From enhanced interrogation to rendition, to the roles of the CIA and the FBI in relation to terrorism, decisions and revelations were made in the last 24 hours that will have a lasting impact on the way the US intelligence community, justice system and government officials interact with each other and the world with respect to suspected terrorist detainees.
The Justice Department, the CIA, the Defense Department and the White House each acted in response to various threads of the continuing debate over the government’s post-9/11 actions, including the CIA’s interrogation techniques and the transfer of detainees to countries where torture takes place.
Recently overshadowed domestically by the antics surrounding the national health care debate, it is hard to overemphasize the importance of these issues to the US playing a credible role both as a model for democracy and in the fight against impunity for other nations.
And although many critics would argue that either too much or too little is being done about past alleged abuses, it should not be forgotten that the ability to have such a debate and the attendant possibility of producing credible results – without threat of violent reprisals – are in many ways on their own a testament to an enviable standard of governance.
(1) President Obama Creates ‘Interrogation Panel’
First, White House Press Secretary Bill Burton announced the creation of a new ‘interrogation unit’ to be supervised by the National Security Council and situated at FBI headquarters in Washington DC.
Although an FBI official will lead the ‘High Value Detainee Interrogation Group’, that does not mean the CIA is out of the interrogation business, the White House argues, as the unit will include many different elements of the government’s intelligence apparatus.
Nonetheless, the panel, based on a recommendation of the administration’s interrogation task force, represents a significant policy shift towards increased transparency, oversight and use of ‘best practices’ in the heretofore murky world of intelligence gathering.
Whether this can possibly be borne out in practice remains to be seen.
(2) Continued Rendition of Terror Suspects
Similarly, the White House now promises mechanisms to ensure that suspects are not sent to countries where torture is taking place.
The State Department will be responsible for assessing the viability of a country’s assertion that terrorist suspects sent to that country will not be tortured; State, Defense and Homeland Security will also review the status of these assertions.
There are as of yet no specifics as to transparency and oversight of these mechanisms, however, leading some to question if this is in reality any different than previous rendition policy.
(3) Detainees Identities Shared with Red Cross
Again, in a move towards more accountability, the Department of Defense has agreed to share the names of detainees held by the military to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as required by the Geneva Conventions – although the ICRC is still not allowed access to the camps where the detainees are being held.
