By Jay Deshmukh
Agence France-Presse, 29 August 2006
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales met Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh and discussed the tactics used by Iraqi security forces to combat a wave of violence, including torture.
"It is a somewhat difficult decision as to where to draw the line," Gonzales said, referring to possible measures that Iraqi police might use to extract information from suspected insurgents and death squad leaders.
"It is difficult to decide what is appropriate and what is allowed under law," said Gonzales, who has drawn criticism in the past for describing the Geneva Conventions against prisoner abuse as "quaint".
Gonzales, who arrived in Baghdad Tuesday, told reporters the issue of interrogation tactics came up during his meeting with Saleh but said the techniques to be used were a decision for the Iraqi government.
But he stressed that the US government was against any kind of torture.
"Our President is very clear that government does not engage in torture. The US is not engaging in torture. We are part of a convention against torture."
Iraq is in the grip of a brutal sectarian conflict and there are frequent allegations that militias and death squads with links to state security agencies are involved in the torture and murder of detainees.
Dozens of bodies are found every week across Iraq of kidnap victims killed execution style -- bound, blind-folded and killed with gunshots to the head or beheaded. Some show signs of abuse with power tools.
On Tuesday, at least 11 such bodies were found in Baghdad, their hands bound and dumped in the street.
Gonzales said discussions with Iraqi officials revolved around how to establish the "rule of law and establish greater security in Iraq."
"The rule of law will be systematically adopted by the representatives of the people," he said.
The US justice minister was questioned about the increasing use of adhoc Islamic Sharia law courts across the country, especially by militia groups, who employ clerics to sanction extra-judicial killings.
The Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, is often accused of operating such courts and executing people it finds guilty.
"The way of thinking... the culture can't be changed overnight. The United States makes itself available by way of views and training" to establish a secure rule of law, Gonzales said.
"It's an ongoing process and will take time."
Gonzales also said it was a "challenge" to control the militias roaming on the streets of the capital.
He said the US government had also approved 100 million dollars for building new prisons and training and promoting the democratic rule of law in Iraq.
Referring to allegations of a series of abuses committed by US troops in Iraq, the attorney general insisted that "99.9 percent of the men and women in uniform observed ethical standards under difficult circumstances."
"But those who do not will be held accountable."
The US military is currently battling a series of accusations, most damaging being allegations of rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and killing of her family in the town of Mahmudiyah by a group of soldiers in March.
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Citation: Jay Deshmukh. "US attorney general discusses interrogation tactics in Iraq," Agence France-Presse, 29 August 2006.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060829/pl_afp/iraqunrestusjustice
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