re: Abu Ghraib Used Aggressive Tactics
The procedures within the policy do not condone nor advance the kind of abuse that is seen in the photos from Abu Ghraib.
From the original directive which had yet to be revised:
"at no time will detainees be treated inhumanely nor maliciously humiliated," it permits the use of yelling, loud music, a reduction of heat in winter and air conditioning in summer, and "stress positions" for as long as 45 minutes every four hoursâ€
To which WP adds:
“all without first gaining the permission of anyone more senior than the "interrogation officer in charge" at Abu Ghraib.â€
Do these actions merit going above the senior officer?
The tactics approve by Sanchez in September 10 were reviewed and revised by October 12. Of note:
“prison officials obtain his direct approval for the remaining high-pressure methodsâ€
“Yelling at detainees, a technique approved in September that appears to have been dropped in Octoberâ€
Yelling?
The tendency of assuming that the prisoners were law abiding, peace loving Iraqis, deserving of civil procedure and Miranda rights is no more valid than assuming they were all terrorists who shot and bombed US troops and Iraqi civilians and bit and spit on their captors.
I saw it as a positive that our people were trying to write rules to govern the conduct of interrogators. Rules that were not totally out of line with the Convention. Had these rules been followed to the letter, Abu Ghraib would not be an issue.