US Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed a Special Prosecutor, John Durham, to investigate prisoner abuse cases which commenced as part of the "war on terror". Although this is a positive step, the scope of the investigation is limited to the investigation of only around a dozen cases of abuse. Larry Cox, Amnesty International's USA Executive Director commented today that "Attorney General Holder’s decision to name a prosecutor to reopen and investigate half of the cases brought to the Department of Justice because of questionable interrogation tactics is a welcome, yet incomplete, step. Any meaningful investigation would encompass both those who claimed they were following orders and those who designed and demanded that the illegal policies be implemented.”

The cases examined will be limited to around a dozen where allegations have been made against CIA agents and contractors, such as 'Blackwater', being perpetrators of war crimes such as torture. Several Obama Administration spokespeople reiterated President Obama's wish to "look forward" rather than look back at Bush Administration interrogation techniques, and it seems that the investigation is something that the Obama Administration would like to disappear rather than hold those people responsible to account.

The announcement of the special prosecutor comes in light of the release of the Inspector General’s 2004 report which outlines horrendous abuse at the hands of the CIA and its contractors. Read more about this report here. Also this week, revelations about the contracting of private security firms to assassinate "al-Qaeda leaders", interrogate suspects and transport men to Guantanamo Bay were also leaked1. Today, President Obama has also announced that a special interrogation unit will be created. This team will be named the "High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group" and will be comprised of experts from law enforcement backgrounds and the intelligence community2. The team will be placed with the FBI but report to the National Security Council. The Obama Administration has already stated that it will adhere to interrogation procedures outlined in the Army Field Manual rather than ‘Enhanced Interrogation Techniques’. Although this is somewhat of an improvement, there are still concerns around some of the techniques such as those outlined in “Appendix M”. Some of these techniques are questionable and may constitute a breach the Convention against Torture. Read more about the Army Field Manual here.

Held to Account?

It is disappointing that someone who speaks so eloquently and passionately about peace and justice is the same person who has indicated he is reluctant to investigate abuses perpetrated against people at the hands of US agents, contractors and military. To date there has not been any accountability for those who have breached human rights. In an email to his staff, CIA Director Leon Panetta said that he intended "to stand up for those officers who did what their country asked and who followed the legal guidance they were given. That is the president's position, too," he said. This being so, any investigation into torture will only be as effective as those who are running it want it to be.

Questions remain around the Obama Administration's true willingness to uphold human rights values. Photos and films showing the abuse of detainees have been destroyed and the ones that remain continue to be kept secret as well as countless documents which have been redacted beyond recognition. The Obama Administration is still holding people indefinitely without a fair trial. Extraordinary Rendition is still occurring where people are being abducted and taken to countries such as Egypt and Syria to be 'interrogated'. The Obama Administration are also continuing the military commissions system; a system that has convicted three people based on evidence obtained through ‘coercion’. What is fair and just about any of this? An investigation such as this is a good start, but it will not even begin to touch the surface of the countless abuses which must be investigated and prosecuted. We can’t have things both ways. What makes someone who has tortured in a secret prison or ordered torture of many people any less dangerous than someone suspected of committing terrorist acts?

References

  1. See; AFP, CIA hired Blackwater to transfer Guantanamo detainees: report; And, UPI, "CIA, Blackwater planned assassination".

  2. Devlin Barrett, "Official: DOJ unit wants CIA abuse cases reopened", 25th August, 2009.