Torture and Mistreatment: Part of Bush Administration's Strategy

Human Rights Watch World Report 2006
U.S. Policy of Abuse Undermines Rights Worldwide

(Washington, DC, January 18, 2006) - New evidence demonstrated in 2005 that torture and mistreatment have been a deliberate part of the Bush administration's counterterrorism strategy, undermining the global defense of human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2006.

The evidence showed that abusive interrogation cannot be reduced to the misdeeds of a few low-ranking soldiers, but was a conscious policy choice by senior U.S. government officials. The policy has hampered Washington's ability to cajole or pressure other states into respecting international law, said the 532-page volume's introductory essay.

The remainder of the report can be read here.