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For instance, it’s now known that the International Committee of the Red Cross began an investigation of U.S. war crimes in Iraq from the first days of the invasion, interviewing Iraqis captives from March to November 2003.
On Jan. 15, 2004, ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger expressed his concern to Secretary of State Colin Powell about the Bush administration’s attitude regarding international law, specifically an op-ed by then-State Department legal adviser William Taft IV in the Financial Times four days earlier.
In that op-ed, Taft wrote that there was no law that required the U.S. to afford due process to foreigners captured in the “war on terror.”
"American treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is fully consistent with international law and with centuries-old norms for treating individuals captured in wartime," Taft wrote. “We are engaged in a war.”
It’s unclear what Kellenberger cited in Taft’s column, because the recently released minutes of the meeting were heavily redacted. But the conversation segued into Powell asking Kellenberger “where in addition to Afghanistan, did ICRC have problems with notification and access to detainees?”
Powell is quoted as saying “we are confident of our legal position, (referring to legal adviser Taft’s op-ed), but we also know the world is watching us.”
Read more from The Public Record.
Read more from The Public Record.
1 comment:
Powell is staying low because he knows his rep is gone. So sad he sold out and even turned on our Military. I heard from soldiers long ago about the torture but they never told me about the woman and children we tortured. I guess they didn't want to be know. What kind of human tortures kids? It's pure Evil that can think of such a thing let alone do it. What has become of the USA under the Bush Administration? How can we hold our heads high with pride after what we allowed Bush/Cheney to do? President Obama can correct the mistakes but he can't correct the pass it's now US History.
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