Army Rules Put on Hold: Interrogations of Terror Suspects

LAT

The revised field manual seeks to permit harsher interrogations of terror suspects, which some lawmakers say violates the ban on torture.


WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has been forced to delay the release of its updated Army Field Manual on interrogation because of congressional opposition to several provisions, including one that would allow tougher techniques for unlawful combatants than for traditional prisoners of war.

The Defense Department's civilian leaders, who are overseeing the process of rewriting the manual, have long argued — along with the Bush administration — that the Geneva Convention does not apply to terrorists or irregular fighters. The United States needs greater flexibility when interrogating people who refuse to fight by the rules, they have said.

But some lawmakers think that creating different rules for enemy prisoners of war and irregular fighters contradicts the torture ban passed by Congress last year, which requires a "uniform standard" for treating detainees.

The ban was adopted after mounting worldwide criticism of U.S. detention practices in Iraq and Afghanistan and at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The issue has confronted the Bush administration abroad and at home, and the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in as early as next month.