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Pentagon issues new norms for detenus

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MAY 19. Under fire for the gross abuse of Iraqi prisoners and clearly on the defensive for the way detenus are being treated in the `war' against terror, the Pentagon has issued a review procedure for those detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

The Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz, has issued an order establishing administrative review procedures for enemy combatants captured in the Afghan theatre. The new procedures, according to a news release by the Department of Defence, will provide an annual review of each enemy combatant and the order takes effect immediately.

According to the framework, each detenu will have the opportunity to formally appear before a three-military-officer board and explain why he believes that he should be released. The review board will also accept written information from the family of the detenu and the national Government of the "enemy combatant".

The board will then make an assessment of the "current threat" of the detenu based on all information at its disposal and would make a recommendation to a "high level" official of the Pentagon as to whether the combatant should remain in detention. The Defence official, who will be selected by the Secretary of Defence, will then decide if the enemy combatant should remain in detention.

"The release of enemy combatants prior to the end of a war is a significant departure from past U.S. wartime practices. Enemy combatants are detained for a very practical reason: to prevent them from returning to the fight," the Pentagon said in its release.

Iraq withdrawal

Meanwhile, Mr. Wolfowitz has told lawmakers that it is hard to predict how long American forces will be staying behind in Iraq after the June 30 handover of sovereignty; but the small `hint' is that the time-frame could stretch to almost 18 months.

"Next year or a year and a half will be so critical. That is the time it will take to stand up Iraqi security," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"We don't know what it will be. We've had changes ...We've had different plans. Our current level is higher than we had planned," Mr. Wolfowitz remarked.

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