The Evolution of Warfare, the Laws of War, and the Ethical Implications of U.S. Detainee Policy in the Global War on Terror and Beyond, June 2006

John Greenewald — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 23:46:16 +0000

Background

Extract from the thesis:

The atrocities committed by American GIs at Abu Ghraib shocked the collective moral conscience of the U.S. Guilty of inhumane treatment of its prisoners there, Abu Ghraib did immeasurable damage to America’s international credibility and made clear that American detainee policy is off-track and needs to be corrected to comply with objective standards of law, morality, and operational effectiveness. The shock and emotional aftermath of 9/11 created a politically permissive environment within which the bureaucratic and organizational structures of the military were unsuited for the critical tasks assigned to them relative to the context of the Bush Administration’s “new paradigm.”

Two issues sit at the forefront of the political and socio-cultural context of U.S. detainee policy: war powers and human rights. This thesis will utilize a synthesized decision-making model to analyze the President’s decisions leading to the current detainee policy. Potential policy alternatives require smaller corrections to bureaucratic process rather than requiring a major reorganization of bureaucratic structure.

This thesis will provide policy-makers with a moral and legal framework for the categorization and treatment of enemy prisoners. Adoption of the full framework of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including U.S. ratification of Additional Protocols I and II (1977), provides the best available framework to combat transnational insurgency, while retaining the moral and legal high ground required of the world’s champion of liberal democracy.

Document Archive

The Evolution of Warfare, the Laws of War, and the Ethical Implications of U.S. Detainee Policy in the Global War on Terror and Beyond, June 2006 [140 Pages, 1.9MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/SheieThesis.pdf

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Detainee Related Records

John Greenewald — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 14:50:10 +0000

Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen Who Is a Senior Operational Leader of Al-Qa’ida or An Associated Force (White Paper) November 8, 2011 [17 Pages, 1.1MB] – This white paper sets forth a legal framework for considering the circumstances in which the U.S. government could use lethal force in a foreign country outside the area of active hostilities against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida or an associated force1 of al-Qa’ida-that is, an al-Qa’ida leader actively engaged in planning operations to kill Americans.

These records pertain to detainees, that have been, or are being held since 9/11

Assaults and Abuse Related Records

Documents concerning incidents or acts of assault perpetrated against U.S. Military personnel by detainees at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – ( .pdf #1 [573 Pages] | .pdf #2 [523 Pages] )

Incident Reports of Detainee on Detainee Assaults at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2003-2006 [45 Pages, 22MB]

List of Mass Disturbances at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from NOV 8, 2005 through DEC 2 2005 [18 Pages, 10.5MB]

Summary of the Reengagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, December 2010 [2 Pages, 0.1MB]

Australian and British citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay

Documents released January and June of 2009 [39 Pages, 1.8MB]

Department of State Records

Documents Related to the Treatment of Prisoners held at GITMO, released December 2015 [101 Pages, 3.5MB] – The original request for records was sent to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). These two documents were considered State Department records, and sent their for release. The first is a record related to the mental health of a GITMO prisoner, while the bulk of the release is the, “United Nations Committee Against Torture – Convention Against Torture – Periodic Report of United States of America.”