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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