Obama should create independent commission to investigate detainee abuse Commentary
Obama should create independent commission to investigate detainee abuse
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Joanne Mariner [Director, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program, Human Rights Watch]: "In their sobering report, Guantanamo and Its Aftermath [PDF file], researchers at the University of California, Berkeley – working in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Rights – have documented an array of serious abuses. The report describes how detainees held in U.S. military detention at Kandahar and Bagram, Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were in many cases physically abused, humiliated, deprived of sleep, put in painful "stress" positions, and subjected to psychological isolation. Not simply the actions of undisciplined soldiers, these abuses reflected a decision on the part of senior civilian and military leaders to ignore basic human rights and humanitarian law standards.

The report is based on extensive research, including the testimonies of 62 former detainees, but as it emphasizes, "there is more to be learned." To ensure that the full story of post-9/11 detention-related abuses comes to light, the report urges the incoming Obama administration to establish an independent, nonpartisan commission to investigate the detention and treatment of detainees held in U.S. custody around the world since 2001. Such a commission, the report emphasizes, should be composed of distinguished figures known for their integrity, expertise, and achievements. It should also have subpoena power to compel witness and gain access to classified documents.

Such a commission is sorely needed. It is past time for a full and public accounting of the scale of post-9/11 abuses, why and how they occurred, and who was responsible for authorizing them. Although several congressional inquiries, military reports, and Department of Justice investigations have looked into particular aspects of these questions, there has never been a comprehensive public inquiry into post-9/11 abuses, and investigations to date have either lacked independence from the executive branch or access to necessary documentary and testimonial evidence.

Only by accounting for the abuses of the past seven years will Americans fully understand what went wrong, and be able to ensure that this ugly chapter in U.S. history is never repeated."

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