from Coleen Rowley: Here are the series of OLC memos written initially by John Yoo and Robert Delahunty on Jan 9, 2002, and later signed off by Bush on Feb 7, 2002, declaring the U.S. would not have to follow the Geneva Conventions. Notice how a State Dept lawyer and Colin Powell both objected but were overruled. This is what gave rise to numerous incidents of military and CIA torture, even before Yoo and Bybee wrote the actual torture memo. All the OLC memos that have been released are posted on this Torturing Democracy archive: www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/torturingdemocracy/documents/ Memo from John Yoo to Jim Haynes DATE: January 9, 2002 SUBJECT: Application of Treaties and Laws to Al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel In this memo, Yoo writes We conclude that these treaties [including Geneva] do not protect members of the al Qaeda organization. We further conclude that that [sic] these treaties do not apply to the Taliban militia. 10. Memo from William Taft to John Yoo DATE: January 11, 2002 SUBJECT: Your Draft Memorandum of January 9th AUTHOR: William Taft IV, Legal Adviser to the State Department Describing Yoos legal analysis as seriously flawed, the memorandum also warns that this raises the risk of future criminal prosecution for U.S. civilian and military leadership and their advisers. 11. Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Joint Chiefs of Staff DATE: January 19, 2002 SUBJECT: Status of Taliban and al Qaeda AUTHOR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld declares that The United States has determined that Al Qaida and Taliban individuals under the control of the Department of Defense are not entitled to prisoner of war status for purposes of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. 12. Memo from Jay Bybee to Jim Haynes DATE: January 22, 2002 SUBJECT: Application of Treaties and Laws to Al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel Jay Bybee signs off on John Yoos January 9th draft, sending it in its final form to Pentagon General Counsel Jim Haynes and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales. The memo explains that certain deviations from the text of Geneva III may be permissible, as a matter of domestic law, if they fall within certain justifications or legal exceptions, such as those for self defense. 13. Memo from Alberto Gonzales to President Bush DATE: January 25, 2002 SUBJECT: Application of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War to the Conflict with al Qaeda and the Taliban AUTHOR: Alberto Gonzales, White House Counsel This memo for the President outlines the benefits of opting out of the Geneva Conventions and lists the benefits of such a finding. Gonzales notes that non-compliance with Geneva would create a reasonable basis in law that Section 2441 [War Crimes Act] does not apply, which would provide a solid defense to any future prosecution. 14. Memo from Colin Powell to Alberto Gonzales DATE: January 26, 2002 SUBJECT: Draft Decision Memorandum for the President on the Applicability of the Geneva Convention to the Conflict in Afghanistan AUTHOR: Colin Powell, Secretary of State Colin Powell warns of the consequences of opting out of the Geneva Convention. It will reverse over a century of U.S. policy . . . and undermine the prosecutions of the law of war for our troops . . . He adds, it may provoke some individual foreign prosecutors to investigate and prosecute our officials and troops. 15. Letter from John Ashcroft to President Bush DATE: February 1, 2002 SUBJECT: N/A AUTHOR: John Ashcroft, Attorney General John Ashcroft concludes that opting out of Geneva would provide the highest assurance that no court would subsequently entertain charges that American military officers, intelligence officials, or law enforcement officials violated Geneva Convention rules relating to field conduct, detention conduct or interrogation of detainees. 16. Memo from Jay Bybee to Alberto Gonzales DATE: February 7, 2002 SUBJECT: Status of Taliban Forces Under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel In this memo, Jay Bybee states that the President has the power to ignore Genevas requirement that prisoners be given Article 5 hearings to establish their status as POWs. The President. may use his constitutional power to interpret treaties and apply them to the facts, to make the determination that the Taliban are unlawful combatants.. We therefore conclude that there is no need to establish tribunals to determine POW status under Article 5. 17. Memo from President Bush to Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, et. al. DATE: February 7, 2002 SUBJECT: Humane Treatment of al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees AUTHOR: President George W. Bush President George W. Bush declares that the United States will not be bound by the Geneva Conventions protections for prisoners of war. Torturing Democracy - Key Documents www2.gwu.edu
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 09:38:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015