TORTURE BY BUSH ADMIN.

Torture & Its Violation by the Bush Administration

Table of contents

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION3

Background3

Introduction7

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW13

Key elements of the issue and the key players22

Human rights abuse by Islamic militants23

Human rights violations by Coalition forces23

A geopolitical perspective24

The fight for resources24

Strategies for Amnesty International in the fight against human rights abuse24

Is War Justified?26

Possible resolutions34

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY35

Hypothesis35

Research Design35

Data Collection35

War Results42

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION44

References49

Bibliography54

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background

The convention against torture was signed on 10 December 1984, but in the wake of the global “war on terror” the Bush administration has allowed the use of torture on detainees with the justification that it is necessary to obtain vital information so that thousands of lives can be saved. Article 2 of the Convention against Torture states that:

1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.

2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

Revelations coming to light every day show that although the Convention- to which the US is a signatory- although strictly prohibits torture with no derogations possible under any circumstances, the Bush administration never honored its signature but on the contrary violated it while at the same time lied to the world saying the practices were never known to high ranking officials and never endorsed. The facts though state otherwise:

“Condoleezza Rice gave permission for the CIA to use waterboarding techniques on the alleged al-Qaida terrorist Abu Zubaydah as early as July 2002, the first known official approval for the technique, according to a report released by the Senate intelligence committee yesterday.

The revelation indicates that Rice, who at the time was national security adviser and went on to be secretary of state, played a greater role than she admitted in written testimony last autumn. The committee's narrative report also shows that dissenting legal views about the interrogation methods were brushed aside repeatedly. The mood within the Bush administration at the time is caught in a handwritten note attached to a December 2002 memo from Donald Rumsfeld, the then defense secretary, on the use of stress positions. "I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours?" he asked”.(The guardian; 23/04/09)

In the aftermath of the 9/11 events an all out “war on terror” was declared by president Bush against all the enemies of the United States. New acts against terrorism and new legislation were introduced by the administration that restricted civil liberties and clearly contravened conventions and treaties concerning Human Rights and International Human Rights Law. The Bush administration considered al these measures imperative for the protection of the citizens of the US and the security of their land. The invasion of Iraq came as a consequence because- as ...