On the heels of a bipartisan US congressional report blaming high-level officials of President George W. Bush’s administration for employing harsh interrogation techniques on detainees captured in the “global war on terror,” many of the world’s most respected civil libertarians are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the alleged abuses. One of them, Amnesty International, has also released a detailed plan to close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Amnesty’s four-part plan sets out recommendations for actions the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama should take during the current transition period, others immediately upon taking office, and still others to be taken during the first 100 days and in the first 18 months of the new government. Amnesty’s recommendations came as it was revealed that Bush administration Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates – who has been nominated by President-elect Obama to remain in office – has also ordered the Pentagon to begin drawing up a plan to close the notorious Caribbean prison. During his presidential campaign, Obama said repeatedly that closing Guantanamo Bay would be a top priority of his administration.
PROBE US ABUSES
On the heels of a bipartisan US congressional report blaming high-level officials of President George W. Bush’s administration for employing harsh interrogation techniques on detainees captured in the “global war on terror,” many of the world’s most respected civil libertarians are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the alleged abuses. One…
