ABSTRACT
Mark Danner’s Torture and Truth and the Karen Greenberg/Joshua Dratel compilation The Torture Papers provide a picture of US government decision-making that led to extensive torture and international public revulsion. Both mention Abu Ghraib in their subtitles. Both consist mainly of official documents, whether leaked or officially released. There are well-known difficulties in applying the body of law first considered in matters of detainee treatment in armed conflict - the laws of war. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has from the beginning operated within a framework of commitment to human rights. This is evident in the Security Council resolutions defining its mission, starting with Resolution 1386 of December 2001 which contained a reference to ‘inalienable rights’ to be enjoyed by all Afghans. On the question of how the US constitutional system should be preserved when under challenge from international terrorist movements, Bruce Ackerman of Yale University has written a work of unashamed advocacy.
