Human Rights First's U.S. Law and Security Digest is a weekly report to help keep you up to date about developments in U.S. national security law and policy that have an impact on civil liberties and human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST DISPUTES CIA RECORD ON SECRET PRISONS
In his newly published memoir, which largely addresses the lead-up to the Iraq war, former CIA director George Tenet sought to justify the use of coercive interrogation techniques and secret CIA prisons to hold terrorism suspects. This week, Human Rights First President Michael Posner replied to several assertions Tenet made in his memoir, At the Center of the Storm, and in subsequent interviews. Tenet denies that the CIA engaged in torture, stating instead that the CIA used "aggressive interrogation techniques." CIA interrogation techniques have reportedly included waterboarding, stress positions, and exposure to extreme temperatures, all practices that violate U.S. and international law. Tenet also asserted that secret detentions have helped to garner information to disrupt terror plots and save lives. But acting outside of the law has also weakened support for U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and engaging in abusive techniques has led to suspects providing unreliable information, Posner said. Read more.

MILITARY MEDICAL REPORT REVEALS TROUBLING VIEWS
Less than half of U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq believe that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect, the Pentagon reported last week as part of a new survey on the mental health and ethics of soldiers in Iraq. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he was "greatly concerned" by the survey. Ten percent of the soldiers and marines surveyed reported personally mistreating Iraqi civilians or needlessly damaging their belongings. The study looked into increasingly long deployments and found that tour extensions can damage mental health and contribute to long-term anxiety and depression. Soldiers who have experienced intense conflict and have high levels of anger or other mental health problems are nearly twice as likely to mistreat civilians, the acting Army surgeon said. Human Rights First Executive Director Maureen Byrnes said the senior leadership in the Bush Administration further fueled the belief that torture is acceptable by refusing to adhere to a single set of humane treatment standards for all U.S. personnel and by authorizing cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Read more.

HOUSE PASSES UP FIRST CHANCE TO OVERHAUL DETAINEE LEGISLATION
The House Armed Services Committee failed to include language to restore the longstanding right of habeas corpus this week in a bill that legal experts considered Congress's first real chance to do so. Habeas corpus - the right to challenge the lawfulness of one's detention - is enshrined in the Constitution and dates back to the Middle Ages. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 seeks to deprive detainees of that right. Instead of including language in the 2008 defense authorization bill, Committee Chairman Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) said he planned to work with the Democratic leadership to introduce a separate bill that would restore detainees' right to challenge the legality of their detention in court. Elisa Massimino, Washington director of Human Rights First, said she was disappointed in the House leadership for passing up the opportunity to move on what they said is a top priority. On Wednesday both The New York Times and Washington Post called on the Democrats to make good on their promises to reform the Bush Administration's policies on detention and interrogation. Read more.

SENATORS ASK ADMINISTRATION TO EXPLAIN SUDAN'S DESIGNATION AS COUNTERTERRORISM ALLY
Last week, a key group of senators asked the government to justify its designation of Sudan as a "strong partner in the War on Terror" in a recent report, citing that government's role in carrying out genocide in the region of Darfur. In a letter to Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked him to clarify how Sudan had taken steps to counter the reach of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, as a State Department report alleged. The State Department also lists Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, as it has every year since 1993. The committee needs to understand the basis of Sudan's designation as an ally since some have used that argument to call for governments not to intervene in the genocide in Sudan, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said. Militias backed by the Sudanese government have killed more than 200,000 in the Darfur region of Sudan. The United States labeled the killings a genocide in 2004. Read more.

HAMDAN CHARGED UNDER NEW MILITARY COMMISSIONS SYSTEM
The Pentagon filed charges on Thursday against the third Guantanamo Bay detainee to face prosecution under the new military commission trials. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who has been charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism, faces trial by military tribunal for the second time since being detained at Guantanamo in 2002. It was Mr. Hamdan's challenge to his prosecution that resulted in last summer's Supreme Court ruling that the President lacked the authority to establish the military commissions and that the commissions violated American military law and the laws of war. As a result of the Court's decision, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 in September, establishing a system of military commissions for trials of non-U.S. citizens who have been determined to be "unlawful enemy combatants." Human Rights First criticized the Act for failing to comply with the Geneva Conventions and fundamental due process principles. Read more.

MAY 15: SPYING ON THE HOME FRONT
On May 15 Frontline will broadcast Spying on the Home Front, a report that will examine the Bush Administration's domestic "war on terrorism" and its impact on civil liberties. The report will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on PBS (Eastern time). More information.

MAY 15: HEARING ON CIA NOMINATION
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will hold a hearing on the nomination of John Rizzo to be CIA general counsel. The hearing will be held at 2:30 p.m. in SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. More information.

MAY 17: PANEL DISCUSSION ON HABEAS
The Constitution Project and the Brennan Center for Justice will host a panel discussion on the legal and policy implications of denying habeas corpus rights to detainees and possibilities for restoring those rights. The discussion will take place from 12 to 2 p.m. in the Edward R. Murrow Room at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. and will include a complimentary light lunch. RSVP at info@constitutionproject.org. More information.

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© 2006 Human Rights First