ORIGINAL MATERIAL PRODUCED BY THE GLOBAL BEAT SYNDICATE William Hartung: on the need for a more sophisticated approach in Iraq Dan Smith: on the Phantoms of Abu Ghraib Ehsan Ahrari: on heading over Niagra Falls in Iraq

New York University

For quick access to the Global Beat, set your bookmark to:
http://globalbeat.org

THE FULL TEXT OF THE DEFENSE DEPT. MEMO REINTERPRETING THE GENEVA CONVENTION AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS ON TORTURE:"Working Group Report on Detainee Interrogations in the Global War on Terrorism." The memo, classified "Secret-No Foreign Dissemination" by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, argues that the United States signed the Geneva Convention with reservations, and that in any case, the Convention does not apply to Guantanamo. (U.S. Department of Defense, March 3, 2004- 49 pages pdf)

•The U.S. Army rules of Engagement for Interrogation at Abu Ghraib--The use of military attack dogs is authorized, but only after a written request for permission is sent to the Commanding General. Geneva Conventions apply. (U.S. Army, CJTF-7)

GOOD BYE KOREA
With U.S. troops stretched to the breaking point in Iraq, the Pentagon is reassessing the traditional U.S. defense commitments in other places. The tentative plan is to pull out 12,500 troops-- one third of the current U.S. strength in South Korea. Nearly a third of that--3,600 troops--will be redeployed to Iraq. The troops in Korea have served mostly a symbolic function. As long as they are there an attack against the south constitutes an attack against the U.S., which would be likely to trigger a nuclear response. Pulling them out, however, is likely to be taken as proof that the U.S. is so deeply entangled in Iraq that from now on more traditional alliances risk being assigned a lower priority. (BBC, June 7, 2004)
•David Scofield points out that tensions between Korea and the Pentagon have been mounting for some time (David Scofield, Asia Times, June 4, 2004)

ASHCROFT GRILLED BY SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON TORTURE MEMOS
In response to a fierce grilling from senators, Attorney General John Ashcroft kept repeating that as far as he knew the President had not given any orders authorizing torture. The memos which Ashcroft referred to dealt with advice which the Justice Department allegedly prepared for the president reportedly altering the operating definition of torture and giving U.S. interrogators a much broader latitude in forcing prisoners to give up information against their will. Ashcroft refused to go into that or to let the senators see the incriminating documents, and at one point he was warned that he was coming dangerously close to being charged with contempt of Congress. Margaret Warner recaps the day's proceedings, and interviews Jess Bravin, who broke the story in the Wall Street Journal on Monday that Defense Department Lawyers had prepared a 100-page report last year, which also altered the standard definition of torture to give U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo more latitude in questioning prisoners. (Margaret Warner, PBS Newshour, June 8, 2004)

THE NATIONAL GUARD IS REACHING ITS LIMITS IN IRAQ
With some 40,000 troops in Iraq, the National Guard is beginning to reach its limits, and commanders are concerned that the current pace of deployment may not be sustainable. The Guard--with a total of 350,000 part-time soldiers is almost as big as the professional army, but recruiting and retention are down, and parents are beginning to tell their kids not to sign up. (Washington Post, June 7, 2004)

DONALD RUMSFELD ON THE WAR AGAINST TERROR
Speaking to the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore, Donald Rumsfeld stressed that the danger from terrorists is as great now as it was when the administration launched its campaign. Rumsfeld also responded to questions from the IISS. (Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon, June 5, 2004)

ASSESSING THE TERRORIST RISK IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Center for Strategic and International Studies' Anthony Cordesman and Nawaf Obaid point out that Saudi Arabia is struggling with the fact that with Iraq out of the way, the greatest external threat to the Kingdom now comes from Iran, especially if Iran becomes a nuclear power. The more immediate threat, though, is from homegrown and foreign Islamic extremists and budding terrorist cells. (Anthony Cordesman, CSIS, May 27, 2004--41 pages in pdf)
•RAND on Future Trends in the Middle East
•The Economist provides a survey of recent attacks in Saudi Arabia 85 civilians, 12 Saudi policemen and 39 terrorists have been killed in the last 13 months. Hundreds have been wounded. (Economist, June 7, 2004).
•BBC Reporter recovering after Saudi attack against newsmen.

