Evidence Gained Through Torture Justifies Secret Imprisonment by U.S.

Does this sound like America, or some 1950s version of life behind the Iron Curtain? Secret "evidence" obtained by torture can be used to arrest and imprison you forever without anyone knowing about it.



According to Bush Administration policy, that's exactly what's happening now in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: Evidence gained by torture is being used by the U.S. military to decide whether or not to imprison foreigners indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other secret prisons around the world.



The issue is the determination of whether or not the individual in question is an "enemy combatant," because enemy combatants, so the reasoning goes, are not entitled to the same rights and privileges as citizens of a foreign country.



So, the American approach to international justice is this: First we torture some poor fellow until he rats out his neighbor in order to make the torture stop. Then we grab the neighbor and throw him in jail forever without ever telling anyone.



According to the Bush Administration what makes this all okay is that torture is against U.S. policy and any allegations of torture are "forwarded through command channels for military discipline" (just like those at Abu Gharib, no doubt).



And, the rest of the world should rest assured that America is providing "due process" to these enemy combatants. The Bush Administration has set up "combatant status review tribunals" (after the Supreme Court forced them to in June), consisting of three colonels and lieutenant colonels that individually review each case.



Never mind that detainees cannot have lawyers at the combatant status review proceedings and cannot see any secret evidence against them, (reviewing the military's evidence for holding foreign detainees could have "practical and collateral consequences ... at a time of war" explains a helpful Pentagon lawyer), they are getting a fair hearing, believe us.



Thus far the panels have reviewed 440 of the prisoners and released only one.



Which, no doubt, just goes to prove that we were right to arrest these enemies in the first place.



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