Levin Amendment Calls for Independent Commission to Review U.S. Detainee Policies and Allegations of Detainee Abuse

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., today announced plans to introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, along with Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., John Rockefeller, D-W.V., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., that would establish an independent commission to examine U.S. policies and practices for the treatment of detainees since September 11, 2001, including their detention and interrogation, and allegations of detainee abuse. The commission, which would be modeled after the 9/11 Commission, would report on its findings regarding the causes of detainee abuse, determine who should be held responsible for such abuses, and make recommendations for changes in U.S. policy and law relating to the treatment of detainees.

“We are calling for an Independent Commission on the Treatment of Detainees because the Defense Department has shown that it is not capable of investigating itself,” said Levin. “The most serious scandal in recent military history needs an objective investigation.”

The purposes of the Commission would be to:

• examine U.S. policies and practices relating to the treatment of detainees since September 11, 2001, including their detention, interrogation, and rendition;
• examine the causes of and factors that may have contributed to alleged mistreatment of detainees, including U.S. laws and policies, and activities of contractors or intelligence personnel;
• assess the responsibility of military and civilian leaders, within and outside the Department of Defense, for policies, actions, or omissions that may have contributed to detainee mistreatment;
• evaluate the effectiveness and propriety of interrogation techniques, policies, and practices for producing useful and reliable intelligence;
• evaluate plans for the long-term detention and procedures for the prosecution, including by military commissions, of detainees; and
• report to the President and Congress on their findings and recommendations, including any recommended changes to U.S. laws, policies, or regulations, as appropriate.

The composition and powers of the commission would be modeled on the 9/11 Commission.

The results of the various Defense Department reviews to date are highly inadequate, the Senators allege. These reviews, snapshot inspections, and carefully circumscribed investigations have resulted in significant gaps; have had limited or no cooperation from the CIA; have left critical documents missing, including key legal memos from the Justice Department; and have reached conflicting conclusions.

The Senators seek answers to critical questions, such as:

• Why, despite serious concerns raised by military service lawyers in Washington and FBI agents in Guantanamo, did Secretary Rumsfeld approve in December 2002 an interrogation policy for Guantanamo that included aggressive techniques like stress positions, isolation, 20-hour interrogations, nudity, and the use of military working dogs?
• Did memos from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel give the green light to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, including abusive and degrading interrogation techniques?
• How was it that aggressive interrogation techniques migrated from Guantanamo to Iraq , where these same techniques contributed to the abuses at Abu Ghraib?
• Why did the Secretary fail to promulgate interrogation policies for Afghanistan , and Iraq , as he did for Guantanamo in April 2003?
• Did senior leaders create a command climate in Iraq and elsewhere that increased the likelihood of abuses, by pressuring interrogators to produce actionable intelligence?

In calling for an independent commission, the Senators voiced concern that there has been no accountability at senior levels for policies, actions, and failures to act that may have contributed to widespread abuse of detainees. The responsibility of civilian leaders, in particular, remains essentially unexamined. Meanwhile, eight junior soldiers have been criminally convicted at courts-martial for the Abu Ghraib abuses, with one other reservist still being tried.

A full, objective, and independent inquiry into the treatment of detainees would serve to restore the United States ' credibility and leadership in the world, the Senators argued.

“A thorough investigation would protect our troops,” Levin said. “We must demonstrate our commitment to the humane treatment of detainees, to strengthen our standing to object to, and take action against, anyone who mistreats an American prisoner of war.”

The full text of the proposed amendment can be found here [PDF].