Red Cross Accuses U.S. of Torture At Guantanamo
The International Committee of the Red Cross has concluded that the US has been intentionally using psychological and sometimes physical coercion “tantamount to torture” on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. This according to a report in the New York Times. The conclusion comes in a confidential report written by the Red Cross based on information the group obtained during a visit to Guantanamo in June. The Red Cross also found that experienced medical personnel at the base committed “a flagrant violation of medical ethics” by participating in the planning for the interrogations of prisoners. Doctors reportedly shared detailed information about the mental health of detainees to interrogators. The U.S. has rejected the charges of the Red Cross.
Lawyers File War Crimes Charges Against Rumsfeld, Tenet
In Germany, the Center for Constitutional Rights is filing a criminal complaint today on behalf of four Iraqi citizens who allege that a group of U.S. officials committed war crimes in Iraq. The Iraqis claim they were victims of electric shock, severe beatings, sleep and food deprivation and sexual abuse. Among the officials named in the complaint are Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Former CIA Director George Tenet. Germany’s laws on torture and war crimes permits the prosecution of suspected war criminals wherever they may be found.
Pentagon Quietly Releases Study Critical of War on Terror
Meanwhile the Pentagon has quietly released a study that sharply criticizes the Bush administration’s war on terror and its effect on the Muslim world. The Pentagon’s report concluded “Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies.” The report goes on to state “The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states.” The report was released late on Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving.
