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In January 2002, President Bush decided that combatants captured in Afghanistan and the "war on terror" were not prisoners of war and therefore weren't protected by the Geneva Conventions' rules for humane prisoner treatment. With backing from administration lawyers, Bush loosened the rules on interrogations and gave the CIA new powers to set up secret detention facilities in other countries.
In early 2002, the U.S. began to bring "enemy combatants" to its base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - a kind of legal no-man's land that the administration argued was subject to neither U.S. law nor any other national jurisdiction. Some prisoners there faced harsh interrogations. (In May 2008, the Department of Justice released a report describing how FBI agents documented abuses at Guantanamo and were then ignored by top officials.)
According to one Pentagon report, the interrogation techniques at Guantanamo later "migrated to Afghanistan and Iraq." In April 2004, CBS' 60 Minutes II broadcast the now-infamous photos of prisoners being abused at Abu Ghraib. The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh soon followed with an exposé detailing the military's until-then classified report on the abuse. In the aftermath, a handful of soldiers were charged with crimes. No government investigation has yet been sanctioned to look at top officials' culpability in the abuses.
The administration has begun military tribunals for enemy combatants. The tribunals have faced a series of setbacks and heavy criticism, including from the tribunals' former chief prosecutor. Nevertheless, the trials began in June with five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks, including the alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. On June 12, the Supreme Court ruled that the government violated the rights of prisoners who had been detained indefinitely without charges at Guantanamo and gave detainees the right to challenge their detentions in U.S. courts. In the ruling, the court also criticized the tribunals for being unfair, which will cause more delays of ongoing trials and possibly force reform or even dismantling of the tribunal system.
Gitmo Hearing Highlights Psychologists’ Role in Abuse at Bagram
- Daily Kos, August 18
Psychologists Clash on Aiding Interrogations
- New York Times, August 18
U.S. Sailors Face Courts Martial for Iraqi Prisoner Abuse
- BBC, August 15
Appeals Court Will Rehear Rendition Torture Case
- AP, August 15
Pentagon Official Removed from Second Gitmo Trial
- AP, August 14
War Court Resumes, Readies Canadian’s Trial
- Miami Herald, August 13
In Depth: A Terror Suspect’s Alleged Move Towards Extremism
- Boston Globe, August 12
Juror Questions U.S. Pursuit of Salim Hamdan
- NPR, August 11
War Crimes System Is Still on Trial
- New York Times, August 11
Marine to Stand Trial in Fallujah Killings
- AP, August 8
Military Docs: Interrogation Tactic Used After It Was Banned
- Washington Post, August 8
U.S. Puts Iraqi Prisoners in Boxes
- CNN, August 7
Bin Laden’s Driver Gets 66 Months
- Miami Herald, August 7
Bin Laden Driver Seeks Leniency at Sentencing
- AP, August 7
Questions Remain Despite Conviction of Ex-bin Laden Driver
- Chicago Tribune, August 7
9/11 Victim Can’t Speak at Gitmo Detainee’s Sentencing Hearing
- Miami Herald, August 7
Detainee Convicted by Military Panel
- New York Times, August 6
Doubt Cast on U.S. Version of Terror Suspect’s Arrest
- McClatchy, August 6
Gitmo Judge Admits Possible Error
- New York Times, August 6
Gitmo Lawyer Suggests Detainee Aided U.S. in Afghanistan
- New York Times, August 5
U.S. May Have Taped Visits to Detainees
- Washington Post, August 5
Senators Introduce Bill to End Coercive Interrogations
- Secrecy News, August 4
Bin Laden Driver Could Stay at Gitmo Indefinitely
- AP, August 4
U.S. Soldiers Charged in Iraqi Detainee’s Death
- AP, August 4
Gitmo Interrogators Shift Focus to Prison Activity
- AP, August 4
Alleged 9/11 Architect: Hamdan “Not Fit” for Terror
- Washington Post, August 4
Ex-U.S. Official: British Territory Used for U.S. Terror Interrogation
- TIME, August 1
SERE Psychologist Gives Secret Testimony at Gitmo Trial
- Miami Herald, August 1
Judge Allows Gitmo Detainee’s Interrogation Testimony
- AP, July 31
Expert Witness: Gitmo Detainee Doesn’t Fit Terrorist Profile
- Miami Herald, July 31
Gitmo Detainee Lawyers: Doc Proves Sexual Humiliation During Interrogation
- New York Times, July 31
Gitmo Judge Blocks Prosecutors’ Use of ‘03 Interrogation
- AP, July 30
System is Tested at Gitmo Detainee’s Trial
- New York Times, July 29
Gitmo Testimony: U.S. Freed Bin Laden’s Top Bodyguard
- Miami Herald, July 25
DoJ Advised CIA in ’02 About Legal Waterboarding
- Washington Post, July 25
Torture Memos Laid Out Interrogation Procedures
- New York Times, July 25
DoJ Memo: ‘Good Faith’ OK Defense for Torture Charges
- AP, July 24
Key Memos Authorized CIA Torture Methods
- ACLU, July 24
AG Rejects Outside Probe of Canadian Detainee Sent to Syria
- Reuters, July 24
Bin Laden’s Driver Walks Out on Terror Trial
- The Miami Herald, July 24
Psychiatrist’s Lecture at CIA Forum May Have Influenced Torture Techniques
- Inside Higher Ed, July 23
FBI Agent: Investigators Prohibited from Advising Gitmo Detainees of Miranda Rights
- AP, July 23
Two Sides at Gitmo Trial Paint Starkly Different Pictures of the Defendant
- The New York Times, July 23
Some Evidence Excluded as War Trial Opens
- The Miami Herald, July 21
AG: Congress Should Set Rules for Gitmo Detainees
- AP, July 21
Gitmo Detainee’s Trial Begins Today
- Washington Post, July 21
British Panel Doubts U.S. on Torture
- Reuters, July 21
Bush Admin to Court: U.S. Can Detain Canadian Teenager
- AP, July 18
Docs: Gitmo’s Top Lawyer Allegedly Involved with the Prosecution
- The Nation, July 18
U.S. May Have Waterboarded Detainee Before Getting Legal Approval
- Salon, July 18
Judge Refuses to Postpone Trial of Bin Laden’s Driver
- The New York Times, July 17
Gitmo Judge Declines to Dismiss Charges Against Detainee
- Miami Herald, July 17
U.S. Judge May Block First Gitmo Trial
- AP, July 17
Detainee Challenges Gitmo by Describing Life There
- The New York Times, July 16
Court Mostly Backs Bush on Military Detentions of Civilians Captured in U.S.
