Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 11. Juli 2006 / Time Line July 11, 2006
Version 3.507/11/2006
England Memo Underscores Policy on Humane Treatment of
Detainees
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2006 - A memo from Deputy Defense Secretary
Gordon England underscores the department's standing policy of
treating detainees humanely and orders commanders responsible for
detainee affairs to review their practices to ensure they are in
compliance.
"The Supreme Court has determined that Common Article 3 to the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 applies as a matter of law to the
conflict with al Qaeda," England stated in the July 7 memo.
In a nutshell, Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions ensures humane
treatment of detainees, Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary
of defense for public affairs, told reporters today. It
specifically prohibits violence against and degrading treatment of
detainees.
England's memo notifies DoD departments and agencies of the June 29
Supreme Court ruling that that military commissions for detainees
charged with war crimes would violate the Geneva Conventions of
1949. "The court found that military commissions as constituted by
the Department of Defense are not consistent with Common Article
3," he wrote of the decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.
The memo underscores the department's standing policy of treating
detainees humanely, but emphasizes that it now is also "a matter of
law."
Except for military commission procedures, all other DoD orders,
policies, directives and doctrine comply with Article 3, England
wrote. He cited several documents as examples: U.S. Army Field
Manual 34-52, "Intelligence Interrogation;" DoD Directive 3115.09,
"DoD Intelligence Interrogation, Detainee Debriefings and Tactical
Questioning;" DoD Directive 2311.01E, "DoD Law of War Program," and
DoD Instruction 2310.08E, "Medical Program Support for Detainee
Operations."
England also cited President Bush's directive that the U.S.
military "shall continue to treat detainees humanely." In his memo,
England underscored this principle and told commanders to "ensure
that all DoD personnel adhere to these standards."
"In this regard, I request that you promptly review all relevant
directives, regulations, policies, practices and procedures under
your purview to ensure that they comply with the standards of
Common Article 3," he wrote.
England directed commanders to report back after completing this
review, even if their response is simply, "reviewed and no
effect."
Whitman said the England memo has no major effect on how detainees
are handled. "Humane treatment has always been the standard for
detention and interrogation operations of the Defense Department,"
he said.
He dismissed news reports that the memo represents a sweeping
reversal of DoD policy or that the Supreme Court decision extends
full Geneva Convention protections to detainees. "The court did not
say that full protections of the Geneva Conventions apply to al
Qaeda or the Taliban," he said, but limited its ruling to Common
Article 3.
The Bush administration "has indicated in a very strong way that it
is going to abide by the Supreme Court decision," Whitman said.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing today to
discuss the Supreme Court ruling regarding military commissions and
determine a way to move forward.
The Supreme Court decision directly affects only 14 detainees at
Guantanamo Bay. Ten of them already were facing commissions on
charges of violating the laws of war. Officials said it could
ultimately affect 40 to 80 detainees who are expected to be charged
in the future.
The decision was based on the case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, filed on
behalf of Salim Ahmed Hamdan. A former driver and bodyguard for al
Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Hamden was picked up in Afghanistan
in late 2001 and turned over to U.S. officials. He has been
detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2002.
Hamdan challenged the legality of the U.S. government trying him
for alleged war crimes before a military commission under a
presidential order. His lawyers argued that he was entitled to a
court-martial convened under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
or a civilian trial before a federal judge. Related Site:
Detainee Affairs
[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/]
07/11/2006
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense
The Wexford Group International*, Vienna, Va., was awarded on July
7, 2006, a delivery order amount of $9,372,051 as part of a
$237,818,899 fixed-price, level-of-effort contract for contractual
support requirements for the Asymmetric Warfare Group Headquarters.
Work will be performed at Fort Meade, Md., and is expected to be
completed by July 4, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the
end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of
bids solicited via the World Wide Web on March 6, 2006, and two
bids were received. The U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command,
Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity
(W9113M-06-D-0005).
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