of Function.  With respect to the program addressed in this order, the function of the President under section 6(c)(3) of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is assigned to the Director of National Intelligence.

Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Subject to subsection (b) of this section, this order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

(b)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to prevent or limit reliance upon this order in a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, or otherwise, by the Central Intelligence Agency or by any individual acting on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency in connection with the program addressed in this order.

Someone has produced a blog on this one topic for an entire year. And they’re just getting started.

Ahmed Dhia, 20, from Gazaliah neighborhood of Bagdhad is seen at an Iraqi detention center July 19, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. He’s been there for two months and is suffering from an eye infection that so far has gone untreated by his jailers. The Iraqi detention facility at Forward Operating Base Justice in west Baghdad holds nearly a thousand men in an area designed for 300, from insurgents who have killed dozens to some who were likely simply swept up in raids and were in the wrong place at the wrong time . (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

The bottom line is: we still don’t know what is or is not permitted. The Decider has the power to pick and choose. He is not bound by the rule of law or any treaty or the Geneva Conventions. So we are left with this:

In a call with reporters, senior administration officials repeatedly refused to say what specific kinds of interrogation techniques would be barred, arguing that doing so could tip off al-Qaida members training to withstand hostile questioning. But sleep is not among the basic necessities outlined in the order, one official said, opening the possibility that sleep deprivation is among the approved interrogation methods.

We need simple adherence to the plain English of Article 3. We haven’t gotten it. The vagueness of this announcement isn’t very helpful, and renders actual analysis impossible.

A good question:

How can we account for the link between race, income level and conspiracy theories? Theorists tend to show higher levels of anomie – a general disaffection or disempowerment from society. Perhaps this is the underlying factor that predisposes people more distant from centres of power – whether they be poorer people or those from ethnic minorities – to believe in conspiracies.

One caveat:

The more fundamental problem, beyond anomie, is unscientific thinking, and the tendency of people to just want to win arguments. People get emotionally invested in a factual position, and for or against, they’ll latch on to whatever they can so they don’t have to let go.

Finally.

She has intervened.

It makes sense when you think about it.

A poem by James Hoch. It begins:

Out the window, starlings
          fidget in the wasted eaves

of a bar burned down last summer.
They pilfer, figure,
                                      engineer

charred wire, booth cushion,
          anything light enough

to haul by beak, wedge high
          between blackened 2 X 4.

A nest,
          a bed for the dying
or just born—

The rest here.

A beautfully written first-hand account of what it feels like in Iraq right now:

You know how it feels when you get into a black car in the afternoon with the windows rolled up in July? It’s an inferno outside, but inside the car it’s even hotter? That’s how Iraq feels in the shade. Sunlight burns like a blowtorch. If you don’t wear a helmet or soft cap the sun will cook your brain. First you get headaches. Then you end up in the hospital…

After having spent several days Baghdad’s Green Zone and Red Zone, I still haven’t heard or seen any explosions. It’s a peculiar war. It is almost a not-war. Last July’s war in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon was hundreds of times more violent and terrifying than this one. Explosions on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border were constant when I was there.

You’d think explosions and gunfire define Iraq if you look at this country from far away on the news. They do not. The media is a total distortion machine. Certain areas are still extremely violent, but the country as a whole is defined by heat, not war, at least in the summer. It is Iraq’s most singular characteristic. I dread going outside because it’s hot, not because I’m afraid I will get hurt.