The Bush Administration Fights for the Right to Abuse Detainees

On October 5, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure to forbid the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against anyone detained by American troops or agents.  The proposal was introduced by Senator John McCain in the form of an amendment to a defense appropriations bill, and was passed by 90 votes to 9.

It has now been revealed that Vice President Dick Cheney held a meeting with Sen. McCain on Thursday October 20 to try to persuade him to change the language of the amendment to exempt intelligence agents from the ban on abusive treatment.  According to press reports, Cheney pressed McCain to accept a provision that said the restriction "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States...if the President determines that such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack."

According to reports, Sen. McCain refused to accept the amendment.

The debate over the McCain amendment has forced the administration to admit explicitly that it wants to preserve the option of allowing CIA agents to use "cruel and inhumane" forms of interrogation against foreign terrorist suspects.  Until now this position has been apparent behind the government's legal manoeuvring but has never been so directly asserted.

The issue of inhumane treatment of detainees by intelligence agents has arisen because of a series of legal claims that the administration has made.  First of all, it asserts that terrorist suspects are not protected under the Geneva Conventions, and that customary laws of war cannot stop the president from ordering his agents to carry out acts essential for national security. 

Secondly, although the president has directed all military personnel to treat detainees humanely, this directive was framed to exclude CIA agents.  Finally, the administration has propounded a new and unprecedented interpretation of the Torture Convention that makes its restriction on cruel and inhumane treatment inapplicable to U.S. treatment of foreigners overseas.

This is precisely the loophole that Sen. McCain's amendment was designed to close.

Sen. McCain, who was tortured by his North Vietnamese captors after being taken prisoner during the Vietnam war, said in proposing his amendment that inhumane treatment of detainees "would not only offend our values as Americans, but undermine our war effort, because abuse of prisoners harms – not helps – us in the war on terror."  He said a clear standard was necessary to prevent abuses in the field, and pointed out that without his amendment, America would be "the only country in the world that asserts a legal right to engage in cruel and inhuman treatment."

Although McCain's amendment passed the Senate overwhelmingly, it must now survive a reconciliation conference with the House version of the appropriations bill, which did not contain such an amendment.  The White House has threatened to veto the bill if the amendment is included.

The CIA's role in the "war on terror" remains little known.  It is believed to be holding up to three dozen senior al-Qaeda leaders, of whom the best known are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaida.  It has been reported that harsh interrogation practices including the use of "waterboarding" -- in which the subject is made to feel he could drown -- have been employed against them.

Only one person connected to the CIA has so far been charged in connection with the abuse of prisoners -- David Passaro, a contract employee of the agency, was indicted for killing an Afghan prisoner in June 2003 and is currently awaiting trial in North Carolina.

Related Chapters from Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know:

Terrorism

Torture

Related Links:

Senator John McCain Statement on Detainee Amendments

October 5, 2005

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