Obama’s ‘cosmetic’ exercise on Guantanamo
But while many have been appeased, others see his words and deeds as cosmetic. Since the T-word has become taboo, and since the new politically correct term “harsh interrogation techniques” is unwieldy, I propose to use the acronym “HIT”.
Williams lists the abolition of HIT as one of Obama’s achievements. But in fact the president has not promised to put a stop to HIT, as Siobhán Gorman warned in the Wall Street Journal last November: “Upon review,” one government official said, “Mr Obama may decide he wants to keep the road open in certain cases for the CIA to use techniques not approved by the military, but with much greater oversight.”
Obama’s new CIA director, Leon E Panetta, has pointed out that closing Guantánamo does not mean the CIA cannot go on sending prisoners to third countries, as Greg Miller reported in the Los Angeles Times in February.
Of course, Panetta will seek assurances that such prisoners will not be subjected to HIT. Just as before.
Obama’s proposal to grant immunity to CIA HIT operatives who were just following orders undermines Principle IV of the Nuremberg trials: “The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law ...”
As Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, noted in an interview in Salon magazine recently, Obama’s proposal to immunise CIA officials who tortured detainees would violate international law and US treaty obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions.
While the previous president’s modest educational achievements provide some mitigation for his failure to grasp the damage he has done to principles of international law, Obama, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, has no such excuse.
Coilín ÓhAiseadha
Bóthar Inse Chór
Cill Mhaighneann
Baile Átha Cliath 8
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