“Asked by reporters about the treatment [of prisoners captured in the war on terror], [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld suggested at a January 11 [2002] Pentagon news briefing that they would be ‘handled not as prisoners of war, because they’re not, but as unlawful combatants [who] do not have any rights under the Geneva Convention.’ […]
1/11/2002
“In [Chief Legal Advisor to the Department of State William H.] Taft’s view, [Deputy Assistant Attorney General John] Yoo had completely misread international law [in his interpretations of how the Geneva Conventions applied to prisoners of the war on terror]. ‘Both the most important factual assumptions on which your draft is based and its legal […]
1/11/2002
In January 2002, “the U.S. military established a prison camp at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and began airlifting prisoners from Afghanistan into the new prison, named Camp X-Ray. The first prisoners arrived on January 11, 2002.” – James Risen, State of War, Page 28 […]
1/11/2002
In a memo to Deputy Chief of the Office of Legal Counsel John Yoo on January 11, 2002, Chief Legal Advisor to the Department of State, William Howard Taft IV, “warned Yoo that if the United States took the war on terror outside the Geneva Conventions, not only could U.S. soldiers be denied the protections […]
1/11/2002
On January 11, 2002, Chief Legal Advisor to the Department of State, William Howard Taft IV, sent a memo to Deputy Chief of the Office of Legal Counsel John Yoo “that his [Yoo’s] contention that the President could disregard the Geneva Conventions was ‘untenable,’ ‘incorrect,’ and ‘confused.’ ” – Jane Mayer, The Dark Side, Page […]
1/10/2002
On January 10, 2002, “US flies out first 20 Taliban and Al’Qaida prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” – Ahmed Rashid, Taliban, Page 266 […]
1/9/2002
On January 9, 2002, John Yoo, a lawyer in the Office of Legal Counsel “circulated a draft memorandum to Bush officials that would provide much of the legal reasoning for the administration’s future actions concerning the detention and interrogation of prisoners. Yoo…concluded that neither the Taliban nor al-Qaeda were entitled to prisoner-of-war status, or the […]
1/9/2002
“A forty-two-page draft memorandum circulated on January 9, 2002, by Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo concluded that neither group [al-Qaeda and the Taliban] was entitled to prisoner-of-war status or any protection at all under Geneva [Conventions]. Al-Qaeda, Yoo wrote, was a stateless entity with no rights under international law. The Taliban was similarly deemed […]
1/9/2002
“A January 7-9, 2002, national Gallup poll showed that only 6 percent of Americans were opposed to our going to war with Afghanistan. Ninety-four percent approved, with virtually equal support among Republicans and Democrats.” – Vincent Bugliosi, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Page 203 […]
1/9/2002
According to Defense Watch on January 9, 2002, Sonny Razon, the former Philippine colonel who transported attempted bomber Abdul Hakim Murad after his arrest, said: ” ‘We told the Americans about the plans to turn planes into flying bombs as far back as 1995… Why didn’t they pay attention?’ ” – Peter Lance, 1000 Years […]