More indispensable analysis on how far the Bush administration is taking this country away from legal guarantees of humane treatment of pirsoners of war and enemy combatants. Money quote:
It should come as no surprise that the Administration believes it is not bound by customary international law when the President is acting pursuant to his constitutional authority – that’s a conclusion that the Executive branch appears to have adopted long before this Administration, and it may well be correct. What is very new – and very ominous – is the President’s determination that the United States will not uniformly apply the standards of [Geneva] Common Article 3 as a matter of policy, thereby deviating from more than a half-century of consistent U.S. practice.
Marty thinks we need a legislative intervention. I agree. John McCain described the administration’s loop-hole of using torture against enemy combatants – that Geneva’s “principles” should be applied only “to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity” – as “as wide open as anything I have ever heard.” There’s still hope for reform, and for confining the damage the president has done to a few shameful years in American history. McCain – who knows the consequences of America’s de facto acquiescence in abusing even legitimate prisoners of war – may well be the man who can bring us back from the brink of lawlessness. A report on last Thursday’s Senate Armed Services Committee can be read here – with video! I’m also impressed by Lindsay Graham’s conscience and determination to fix a real problem.
The Dish 