justice department
office of legal counsel
deputy A.G.
legal standards
governing military
interrogations
of alien un
lawful combatants held
outside the U.S.
the 5th & the 8th
amendments don't extend to
enemies abroad.
fed'ral criminal
laws do not apply to prop-
erly-authorized
interrogations
of enemy combatants
by military
personnel in
the course of armed conflict.
do not regulate.
criminal statutes,
misconstrued to apply
would conflict
with the Const'ution's
grant of Commander in
Chief pow'r solely. as
an expression
of state practice
customary
international law
cannot impose a standard
that differs from
obligations under
the U.N Convention
Against Torture and
Other Cruel, In-
human or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
(18 U.S.C.
Sec. 2340A)
extends to conduct
cruel and unusual
under the 8th amendment
or shocks the conscience.
The President is
free to override it at
his discretion.
Necessity or self-
defense could provide defenses
to prosecution.