America’s prisoners of war: Changing U.S. norms on torture

“Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another and to God.” – Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, Francis Lieber, 1863

This episode of Intersections features a discussion with Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault, author of “How the Gloves Came Off: Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Norms in the Debate on Torture,” and Daniel Byman, senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, on how the U.S. came to reverse 200-plus years of progress on the legal and normative standards for treatment of prisoners of war during the Global War on Terror.

Show notes:

The emerging law of 21st century war (Read or watch)

With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo and Eric Abalahin for additional support.

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Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

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