- The New York Times, July 15
DoJ to Court: Don’t Postpone Gitmo Trial
- AP, July 15
Videotaped Interrogation of Gitmo Detainee Released
- AP, July 15
Judge Allows Testimony By Gitmo Detainees
- Los Angeles Times, July 15
Gitmo Detainee Possibly Subjected to 50 Days of Sleep Deprivation
- AP, July 15
Book: White House Ignored CIA on Gitmo Detainees’ Innocence
- Washington Post, July 14
Detainees Say They’re Being Denied Legal Tools
- The Miami Herald, July 11
AG Rejects Call for Special Prosecutor on Torture
- Washington Post, July 11
Book: Secret Red Cross Report Called CIA Torture a War Crime
- The New York Times, July 11
Judge Tells DoJ to Speed Gitmo Appeals
- McClatchy, July 9
U.S., Yemen Grapple on Freeing Detainees
- AP, July 8
Future for Gitmo Legal System Remains Uncertain
- The New York Times, July 7
CIA Contends With Growing Scrutiny
- Washington Post, July 7
White House: Ruling Could Free Gitmo Detainees in U.S.
- AP, July 7
China Inspired Gitmo Interrogation Techniques
- The New York Times, July 2
Pentagon Announces Charges in USS Cole Bombing
- AP, July 1
Court Dismisses Syrian Rendition Suit
- The New York Times, July 1
Evidence Faulted in Detainee Case
- The New York Times, July 1
Abu Ghraib Inmates Sue Contractors for Torture
- AP, July 1
Bush’s Top General Quashed Torture Dissent
- Salon, June 30
Bipartisan Group to Speak Out on Detainees
- The New York Times, June 25
European Role in U.S. Renditions Criticized
- Financial Times, June 25
Gitmo Detainee’s Lawyer ‘Not Allowed to Tell Him’ He’s No Longer An ‘Enemy Combatant’
- Think Progress, June 25
U.S. Asks To Rewrite Gitmo Detainee Evidence
- AP, June 23
Federal Appeals Court Rules for Gitmo Detainee
- AP, June 23
White House Dismissed Legal Advice on Detainees
- Washington Post, June 23
Inside a 9/11 Mastermind’s Interrogation
- The New York Times, June 23
Former AG Accused of Playing Politics With Justice
- ABC News, June 20
Cheney Linked to Torture Tactics
- The Washington Times, June 20
Gitmo Detainee Opens New Era of Court Challenge
- McClatchy, June 20
Ex-State Dept. Official: Over 100 Detainees Died in U.S. Custody, 25 Murdered
- Think Progress, June 19
Gitmo Detainee Lawyer Criticizes Military Tribunals
- The New York Times, June 19
General Accuses White House of War Crimes
- Washington Post, June 19
A Timeline to Bush Government Torture
- Salon, June 18
Excerpts From Documents Released by Senate Committee Hearing on Interrogation
- McClatchy, June 18
Report: Medical Exams Show Abuse, Torture in Iraq, Gitmo
- AP, June 18
Deck Stacked Against Detainees in Legal Proceedings
- McClatchy, June 18
Documents Confirm U.S. Hid Detainees from Red Cross
- McClatchy, June 18
CIA Advised Military on Gitmo Questioning
- McClatchy, June 17
Senate Report: Military Psychologists Helped Devise Interrogation Methods
- McClatchy, June 17
Senator: Pentagon Sought Abusive Interrogation Despite Lawyers’ Objections
- AP, June 17
Report: Top Pentagon Officials Looked Into Interrogation Methods Early On
- Washington Post, June 17
Ex-Detainees Allege U.S. Troops Abused Quran
- McClatchy, June 17
Wrongly Jailed Detainees Found Militancy at Gitmo
- McClatchy, June 17
Republicans Study Possible Limits to Habeas Corpus Ruling
- Washington Post, June 16
Detainees May Be Denied Evidence for Defense
- Washington Post, June 16
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