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The Lessons of U.S. Detention Policy

By possum

In a commentary for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Jonathan Horowitz speaks of his trips to Afghanistan to investigate the circumstance of several detainees, Abdul Wahab, Ghulam Sadeeq, and Mohammad Zahir.  Horowitz was hired by attorneys for Zahir

to do what the U.S. government should have done far earlier and with greater accuracy: determine which, if any, of the U.S. allegations against Mohammad Zahir and their other clients were true.

The government's willingness to do this could have prevented the government from detaining and physically and mentally abusing so many innocent men.

During the course of his trips and interviews Horowitz developed a set of reasons for the failed detention policies.

* the government's reliance on untrained translators who misinterpret what people say to them; the government's use of untrustworthy informants who manipulate the United States into detaining, or killing, rivals; profiteers and bounty hunters who provide the United States with false information and detainees in return for cash rewards;

* the use of coercive and violent detention conditions that push detainees into providing misinformation just so the abuses can cease; detaining people because they are, or were, low-level members of the Taliban even though the Taliban forcibly conscripted people to fight; and

* arresting innocent people who have the same, or similar, name as a person who is a legitimate threat.

We all recognize times of war are times of great confusion and uncertainty may rule sometimes.  But how people may be confined for years at a time without adequate investigation is a hard pill to swallow.  The people of Afghanistan did not take well to the detentions.

Afghans didn't take kindly to the fact that poor intelligence led to prolonged detention and, by consequence, the collapse of a family business, physical and mental anguish for the detainee, or food not being put on the family's table.

Horowitz goes further to discuss the ongoing detention in Afghani facilities.  In spite of administration statements to the contrary, the Afghan government relies heavily on information supplied by the U.S. in continuing the detentions on Afghani soil.

An Afghan judge told me frankly, "The evidence is based on information we get from Coalition Forces [i.e., the United States] and we are sure that people who were arrested are arrested for something they did wrong and we are sure that the U.S. is not lying."

Horowitz found himself very uncertain as to the status of any of the remaining Guantanamo detainees based on the evidence he found in country.

But, admittedly, it's tough to know how many exactly. That's because the United States didn't take seriously its responsibility to gather strong evidence against each person it detained.

The disarray of Bushco files on the detainees has been described at NION here.  The information was not kept in any systematic way making real evaluation difficult at best.

While the discussions continue about which if any rights the detainees have in court proceedings there is a greater issue.

But there remains the more discrete, but equally vital, issue of whether the new administration will improve how government agencies, such as the military, CIA, and FBI collect, share, corroborate, and organize battlefield intelligence.

Perhaps granting the writ of habeas corpus to the Bagram detainees will be the only way to force the government to gather better information and evidence. Otherwise, we're back at square one.

Horowitz and his firm spent only three weeks on the ground in Afghanistan.  In that time he found gaping holes in the stories of the detainees as told by the U.S. government and people on the ground in Afghanistan.  How much more might be learned by proper investigation?  Could the truth be told in the end?

Only time will tell how the Obama administration is to handle this shameful mess.  At least we are beginning to see bits of light, but until the detainees are given full and adequate evaluations in a court of law the questions will remain.

Peace.  

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).