[NYTr] Latest Bush Executive Order Reinterprets Geneva Conventions

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

sent by MichaelP - Jul 21, 2007

In fact, the CIA months ago produced a list of proposed interrogation 
guidelines, and lawmakers were briefed on them. While the specifics of 
the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" remain secret, they 
reportedly no longer include some of the more controversial methods such 
as "waterboarding," a practice that simulates drowning.

According to the executive order, the guidelines are to include 
requirements to ensure "the development of an approved plan of 
interrogation tailored for each detainee,"  as well as "effective 
monitoring of the program" and "compliance with applicable law."

Human rights activists criticized Friday's action on grounds that 
assurances of humane treatment of detainees are meaningless without 
knowing what the CIA guidelines allow.
See: http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=12777



The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070720-5.html

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 20, 2007

President Bush Signs Executive Order

Fact sheet Executive Order: Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions
Common Article 3 as Applied to a Program of Detention and Interrogation
Operated by the Central Intelligence Agency

This afternoon, the President signed an Executive Order that interprets
for the United States "Common Article 3" of the Geneva Conventions, as
authorized in the Military Commissions Act. The Order interprets the
meaning and application of Common Article 3 with respect to certain
detentions and interrogations. Specifically, the interpretation of
Common Article 3 set forth in this Order is applied to the Central
Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation program whose purpose
is to question captured Al Qaeda terrorists who have information on
attack plans or the whereabouts of the group's senior leaders.

The Order requires that any CIA interrogation program that might go
forward comply with all relevant federal statutes, including the
prohibition on "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment"
in the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, the federal prohibition on
torture, and the War Crimes Act, all of which protect against
violations of Common Article 3. The Order imposes other explicit
limitations on interrogation techniques and conditions of confinement
in a CIA program. It bars, "acts of violence serious enough to be
considered comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel and
inhuman treatment." It also prohibits "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 beyond the bounds of
human decency." And the Order forbids acts intended to denigrate
detainees' religion, religious practices, or religious objects.

Last September, the President explained how the CIA's program had
disrupted attacks and saved lives, and that it must continue on a sound
legal footing. The President has insisted on clear legal standards so
that CIA officers involved in this essential work are not placed in
jeopardy for doing their job - and keeping America safe from attacks.
This Order was signed after an extensive interagency process of review
and coordination. By providing these clear rules, the Order has
clarified vague terms in Common Article 3, and its interpretation is
consistent with the decisions of international tribunals applying
Common Article 3, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia.

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