White House memo suggests Geneva Convention obsolete

[SuckOnThis]

One more reason this admin needs to be ousted ASAP.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4855930/


NEW YORK - The focus of the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal shifted Sunday with a report in Newsweek magazine on whether the Bush administration established a legal basis that opened the door for the mistreatment.

Newsweek reports that, as a way to prevent a repeat of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, ?Bush, along with Defense Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft, signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door to such methods.?

Within months of the Sept. 11 attacks, White House counsel Alberto Gonzales reportedly wrote Bush a memo about the terrorism fight and prisoners? rights under the Geneva Conventions.

?In my judgment, this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva?s strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions,? Newsweek reports in its May 24 issue, quoting an excerpt from the Gonzales memo.

?It was an approach that they adopted to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees and prisoners of war," Newsweek reports. ?In doing so, they overrode the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and America's top military lawyers ?and they left underlings to sweat the details of what actually happened to prisoners in these lawless places.?

And the Newsweek story reports that U.S. soldiers and CIA operatives ?could be accused of war crimes. Among the possible charges: homicide involving deaths during interrogations.?

[eroswebmaster]

'tis a fucked time we live in.

[EnigmaTek]

See my problem is that none of the other countries seem to want to follow this convention.

I know it's a childish attitude but if they don't have to then why should we.

[StuartD]

Originally posted by EnigmaTek

I know it's a childish attitude but if they don't have to then why should we.

if "leading by example" is a true statement, then you'd be suggesting that the other countries are leading the US.

[SuckOnThis]

Originally posted by EnigmaTek
See my problem is that none of the other countries seem to want to follow this convention.

I know it's a childish attitude but if they don't have to then why should we.

Like who are you referring to? Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic faced charges of crimes against humanity at the UN war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. Iraq did not violate the Geneva Convention when it captured Americans in the first Gulf war.

According to the Geneva Convention, if a political or military leader violates the laws, he or she will dragged into court and if found guilty of war crimes, faces life in prison.

Part 1 - Article 3 of the Geneva Convention states:

The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;


So it appears the Bush admin has violated the Geneva Convention and should be tried for war crimes.

[EviLGuY]

They should be.. but who's going to enforce it?

[XxXotic]

we've allowed ourselves to become everything we worked so hard not to be

[KRL]

Like Duh! You think Rumsfeld, Cheney, Tenet, Ashcro, and Bush really give a hoot about a WWII convention.

Not!

[KRL]

Originally posted by XxXotic
we've allowed ourselves to become everything we worked so hard not to be

Oh come on. Let's call a spade a spade. The US has always been that. This time our laundry is a bit more visible.

We are no angels in this country and clearly the mission is to dominate the world any and every way we can.

[SuckOnThis]

Originally posted by KRL


Like Duh! You think Rumsfeld, Cheney, Tenet, Ashcro, and Bush really give a hoot about a WWII convention.

Not!

Or the constitution for that matter.

[Paul Markham]

Originally posted by XxXotic
we've allowed ourselves to become everything we worked so hard not to be

It will take America decades to get back the respect Bush has lost it.

[Firehorse]

Originally posted by charly
It will take America decades to get back the respect Bush has lost it.

Unforunately this is true!

[Johny Traffic]

See my problem is that none of the other countries seem to want to follow this convention.

I know it's a childish attitude but if they don't have to then why should we

Because people get there heads cut off

[M_M]

sad part is 90% of republican voters don't even know what the Geneva Convention is

[tahiti]

did the White House memo suggests human rights obsolete also?

damm it smells like china