Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ws8qp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T10:14:29.370Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

ONE - Executive Plans and Authorizations to Violate International Law Concerning Treatment and Interrogation of Detainees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2009

Jordan J. Paust
Affiliation:
University of Houston
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

A common plan to violate customary and treaty-based international law concerning the treatment and interrogation of so-called terrorist and enemy combatant detainees and their supporters captured during the U.S. war in Afghanistan emerged within the Bush administration in 2002. The plan was developed within months after the United States had used massive military force in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, against local members of al Qaeda and “military installations of the Taliban regime” during the war in Afghanistan that is still ongoing. It was approved in January 2002 and led to high-level approval and use of unlawful interrogation tactics that year and in 2003 and 2004. A major part of the plan was to deny protections under the customary laws of war and treaties that require humane treatment of all persons who are detained during an armed conflict, regardless of their status and regardless of any claimed necessity to treat human beings inhumanely. The common plan and authorizations have criminal implications, as denials of protections under the laws of war are violations of the laws of war, which are war crimes.

THE AFGHAN WAR, LAWS OF WAR, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The October 7 Afghan war became an international armed conflict between U.S. combat forces and the Taliban regime, which had been a de facto government in control of some 90 percent of the territory of Afghanistan and had been recognized by a few states as the de jure government of Afghanistan.

Type
Chapter
Information
Beyond the Law
The Bush Administration's Unlawful Responses in the "War" on Terror
, pp. 1 - 24
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×