Now under UN scrutiny: US interrogation tactics

The US government's use of aggressive interrogation tactics in the war on terror is under a United Nations microscope.

The Bush administration has defended its tactics as a means of obtaining actionable intelligence to help thwart terror plots. Critics say it has opened the door to illegal abuse of detainees and even torture.

Just how "aggressive" the tactics have been is under close scrutiny by the UN's Committee Against Torture in Geneva.

A US delegation appeared before the committee Friday - its first appearance since 9/11 - and it is to face a second round of questioning Monday. The committee is expected to issue a report by May 19. Although it has no specific enforcement powers, the session is viewed as an opportunity to hold countries publicly accountable.

At issue is whether the Bush administration has violated an international ban on torture and abuse of prisoners in the war on terror. State Department legal adviser John Bellinger told the 10-member committee Friday that the US government is fully committed to upholding national and international obligations to eradicate torture. Mr. Bellinger and other US officials acknowledged that mistakes had been made in US treatment of detainees, but that those mistakes were the result of a handful of individuals acting in violation of the law rather than a systemic effort by the US government to circumvent international treaty obligations.

The 26-member US delegation to the hearing includes representatives from the Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, and State departments. But it does not include anyone from the Central Intelligence Agency.

The American delegation declined to discuss allegations about Al Qaeda suspects being subjected to harsh treatment - including simulated drownings - at secret detention camps in various countries. Bellinger said it would not be appropriate for the UN committee to delve into "alleged intelligence activities."

Committee member Andreas Mavrommatis disagreed. He said intelligence matters would be treated with care, but they were not exempt from the UN committee's oversight.

"If during the intelligence activities there is a violation of the convention, it's our duty to investigate [it] and your duty to answer," Mr. Mavrommatis said.

A day earlier the committee, made up of 10 international law experts, heard testimony from human rights groups that had prepared reports charging the United States with flagrant violations of the treaty.

"Evidence continues to emerge of widespread torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of detainees held in US custody in Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and other locations," said Amnesty International in a report released last week. "While the government continues to assert that abuses resulted for the most part from the actions of a few 'aberrant' soldiers and lack of oversight, there is clear evidence that much of the ill-treatment has stemmed directly from officially sanctioned procedures and policies."

The American Civil Liberties Union leveled similar charges in its report to the committee: "The US government, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, decided to fight terrorism by picking and choosing what principles of humanitarian and human rights law to apply." The report also quoted a former CIA counterterrorism chief as saying: "There was a before-9/11, and an after-9/11. After 9/11 the gloves came off."

In the months after 9/11, the Bush administration adopted a two-front strategy aimed at preventing future acts of terrorism against the US.

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