Detainee Treatment Act of 2005
| Pub. L. Section | Status | United States Code | United States Code |
| Title | Section | Authorizes | |
| 1004 | 42 | 2000dd-1 | |
| 8033 | 10 | 274 nt | |
| 8032 | 10 | 221 nt |
Full Answer
How has the Detainee Treatment Act changed over time?
Also, the Detainee Treatment Act's anti-torture provisions were modified by the Graham-Levin Amendment, which was attached to the $453-billion 2006 Defense Budget Bill.
Did the Detainee Treatment Act cite the Army Field Manual on interrogation?
The Detainee Treatment Act cited the U.S. Army's Field Manual on interrogation as the authoritative guide to interrogation techniques, but did not cite a specific edition of the Manual.
What was the Bush administration’s treatment of Guantanamo detainees like?
The Bush administration claimed the detainees were being held in “humane situations.” Inside the initial two years, it was reported that the inmates were put through Abu Ghraib-style agony. A few dozen inmates tried to take commit suicide. The International Red Cross said it had seen the men’s mental health deteriorating.
Why was the Detainee Treatment Act created?
It became the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) as Division A, Title X of the DOD Act. The amendment prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, by confining interrogations to the techniques in FM 34-52 Intelligence Interrogation.
What did the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 say?
(a) IN GENERAL. —No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of na- tionality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
What was the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v Rumsfeld?
Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that military commissions set up by the Bush Administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Geneva Conventions ratified by the U.S.
Who won Boumediene Bush?
In a 6–3 decision, the Court dismissed the administration's argument that the Naval Base is outside civilian courts' jurisdiction and ruled that the captives must be given an opportunity to hear and attempt to refute whatever evidence had caused them to have been classified as "enemy combatants".
The Controversy
The military penitentiary was opened in January 2002. Its purpose was to keep detainees caught up in George W. Bush’s “war on terror.” The Bush administration deliberately placed it on an American naval base in Cuba where Bush’s lawyers said was past the arm of American law.
Congress Needs to Act
Activists are calling for America to put torture in the past. Congress can do that.
Overview
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) is an Act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on 30 December 2005. Offered as an amendment to a supplemental defense spending bill, it contains provisions relating to treatment of persons in custody of the Department of Defense, and administration of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including:
Legislative details
The amendment affected the United States Senate Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006 (DOD Act); the amendment is commonly referred to as the Amendment on (1) the Army Field Manual and (2) Cruel, Inhumane, Degrading Treatment, amendment #1977 and also known as the McCain Amendment 1977. It became the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) as Division A, Title X of the DOD Act. The amendment prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including pri…
Signing statement by President Bush
President Bush signed the bill into law on December 30, 2005. In his signing statement, Bush said:
The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the Pr…
Criticism
The Act sets the Army's standards of interrogation as the standard for all agencies in the Department of Defense. It prohibits all other agencies of the U.S. government, such as the CIA, from subjecting any person in their custody to "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment." However, the Act does not provide detailed guidelines that spell out the meaning of that phrase. In an effort to provide clarification, Congress passed legislation in 2008 to similarly …
See also
• United Nations Convention Against Torture
• Ethical arguments regarding torture
• Ticking time bomb scenario
• Unlawful combatant
External links
• Bush, McCain and 'torture' - Robert J. Caldwell, The San Diego Union-Tribune - September 24, 2006
• Text of Amendment Archived 2008-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Senators who voted for and against the amendment