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Suit by Iraqis and Afghans Claims Rumsfeld Ordered Torture

The Justice Department has asked the judge to throw out the ACLU-supported case against the former defense secretary.
By Warren Richey
The Christian Science Monitor

See Full Story…
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806B.shtml
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1208/p02s01-usju.html

As Donald Rumsfeld prepares to leave his job as secretary of Defense, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking to hold him responsible for what it says was widespread torture carried out at his direction. [Editor's Note: The original version was changed because the American Civil Liberties Union says its civil suit is not intended to prove a war crime.]

Lawyers representing Mr. Rumsfeld and three US Army commanders are set to appear in federal court here Friday in response to a lawsuit charging that the Defense secretary authorized torture and other illegal abuse of military detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq - including at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

The case is important because it represents an attempt to hold US officials accountable for alleged illegal abuse of Iraqi and Afghan civilians who were never detained as enemy combatants or charged with any crime. But some legal analysts say the suit may be aimed more at shaping public opinion than winning in court because such cases are difficult to pursue.

See Full Story…
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806B.shtml
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1208/p02s01-usju.html

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