Amnesty International demonstrators in Lima demanding closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Human rights groups release documents revealing how the US Defence Department and CIA collaborated in the war on terror.

THREE human rights groups have released documents that reveal close co-operation between the US Defence Department (DOD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Close to a thousand pages of documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and New York University's Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ). The suit, seeks the disclosure of government documents relating to secret detention, extraordinary rendition, and torture.

At a press conference the groups revealed that the documents confirm the existence of 'black site' prisons in Afghanistan and in Iraq; affirm the DOD’s co-operation with the CIA's "ghost" detention programme; and show one case where the DOD sought to delay the release of Guantánamo prisoners who were scheduled to be sent home in order to avoid bad press.

"These documents confirm our suspicion that the tentacles of the CIA's abusive programme reached across agency lines," said Margaret Satterthwaite, Director of the CHRGJ.

Dealing with bad PR

A February 2006 email to members of the DOD's Transportation Command discusses how to deal with the bad press the US was receiving over its detention facilities. It said the US was "getting creamed" on human rights issues sparked by "coverage of the United Nations Rapporteur's report on Guántanamo, plus lingering interest in Abu Ghraib photos."

To temper the bad PR, the email suggests delaying the release of prisoners at Gitmo "for 45 days or so until things die down." The email adds, "It would probably be preferable if we could deliver these detainees in something smaller and more discreet than a T tail (a larger aircraft with a T-shaped tail wing)."

"It is astonishing that the government may have delayed releasing men from Guantánamo in order to avoid bad press," said CCR attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez, who represents many of the men held in Guantánamo. "Proposing to hold men for a month and a half, after they were deemed releasable, is inexcusable."

Detaining ghosts

Another document highlights how the Geneva Conventions can be interpreted to allow the CIA and the DOD to 'ghost' identities so detainees can be denied a visit from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The organisations charged that the document, entitled "Applicability of Geneva Conventions to 'Ghost Detainees' in Iraq", shows that the DOD interpreted the 'security internee' provisions of the Geneva Conventions to allow for 'ghosting' of detainees by prohibiting the ICRC from visiting.

A 2005 document labelled "Detainee Update" dealt with Internment Serial Number Policy (ISN). The organisations said, "It shows that the DOD did not register detainees with the ICRC until they had been in custody for up to 14 days and that authorisation was sought to hold some individuals for up to 30 days without registry with ICRC to 'maximise intelligence collection'," even though "there is some disagreement as to legal basis to go beyond 14 days."

The groups said these policies "demonstrate the ease with which the CIA could have used DOD facilities as 'sorting facilities' without having to worry about ICRC oversight or revelation of the ghost detainee programme."

Hope in Obama

The lawsuit is based on FOIA requests dating back to 2004. Previous government releases also included documents largely already in the public record. This is the first time the DOD has provided any documents in response.

"Out of thousands of pages, most of what might be of interest was redacted," said Tom Parker, policy director for Counterterrorism, Terrorism and Human Rights at AIUSA.

"While the sheer number of pages creates the appearance of transparency, it is clear this is the tip of the iceberg and that government agencies have not complied with spirit of President Obama's memo on FOIA requests. We call on Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama administration to work actively to comply with FOIA requests."

In his first week in office, President Obama signed an order closing the Guantánamo detention facility within a year and prohibiting CIA secret prisons. Obama also pledged increased openness and transparency during his administration.

WILLIAM FISHER
IPS
LEHTIKUVA - REUTERS - Enrique Castro Mendivil