Turning to torture? How should the United States treat prisoners in the war on terror?

* OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* The country has been engaged in a debate. about how the U.S. should treat prisoners ill the war on terror.

* BACKGROUND

The USA PATRIOT Act was originally passed in October 2001. The Senate approved it 98 to 1, and the House of Representatives 357 to 66. USA PATRIOT is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." For more on the PATRIOT Act, see www.lifeandliberty.gov.

* CRITICAL THINKING

RECALLING DETAILS: Who is imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay? (Persons suspected of plotting or committing terrorist acts, or of having information on terrorist activities. Some may only have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.)

DETERMINING POINT OF VIEW: What is Arizona Senator John McCain's opinion on how prisoners of war should be treated? What is Vice President Dick Cheney's? (McCain: The Geneva Conventions should be obeyed and the "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" of prisoners should be banned. Cheney: The CIA should not be limited by the Geneva Conventions or McCain's amendment while "our country is at war.")

* ACTIVITY

ADD YOUR VOICE: Find out more about Senator McCain's proposal for a formal ban on torture, or about the Geneva Conventions. Then write a letter to your U.S. Senator or Congressmember, stating your opinion, pro or con. Be sure to support your opinion with facts. Be as brief yet as clear as possible.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Power, authority, and governance: Various options government authorities have for treatment of prisoners, and reasons for and against each.

* Civil ideals and practices: Examining and evaluating the relationships/gap between ideals and actual practice.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Fridell, Ron, Terrorism: Political Violence at Home and Abroad (Enslow Publishers, 2001). Grades 6-12.

* Streissguth, Thomas, Combating the Global Terrorist Threat (Lucent Books, 2003). Grades 6-12.

WEB SITES

* BBC: The War on Terror news.bbc.co.uk/I/hi/in_depth /world/2001/war_on_terror

* CNN: The War on Terror cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001 /trade.center

In the spring of 2004, photographs from Abu Ghraib (ah-BOO GREB) prison upset people around the world. The photos showed U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners at the detention center in Iraq. Within a week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a public apology. But nearly two years later, incidents of abuse and torture are still being reported. A recent Newsweek magazine poll found that 73 percent of Americans believe the nation's reputation has been damaged by accusations of torture.

The U.S. military is currently holding suspected terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan; in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and elsewhere. Some of the detainees are believed to have committed terrorist acts. Others may have information about future attacks. But some may be guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The White House and U.S. lawmakers have been engaged in a fierce debate about how these individuals should be treated.

New Rules for a New Kind of War?

For nearly six decades, four international treaties (agreements) have been accepted as the rules of war. They call for humane treatment of wounded and sick soldiers, prisoners of war, and civilians in war zones. They also forbid torture. Known as the Geneva Conventions, the treaties were signed by 190 countries.

Some experts say that the use of torture is more than just breaking the rules. "Torturing or abusing prisoners is very un-American," says Michael Izady. He is a professor of history at Pace University in New York City. "It also increases the likelihood that the enemy will torture American soldiers who are captured."

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush said that America was fighting a new kind of war. Sticking to the Geneva Conventions, he said, would limit the government's ability to stop future attacks.

Six weeks after 9/11, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act. It gave the U.S. the authority to aggressively interrogate terror suspects in prisons overseas. The President's advisers later prepared new guidelines for the treatment of such suspects. Approved methods included the use of dogs to frighten prisoners or increase stress.

U.S. soldiers and other people in charge of detainees were unsure of the new rules. Many did not know which methods could be used when questioning terror suspects.

Banning Torture

Senator John McCain (R, Arizona) wants to clear up the confusion and ban the practice of torture. As a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, he was taken prisoner and tortured.

"Our enemies didn't [obey] the Geneva Conventions," McCain told members of the Senate about his years in Vietnam. "But every one of us [prisoners] knew and took great strength from the belief that ... if the roles were reversed, we would not disgrace ourselves by committing ... such mistreatment of them."

McCain introduced an amendment to the 2006 military-spending bill. It would prohibit the "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" of prisoners. The Senate passed the spending bill by a 90-to-9 vote in October.

"A Brutal Enemy"

The President claims that the U.S. does not use torture. Nonetheless, he initially threatened to veto the spending bill with McCain's amendment.

Vice President Dick Cheney specifically did not want the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to have to obey McCain's amendment. "Our country is at war," Cheney said. "Our government has an obligation to protect the American people from a brutal enemy that has declared war upon us."

In December, after the House overwhelmingly passed McCain's amendment, the White House reluctantly agreed to the measure.

"America's moral black eye is finally healing," said Representative Jane Harmon, a California Democrat.

What do you think? Should people suspected of terrorism be treated differently from other prisoners? Why or why not?

Your Turn

WORD MATCH

1. treaty              A. question formally

2. interrogate         B. prisoner

3. detainee            C. agreement

4. amendment           D. revision

5. veto                E. refuse to approve

ANSWERS

1. C

2. A

3. B

4. D

5. E

NEWS SPECIAL: TURNING TO TORTURE?, PAGES 8-9

Match each person or place in the left column with the correct description in the right column.

--6. Abu Ghraib                 A. Secretary of Defense

--7. Dick Cheney                B. Senator who proposed
                                   measures to end the
                                   practice of torture

--8. Guantanamo Bay             C. federal official who
                                   wants the CIA to be
                                   excluded from any
                                   torture ban

--9. John McCain                D. an Iraqi prison where
                                   U.S. soldiers are
                                   said to have abused
                                   detainees

--10. Donald Rumsfeld           E. U.S. military base and
                                   prison in Cuba

ANSWERS

6. D

7. C

8. E

9. B

10.A