Rumsfeld off hook as abuse-suit target

CHICAGO — Donald Rumsfeld, a former U.S. defense secretary under President George W. Bush, won dismissal of a lawsuit brought by two Americans contending he’s responsible for their purported abuse in Iraq.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago on Wednesday reversed a ruling last year by a three-judge panel that had upheld the right of security firm workers Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel to pursue the suit they filed in 2006.

They alleged Rumsfeld had authorized the “harsh interrogation methods” to which they were subjected, according to the appeals court ruling.

“Even if we were to create a common-law damages remedy against military personnel and their civilian superiors, former Secretary Rumsfeld could not be held liable,” Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote for the majority in the 8-3 ruling.

“He did not arrest plaintiffs, hold them incommunicado, refuse to speak with the FBI, subject them to loud noises, threaten them while they wore hoods, and so on,” Easterbrook said.

U.S. Circuit Judge David Hamilton, author of last year’s three-judge ruling, wrote the dissenting opinion.

“Every member of this court recognizes that the job of the military is challenging, dangerous, and critical to our national security,” Hamilton said. “For these reasons and more, members of the armed forces enjoy unparalleled respect in our society. But this respect does not put the military’s highest officers beyond the reach of the Constitution” or the courts.