Pour Rumsfeld, avec les bons vœux de l’U.S. Army

Il y a fort à penser que la “fuite” ayant permis à la publication Salon.com de disposer d’un rapport de décembre 2005 impliquant indirectement Rumsfeld dans un interrogatoire “renforcé” doit être considérée dans la logique de l’affrontement entre le secrétaire à la défense et les généraux. Dans la querelle publique actuelle entre Rumsfeld et les généraux, l’U.S. Army est la première des trois armes impliquée (avec le Marine Corps). Le rapport a été rédigé par l’U.S. Army.

A propos de ce rapport, Human Rights Watch a fait le commentaire suivant: « The question at this point is not whether secretary Rumsfeld should resign, it's whether he should be indicted. General Schmidt's sworn statement suggests Rumsfeld may have been perfectly aware of the abuses inflicted on Mr al-Qahtani. »

Voici la présentation du rapport impliqué par cette fuite, par Le Guardian du 15 avril: « Donald Rumsfeld was directly linked to prisoner abuse for the first time yesterday, when it emerged he had been “personally involved” in a Guantánamo Bay interrogation found by military investigators to have been “degrading and abusive”.

(...)

» According to a December report by the [U.S. Army] inspector general, obtained by Salon.com online magazine, the investigators did not accuse the defence secretary of specifically prescribing “creative” techniques, but they said he regularly monitored the progress of the al-Kahtani interrogation by telephone, and they argued he had helped create the conditions that allowed abuse to take place.

» “Where is the throttle on this stuff?” asked Lt Gen Schmidt, an air force officer who said in sworn testimony to the inspector general that he had concerns about the duration and repetition of harsh interrogation techniques. He said that in his view: “There were no limits.”

(...)

» The investigators found Mr Rumsfeld was “talking weekly” with [Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller, who ran the Guantánamo camp in 2002] about the al-Qahtani interrogation. In December 2002, the defence secretary approved 16 harsh interrogation techniques for use on Mr al-Qahtani, including forced nudity, and “stress positions”. However approval was revoked in 2003.

» Gen Miller insisted he was unaware of details of the interrogation, but Gen Schmidt said he found that “hard to believe” in view of Mr Rumsfeld's evident interest in its progress. Gen James Hill, former head of Southern Command, recalled Gen Miller recommending continuation of the interrogation, saying “We think we're right on the verge of making a breakthrough.” Gen Hill then passed on the request to Mr Rumsfeld. “The secretary said, ‘Fine,’” Gen Hill remembered. »

Mis en ligne le 16 avril 2006 à 12H39