Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE6516
2009-01-24 22:17:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

Executive Orders on Closing Guantanamo and on

Tags:  KAWK KISL KPAO MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL PTER 
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O 242217Z JAN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS STATE 006516 


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KAWK KISL KPAO MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL PTER
SUBJECT: Executive Orders on Closing Guantanamo and on
U.S. Interrogation and Detention Policies

UNCLAS STATE 006516


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KAWK KISL KPAO MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL PTER
SUBJECT: Executive Orders on Closing Guantanamo and on
U.S. Interrogation and Detention Policies


1. (U) Background. On January 22, 2009, President Obama
issued three Executive Orders related to the Guantanamo
Bay detention facility; interrogation rules and detention
facilities; and future U.S. detention policy. The
following background on the Executive Orders is for all
diplomatic and consular posts for use on an if-asked
basis. Posts are welcome to raise with host government
officials as appropriate.


2. (U) On January 22, 2009, on his second day in office,
President Obama issued three Executive Orders. Those
Orders are titled "Review and Disposition of Individuals
Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of
Detention Facilities" ("Guantanamo Bay Order"); "Ensuring
Lawful Interrogations" ("Interrogation Order"); and
"Review of Detention Policy Options" ("Detention Policy
Order"). The text of the Orders is available at
www.whitehouse.gov.


3. (U) In a statement he made to accompany the signing of
the Orders, President Obama pledged that America will
confront terrorism "in a manner consistent with our
values and ideals."


4. (U) Guantanamo Bay Order. The Guantanamo Bay Order
mandates that the detention facilities at Guantanamo that
currently detain individuals the Department of Defense
has ever determined to be or treated as enemy combatants
will be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than
one year from the date of the Order. To achieve that
goal:

--the Order mandates an immediate review of the status of
individuals currently detained at Guantanamo. During
this interagency review, coordinated by the Attorney
General, and which includes the Secretaries of State,
Defense, and Homeland Security, and the Director of
National Intelligence, the group will consolidate
information that pertains to any detainee held at
Guantanamo; determine whether it is possible to transfer
or release the individuals; determine whether and by what
means prosecution of these individuals is available; and
if not approved for release, transfer, or prosecution,
determine what other lawful means are available for their
disposition.

--the interagency review will consider the legal and
security implications if individuals at Guantanamo were

transferred to facilities within the United States.
Participants will work with Congress on any appropriate
legislation.

--in addition, during this review, the Secretary of
Defense shall ensure that no new charges are sworn or
referred to a military commission, and that all
proceedings pending before a military commission or in
the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review are halted.
This process already is underway.

--the Order also mandates that detention at Guantanamo
conform with all applicable laws governing conditions of
confinement, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions. It directs the Secretary of Defense to
complete a review of the conditions of detention at
Guantanamo within 30 days.


5. Interrogation Order. The Interrogation Order mandates
that the CIA and all other U.S. agencies conduct
interrogations of individuals in custody or under the
effective control of the United States, in any armed
conflict, using only the techniques authorized by or
listed in Army Field Manual 2-22.3 on intelligence
collection. (The CIA's use of techniques not contained
in the Field Manual has been a matter of controversy
internationally and domestically.) This Order also:

--establishes an interagency task force to evaluate
whether the Army Field Manual's interrogation techniques
provide non-military U.S. agencies with an appropriate
means of acquiring necessary intelligence and, if
warranted, to recommend different guidance for those
other agencies;

--requires the CIA to close as quickly as possible any
detention facilities as defined in the order;

--requires all U.S. agencies to provide the International
Committee of the Red Cross notice of and access to any
individual detained by the United States in an armed
conflict, consistent with Department of Defense
regulations and policies;

--instructs the task force to evaluate U.S. practices of
transferring individuals to other nations to ensure that
such practices comply with U.S. domestic laws,
international obligations, and policies and do not result
in the transfer of individuals for the purpose or with
the effect of undermining or circumventing U.S.
commitments or obligations to ensure humane treatment;

--requires the task force to provide a report to the
President within 180 days, unless an extension is
necessary;

--revokes Executive Order 13440 (2007),which interpreted
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions as applied to
CIA detention and interrogation policy; and

-- instructs U.S. employees, absent further guidance from
the Attorney General, not to rely on any Department of
Justice legal interpretations issued from September 11,
2001 until January 20, 2009 concerning the conduct of
interrogations.


6. Detention Policy Order. The Detention Policy Order
establishes an interagency task force to conduct a
comprehensive review of lawful options available to the
USG with respect to the apprehension, detention, trial,
transfer, release or other disposition of individuals
captured or apprehended in connection with armed
conflicts and counterterrorism efforts. The task force,
whose work will bear on future U.S. detention policies
with respect to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and similar
violent groups will provide a report to the President
within 180 days, unless an extension is necessary.


7. Begin if-asked points.

(a) If asked about (i) the legal basis for continuing to
detain individuals at Guantanamo; (ii) whether the USG
will accept Guantanamo detainees into U.S. territory;
(iii) whether the USG intends to apologize for (or
provide compensation in connection with) the activities
of the Bush administration; (iv) whether it is possible
that military commissions will resume at some future
date; or (v) questions of a similar nature:

- We look forward to answering these questions in due
course. Many of these issues will be addressed through
the review processes that the President has created under
these Executive Orders. We do not wish to prejudge the
work of these review processes.

- We ask for the support and patience of the
international community while the new Administration
conducts these review processes which will involve a
large volume of information and many legal and policy
decisions. The Administration is committed to humane and
responsible policies and practices consistent with the
national security and foreign policy interests of the
United States, as well as the interests of justice.

(b) If asked about whether the new Administration is
reaching out to the international community for help with
closing Guantanamo/resettling Guantanamo detainees:

- We appreciate the offers of assistance that have
already come in, and look forward to working with our
international partners. Their assistance will be
critical to our ability to close Guantanamo.

- We are not in a position to discuss specific bilateral
discussions we are having with any of our partners on
this issue.

(c) If asked what the Executive Orders might signal in
terms of immediate plans to repatriate any particular
detainee or group of detainees:

- While we are not in a position to pre-judge what the
review process will determine with respect to any
particular detainee, we understand the critical
importance of close cooperation with our international
partners on finding appropriate dispositions for the
remaining Guantanamo detainees. We look forward to
working with our partners toward this shared objective.

(d) If asked about the Presidential Memorandum on
detainee Ali Al Marri:

- One individual designated by the Bush Administration as
an enemy combatant has been held at the Naval Brig in
Charleston, South Carolina, and so is not covered by the
Guantanamo Executive Order. Nevertheless, the President
determined that his situation should receive the same
type of review as the detainees at Guantanamo and issued
a memorandum to that effect.

End if-asked points.


8. (U) Minimize considered.


CLINTON