Rumsfeld Linked to Guantanamo Torture

2006-04-20

Richard Moore

Original source URL:
http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/131172/1/4536


OneWorld U.S.

Rumsfeld Linked to Guantanamo Torture
Haider Rizvi OneWorld US

NEW YORK, Apr 17 (OneWorld) - A leading international human rights 
group is calling for the Bush administration to appoint a special 
prosecutor to investigate the alleged involvement of Defense 
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior Pentagon officials in the 
torture of a prisoner at Guanatanamo Bay some three years ago.

Rumsfeld could be criminally liable under federal or military law for 
the abuse and torture of detainee Mohammad al-Qahtani in late 2002 
and early 2003, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said this week 
as some Democratic lawmakers demanded that Rumsfeld step down as 
Pentagon chief.

The rights group's demand comes in light of findings by a major 
Internet publication that indicate Rumsfeld might have been fully 
aware of the abuses inflicted on al-Qahtani, a prisoner held at 
Guantanamo Bay on terrorism charges.

Last week, a military report obtained by Salon.com included a 
statement by Lt. Gen. Randall Schmidt that raises serious questions 
about the conduct of the Pentagon chief and other officials 
concerning al-Qahtani's interrogation. In the report, Gen. Schmidt 
says Rumsfeld was "talking weekly" with Gen. Geoffrey Miller, a 
senior commander at Guantanamo in early 2003, about the al-Qahtani 
interrogation, and that he was "personally involved in the 
interrogation of (this) one person."

Schmidt's statement also signals that Rumsfeld maintained a high 
level of knowledge of and supervision over al-Qahtani's treatment, 
although he did not specifically order more abusive methods used in 
the interrogation.

Al-Qahtani, who is suspected of being a "20th hijacker" in connection 
with the September 11 attacks, was denied entry to the United States 
in August 2001. He is seen by the military as an "al-Qaeda 
terrorist," who provided a "treasure trove" of information during his 
interrogation.

The Pentagon admits that al-Qahtani's interrogation was systematic 
and well-planned. "(His) interrogation was guided by a very detailed 
plan, conducted by trained professionals in a controlled environment, 
and with active supervision and oversight," Jeffery Gordon, a 
Pentagon spokesman, told Salon.com in an e-mail.

"Nothing was done randomly," he said about al-Qahtani's interrogation.

Human Rights Watch says it has obtained an unedited copy of 
al-Qahtani's interrogation log, which suggests that the techniques 
used on him during the interrogation were "so abusive that they 
amounted to torture."

The log reveals that al-Qahtani was subjected to various methods of 
physical and mental mistreatment from mid-November 2002 to early 
January 2003. For six weeks, he was deprived of sleep, forced into 
painful physical positions, and subjected to forced exercises, 
standing, and sexual humiliation.

Al-Qahtani was forced to accept an intravenous drip for hydration and 
on several occasions was refused trips to the latrine so that he 
urinated on himself at least twice, according to the log, which also 
reveals that the prisoner was forced to undergo an enema.

"A six-week regime of sleep deprivation, forced exercises, stress 
positions, white noise, and sexual humiliation amounts to acts that 
were specifically intended to cause severe physical pain and 
suffering and mental pain," said Joanne Mariner, HRW's director of 
terrorism and counter terrorism.

"That's the legal definition of torture," she added.

Last year, the Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army, Navy, and 
Marine Corps also made similar observations on the al-Qahtani case. 
He told the Senate Committee on Armed Services that the interrogation 
techniques used on al-Qahtani violated the U.S. Army Field Manuel on 
Intelligence Interrogation.

For its part, the U.S. State Department considers such techniques to 
be torture and has condemned their use in other countries such as 
Iran and North Korea in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights.

In a February report, United Nations investigators on torture called 
on the U.S. government to close down Guantanamo and "refrain from any 
practice amounting to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading 
treatment."

In response, Washington slammed the UN report, noting that the UN 
experts had declined an invitation to visit Guantanamo because they 
would not be allowed to interview prisoners.

Independent legal experts say Rumsfeld could be liable under the 
doctrine of "command responsibility," the legal principle that holds 
a superior responsible for crimes committed by his subordinates when 
he knew or should have known that they were being committed but 
failed to take responsible steps to stop them.

Human Rights Watch's Mariner says a special prosecutor is needed 
because Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was himself "deeply 
involved" in the policies leading to the abuse of prisoners, a 
conflict of interest that is likely to prevent a proper investigation

"The question at this point is not whether Rumsfeld should resign," 
said Joanne Mariner, "it's whether he should be indicted. A special 
prosecutor should look carefully at what abuses Rumsfeld either knew 
of or condoned."

The Pentagon admits that in December 2002, Rumsfeld approved 16 
interrogation techniques for al-Qahtani and other prisoners, 
including the use of forced nudity, stress positions, and "using 
detainees' individual phobia (such as using dogs)."

However, the military has refused to release the full version of Gen. 
Schmidt's report on abuses, according to Mariner and others who note 
with dismay that in July last year Gen. Bantz Craddock dismissed 
claims that the al-Qahtani interrogation violated military laws.
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