DoD: Detainees Are to be Treated Humanely, No Exceptions
Not even a valid intelligence requirement can be used to justify cruel treatment of a detained enemy combatant, according to Defense Department doctrine on “detainee operations” (pdf).
The Joint Chiefs of Staff last week issued a slightly revised version of that DoD doctrine on detainees (the second revision this year).
The document reaffirms that all detainees must be treated humanely.
“Inhumane treatment of detainees is prohibited by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, domestic and international law, and DOD policy. There is no exception to this humane treatment requirement.”
“Accordingly, the stress of combat operations, the need for intelligence, or deep provocation by captured and/or detained personnel does not justify deviation from this obligation.”
See Joint Publication 3-63, “Detainee Operations,” 30 May 2008.
After months of delay, the council tasked by President Trump to review the FEMA released its final report. Our disaster policy nerds have thoughts.
FAS and FLI partnered to build a series of convenings and reports across the intersections of artificial intelligence (AI) with biosecurity, cybersecurity, nuclear command and control, military integration, and frontier AI governance. This project brought together leaders across these areas and created a space that was rigorous, transpartisan, and solutions-oriented to approach how we should think about how AI is rapidly changing global risks.
Investment should instead be directed at sectors where American technology and innovation exist but the infrastructure to commercialize them domestically does not—and where the national security case is clear.
AI is already consequential, but its future trajectory remains contested. Policymakers should make their assumptions explicit, focus on what can be shaped rather than what can be perfectly predicted, and build institutions that can learn and respond as evidence changes.