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But I still have some questions about the whole flap. My initial impression of what Ron Wyden had said was that he was pushing for a single standard, but not necessarily the Army Field Manual standard. But subsequent refinements by Glenn and the back and forth have me thinking my impression wasn't totally correct. I don't believe that classified interrogation procedures are the right thing, or ever necessary. I think about as highly of them as I do of keeping prisoners incommunicado from the Red Cross - I don't agree it is ever the right thing to do. Given that I also don't feel there is ever a need for torture, that I fall into wbgonne's 'No' category.
With all that over with, I have a comment to make that I would probably have also made if I had been able to comment on the first page:
When Judge Leon read his decision on the Bosnian Algerians, and there was an immediate stay, I pleaded on these pages to remember the prisoners themselves, remember? (Glenn cited it). I tried mightily to find out whether there had been any ameliorations of their conditions afterward, and wrote to my senators and congressman, but heard nothing. Then very recently, Boumediene's lawyer wrote a piece to the effect that after the trial they were remanded back to solitary. That would be the same solitary confinement that is killing one of them, Saber Lahmar, at Camp 6.
Why bring this up? Because the base, while run by the Marines, is supposedly up to the standards of the Army Field Manual. As a matter of fact, you can look for yourself here:
http://www.army.mil/institution/armypublicaffairs/pdf/fm2-22-3.pdf
(recommend saving the file so you don't hang your browser, it's a 438 page manual and a 4MB file).
Do I think that most of the people who are talking either side of the AFM debate have read Army Field Manual 2-22-3? Probably not. And if Ron Wyden and Dianne Feinstein want to make the uniform standard something else, something else public, that is, I would be quite happy. It is a fact that nothing in the AFM on interrogation acknowledges the existence of any treaties except the Hague and Geneva Conventions, although the others are just as signed and ratified and supposedly implemented in U.S. law (e.g. the U.N.CATCIDT). Please, if you're inclined to judge what wonderful people these are that want the AFM as a standard, first read Locked Up Alone (HRW),
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62183/section/1
and if you need more detail (you probably won't), read Stuart Grassian's prepared testimony on the Walpole State Prison,
http://www.prisoncommission.org/statements/grassian_stuart_long.pdf
so you have a good strong feeling for what solitary confinement can do, how much it resembles sensory deprivation, and keep in mind, especially if you read Grassian, that the schizophrenia-like and depression-like symptoms he describes in his 'cluster' are indicators of abnormal (as in damage) function of the frontal lobes of the brain.
And when you're done with that backgrounder, turn to Army FM2-22-3, Appendix M: Restricted Interrogation Technique - Separation and read through it. Some highlights:
M-1. As part of the Army's efforts to gain actionable intelligence in the war on terrorism, HUMINT collectors may be authorized, in accordance with this appendix, to employ the separation interrogation technique, by exception, to meet unique and critical operational requirements. The purpose of separation is to deny the detainee the opportunity to communicate with other detainees in order to keep him from learning counter-resistance techniques or gathering new information to support a cover story; decreasing the detainee's resistance to interrogation. Separation, further described in paragraphs M-2 and M-28, is the only restricted interrogation technique that may be authorized for use. Separation will only be used during the interrogation of specific unlawful enemy combatants for whom proper approvals have been granted in accordance with this appendix. However, separation may not be employed on detainees covered by Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (GPW), primarily enemy prisoners of war (EPWs). The separation technique will be used only at COCOM-approved locations. Separation may be employed in combination with authorized interrogation approaches—• On specific unlawful enemy combatants.
• To help overcome resistance and gain actionable intelligence.
• To safeguard US and coalition forces.
• To protect US interests.
Bet you didn't think the unlawful enemy combatant crap was in the 438pp. panacea.
M-26. The purpose of separation is to deny the detainee the opportunity tocommunicate with other detainees in order to keep him from learning counter-resistance techniques or gathering new information to support a cover story, decreasing the detainee's resistance to interrogation. Separation does not constitute sensory deprivation, which is prohibited. For the purposes of this manual, sensory deprivation is defined as an arranged situation causing significant psychological distress due to a prolonged absence, or significant reduction, of the usual external stimuli and perceptual opportunities. Sensory deprivation may result in extreme anxiety, hallucinations, bizarre thoughts, depression, and anti-social behavior. Detainees will not be subjected to sensory deprivation.
M-27. Physical separation is the best and preferred method of separation. As a last resort, when physical separation of detainees is not feasible, goggles or blindfolds and earmuffs may be utilized as a field expedient method to generate a perception of separation.
Torture is really hard to eradicate once it's started, now isn't it? The society as a whole must make the commitment. The public must refrain from asking too much. Nobody is ever 100% safe, and it isn't a right. The media must refrain from pretending that circumstantial evidence is a lesser thing. And everyone must acknowledge that there can never be a class of people to whom the law does not apply -- no matter how much they are hated, or what they've done.
