Military Law
Ex-Pentagon Lawyer Says He Researched ‘Real Manchurian Candidate Stuff’
Posted Jun 17, 2008, 09:38 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A former Pentagon lawyer scheduled to testify today before the Senate Armed Forces Committee told the New York Times he researched psychological studies about the effects of interrogation after his superiors expressed frustration about Guantanamo detainees withholding information.
The lawyer, Richard Schiffrin, said the information he obtained included studies of North Koreans’ attempted mind-control experiments on American prisoners during the Korean War. “It was real Manchurian Candidate stuff,” he told the Times.
The revelation comes amid disclosures that Pentagon lawyers played a more active and earlier role than previously disclosed in developing aggressive interrogation techniques for use at Guantanamo, the story says.
The Washington Post reports that new evidence appears to contradict previous statements by former Defense Department general counsel William Haynes II about the timing of research into enhanced techniques. Haynes previously said research was done at the request of Guantanamo jailers in October 2002. But memos and e-mail show Haynes was soliciting interrogation ideas as early as July that year, the story says.
Military lawyers raised strong concerns about the legality of enhanced techniques in November 2002, a month before they were approved, according to the Post.
Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved enhanced interrogation techniques in December 2002, but he rescinded his order allowing the harshest methods a month later, the Times says. The military never authorized interrogations as harsh as those carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, which used waterboarding until the end of 2003.
The techniques approved for use at Guantanamo included stress positions and sleep deprivation. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., contends in a statement that research into aggressive techniques by senior officials helped pave the way for Abu Ghraib abuses.
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Posted by Simon deMontfort - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes ago
Prisoners have been tortured to death. For ex, Manadel al-Jamadi was murdered at Abu Ghraib. Donald Rumsfeld is a criminal and should be held to account for his part in committing torture and murder. Any lawyer who facilitated torture should be disbarred, at the very least.
Posted by Joe Harper - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes ago
How many lawyers stood trial an Nuremberg?
Posted by Carl Ian Schwartz - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 5 hours, 15 minutes ago
When will the DOD, Rumsfeld, the CIA, and our own AG Mukasey come to judgment for copying our former enemies.
Remember, when we lose our Constitutional identity to “win,” we’ve actually lost.
Posted by George Sly - 2 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes ago
I agree with most of the above sentiments. I’m not sure about Mr. Mukassey except for failing to prosecute. Mr. Mukassey was not a member of the adminsitration when the decision to use torture was made and I know of no evidence that he has implemented any of Mr. Bush’s policies with regard to torture.
As to Mr. Harper’s queston, I can’t give a total number, but 16 judges were tried at the subsequent tribunal in 1947, in which ten were convicted. In the original 1946 trial Wilhelm Frick who was minister of the interior was a lawyer who was hanged. I believe Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Joachim Von Ribbentrop were also lawyers by profession and both were hanged.
I dislike the death penalty but it was warranted in their case.
Posted by capt - 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 23 hours, 25 minutes ago
Manchurian candidate stuff, maybe some Vietnam POWs? Hmmmm
Have we ever seen any kind of mental health info on any candidate - would that be out of line?
Posted by Michael Keenan - 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 1 hour, 34 minutes ago
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/Alstoetter.htm