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by Robert C. Sage

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Who is qualified to determine if a given suspected "enemy combatant" is the real McCoy? If a court of law is not involved, how can we be sure horrendous mistakes aren't made? If a suspect is "guilty until proven innocent", then what happened to our cherished values of "rule by law" and "justice for all"? Isn't that supposed to be what makes the difference between tyrannical despotism and American democracy? Where are the safeguards for abuses of power? What about the "checks and balances" inherent in the America jurisprudence system?

At present, detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Diego Garcia and other "black camps" in the American gulag have almost no rights. They do not have legal representation. They do not have the right to be taken before a court of law, not even a military tribunal. They do not have the right to be free of torture, as republican Senators John McClain (P.O. W. during the Vietnam War) and Lindsay Graham have both expressed concerns about George Bush's nominee for new U.S. Attorney General, Michael D. Mukasey, due to his inability to recognize that "waterboarding" is torture.

The Bush/Cheney "harsh interrogation" techniques were established by reverse engineering the methods of the former USSR that American servicemen had experienced and were trained to be prepared for. They were believed to violate the Geneva Convention when used by the USSR and they still do. UN Human rights evaluators have criticized America for use of torture and other human rights violations, because it undermines the efforts to convince other nations to observe laws on human rights. If the most democratic country allows torture, why shouldn't every other country?

The detainees have a right to die and right to suffer pain, humiliation and sexual deviant behavior. They have the right to be sexually abused in public with impunity. They have a right to be denied clothing when the temperature is chilly and to have nutrition limited or denied for long periods. They have the right to be threatened by "working dogs" and to have their lives threatened. They also have the right to nearly be drowned, to publicly humiliated, to be denied any human contact for protracted periods, to be subjected to loud and annoying music and have no idea if or when their ordeals will end.

Without any warning, suspected "enemy combatants" may be kidnapped and transported to a foreign country for torture by America or by a third country. Or if they are unarmed, they may be summarily executed to avoid the cost and delay required by court procedures. There is no right to contact next of kin, after apprehension, as such persons are not considered to actually be human and are held incommunicado for months or even years.

Often, there is no reliable evidence or testimony that a detainee has anything to do with al-Qaeda or another terrorist organization. All that is required is for someone to believe that the detainee might be a terrorist. No conclusive proof is required, because that would cause too few detainees to be held for the approved budgets. Then, it could be difficult for the same or higher levels of Congressional funding to be obtained.

In particularly embarrassing cases, the flexibility of "rules of engagement", allows the authorities to dispose of any evidence to avoid public inquiries that could cause the public to doubt the humaneness or efficacy of the detainment methods. All methods and procedures are top secret in order to minimize the possibility that the programs could be jeopardized due to
legality or humaneness concerns. The continued ability to kidnap and torture in secrecy might be compromised, so a minimum of records are maintained. That is just in case Nurenburg-type trials should be convened to hear the evidence that was discovered.

Thus, a detainee has the right to live as long as interrogators don't kill him. If a detainee is particularly obstinent or outspoken, the authorities may inflict greater punishment, such as by drilling holes into the victim's skin. The methods approved by Bush/Cheney are so invasive that many torture victims will answer questions in the way that they think will please their interrogators. Thus, the validity of information obtained is highly suspect. However, that matters not tot he neo-cons, as they believe that they already know all that is needed to turn the situation around.

Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.

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