| | GUANTANAMO BAY: Interrogators asked to use harsher methods |
 | | WASHINGTON - In late 2002, U.S. interrogators of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay sought approval to use harsher methods than are called for in standard military doctrine, and some of those techniques were used until military lawyers objected, officials said Thursday. |
 | | Larry Di Rita, spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, refused to identify the techniques, which he described as "non-doctrinal," meaning they were not in accordance with military doctrine, which was written to apply to interrogations of prisoners of war, not terrorists. |
 | | Di Rita stressed that military commanders at Guantanamo Bay faced a difficult situation because the individuals held there - mostly Taliban and al-Qaida fighters captured during the war in Afghanistan in late 2001 - were considered terrorists and some had time-sensitive intelligence. |
| www.freerepublic.com /focus/f-news/1139644/posts (766 words) |