[JURIST] Retired Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers [official profile] was 'hoodwinked' into believing aggressive interrogation techniques used on Guantanamo detainees were taken from the army's field manual, University College London law professor Philippe Sands [official profile] claims in his new book, Torture Team [book website], scheduled for release in May. Excerpts from the book were published by the UK Guardian newspaper Saturday. Sands alleges the new techniques, approved by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [official profile], were actually developed by inexperienced Guantanamo lawyers and pushed through by senior Bush administration lawyers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington and William Haynes.

Myers reportedly believed the prisoners were protected against torture by the Geneva conventions' Common Article 3 [text] even though a memo [text] written by Haynes made it clear the Guantanamo detainees could not rely on the protections. According to former chief of staff to then Secretary of State Colin Powell, Larry Wilkerson, Rumsfeld recommended Myers for the job because he 'was not a very powerful chairman' and was easily cut out of important meetings and plans. The Guardian has more.