THE U.S. AND BRITAIN REVISE THEIR DRAFT U. N. RESOLUTION ON IRAQ
The main resistance to the previous draft resolution came from the French who were concerned that the U.S. specify an exit date, and that Iraqi sovereignty should be genuine. American and British diplomats were finally able to get a unanimous approval for the latest versions. The BBC offers a copy of the latest draft resolution. (BBC, June 7, 2004)
•Ray Suarez interviews Juan Cole on PBS' Newshour on the split between Shiites and Kurds over the wording of the resolution
•Washington Post: The U.S. compromised
•Kurdish leader Mustapha Barzani threatens withdrawal
(Zaman on line, June 8, 2004)

THE LEADING CONTENDER TO REPLACE ARAFAT GETS FIVE CONSECUTIVE LIFE SENTENCES FROM AN ISRAELI COURT
Marwan Barghouti is suspected by Israeli authorities of taking party in some 37 terrorist attacks that killed scores of people. the court only succeeded in proving Barghouti's direct involvement in 3 terrorist attacks which killed five people. On those grounds the court sentenced Barghouti to five life sentences and a supplementary sentence of 40 additional years. Barghouti rejected the authority of the court to decide anything. (Haaretz, June 7, 2004)

THE ADMINISTRATION'S MIDDLE EAST PEACE INITIATIVE IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE
The International Crisis Group notes that President Bush's Broader Middle Peace Initiative (a reincarnation of his Greater Middle East Initiative) is running into skepticism in Europe and outright distrust throughout the region. One reason is a general sense of lack of balance in U.S. dealings between Israel and Palestinians.( ICG provides a background briefing, June 7, 2004)

CRISIS IN SUDAN'S DARFUR PROVINCE DEEPENING
Famine and guerrilla warfare now threatens an estimated 2 million people. The U.S. holds Khartoum responsible. Condoleeza Rice told reporters from the G-8 Summit in Georgia that President Bush discussed the situation with French and Italian leaders during his trip to Europe. (All Africa.com, June 8, 2004)
•Rice on Darfur
•Bush administration denies that it overlooked Darfur crisis in order to get peace deal between Khartoum and south (VOA, June 7, 2004)
•Darfur Information Center
•Human Rights Watch background on situation

G-8 MEETS AT SEA ISLAND, GEORGIA
Summits are usually devoted to economic issues. This one is more likely to focus on Iraq. President Bush plans to use the opportunity to talk with leaders individually. The U.S. government's summit website gives daily access to briefingss and background material. (G8usa.gov, June 7, 2004)
• G8online.org offers an ongoing background briefing on the summit. (G8online.org, June 7, 2004)

RUSSIAN PROSECUTOR MAY HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE SECURITY SERVICES
Rashid Ozdoyev wrote a report critical of the involvement of the FSB, Russias Federal Security Service in the disappearance of suspects in Chechnya's neighboring province, Ingushetia. Then Ozdoyev disappeared himself. His father is convinced that the FSB took him. The government response so far has been that they have no idea of where Ozdoyev went. They add that terrorists use the news as a weapon. (Peter Baker, the Washington Post, June 6, 2004)

Stretching the Definition of Torture to Suit the Needs of the Commander-in-Chief
The Wall Street Journal's Jess Bravin reports on a draft report prepared for Donald Rumsfeld, which appears to lay the foundation for the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib and at other U.S military prisons. The 100-page report was prepared in March 2003, when interrogators at Guantanamo complained that they were not getting enough information from prisoners captured in Afghanistan. According to the Wall Street Journal, the report argues that the president has the authority as commander in chief to approve almost any physical or psychological actions during interrogation, up to and including torture. The rational for using torture in the report was that nothing is more important than "obtaining intelligence vital to the protection of untold thousands of American citizens." Although lawyers from all the military branches and the Pentagon, several of the lawyers objected to passages that were not in conformity with the Geneva Conventions. These lawyers were eventually convinced to sign the final report which was completed in April 2003. Political appointees serving in the group reportedly wanted to give the president virtually unlimited powers. The Wall Street Journal said that it is not known if President Bush ever saw the report. According to the general in charge of interrogations at Guantanamo, Donald Rumsfeld approved the harsher interrogation techniques on April 16, 2003. Four methods required the personal approval of Donald Rumsfeld. Those methods, were reportedly used on at least two prisoners. According to the Wall Street Journal, the report argues that statutes against torture do not apply to Guantanamo because the base is within U.S. jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court is ruling this month on administration arguments that prisoners at Guantanamo have no rights in U.S. courts because they are not technically on U.S. territory. The report also reportedly sketches out criminal defense scenarios for U.S. officials who may eventually be accused of crimes of war. One recommendation was the Nuremberg Defense, favored by Nazi war criminals--the argument is that the individual is not guilty when he is only following orders from higher authorities.
(Jess Bravin, the Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2004)
•The Wall Street Journal Report
•The Washington Monthly comments on line (Kevin Drum, Political Animal, Washington Monthly, June 7, 2004)
•Philip Carter analyzes the report's legality on Intel Dump ( with links to previous Bush administration memos)

•Mark Danner in the New York Review of Books--on separating what we know from what we have known for a long time, but have mostly refused to admit...

•Washington Post on an August 2002 Justice Department memo arguing that international laws against torture may be "unconstitutional" when it comes to U.S. interrogation of prisoners.

---

The Security Policy Working Group
William Hartung, Marcus Corbin, Winslow T. Wheeler
Lucy Webster

---

GLOBAL BEAT TEAM REPORTING PROJECTS Armenia Albania Romania

Daily News flashes in English on developments in the Republic of Georgia (click on logo)

A weekly on-line magazine in English and Armenian on life in Yerevan (click on logo)