From Executive Order 13440 to Executive Order 13491 and omittance of Bush's Military Commissions Act of 2006

Certainly the media and lawmakers who didn't bother to read the former President's Executive Order as well as the current President's Executive Order of lawful interrogations politics certainly differs.

On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13491 which established a Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies. Obama revoked Bush's Executive Order 13440 which Bush ordered limited compliance with the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of captives held in extrajudicial detention by the CIA. Here is Obama's Executive Order:

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 am

White House website:

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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ENSURING LAWFUL INTERROGATIONS


By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence-gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States custody and of United States personnel who are detained in armed conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty obligations of the United States, including the Geneva Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed, I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Revocation. Executive Order 13440 of July 20, 2007, is revoked. All executive directives, orders, and regulations inconsistent with this order, including but not limited to those issued to or by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from September 11, 2001, to January 20, 2009, concerning detention or the interrogation of detained individuals, are revoked to the extent of their inconsistency with this order. Heads of departments and agencies shall take all necessary steps to ensure that all directives, orders, and regulations of their respective departments or agencies are consistent with this order. Upon request, the Attorney General shall provide guidance about which directives, orders, and regulations are inconsistent with this order.

Here is an excerpt of Bush's Executive Order in 2007:

By the authority vested in me as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-366), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. General Determinations. (a) The United States is engaged in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces. Members of al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, and for many other terrorist attacks, including against the United States, its personnel, and its allies throughout the world. These forces continue to fight the United States and its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, and they continue to plan additional acts of terror throughout the world. On February 7, 2002, I determined for the United States that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination.

(b) The Military Commissions Act defines certain prohibitions of Common Article 3 for United States law, and it reaffirms and reinforces the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions.


The Military Commissions Act of 2006 was drafted by Bush in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case. The Military Commissions Act stated purpose was "To authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes."