A New Presidential Czar May Be Coming Our Way

Well, well. I didn't expect the next Presidential czar to be this one: Torture (or High-Value Detainee Interrogation) czar.

Obama spokesman announces interrogation unit
(8/24/09 AP via Breitbart.com) [emphasis is mine]

"WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has approved creation of a new, special terrorism-era interrogation unit to be supervised by the White House, a top aide said Monday, further distancing his administration from President George W. Bush's detainee policies.

"The administration has also decided that all U.S. interrogators will follow the rules for detainees laid out by the Army Field Manual, according to senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision. That decision aims to end years of fierce debate over how rough U.S. personnel can get with terror suspects in custody.

"The unit would be led by an FBI official, with a deputy director from somewhere in the government's vast intelligence apparatus, and members from across agencies. It will be directly supervised by the White House, but the senior administration officials insisted the unit's agency bosses will make operational decisions, not the White House.

"The new interrogation unit will be known by the acronym HIG."

That acronym stands for "High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group", according to Time Magazine.

The Army Field Manual is available online.

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