Bush Aims to Kill War Crimes

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0905-32.htm

<snip>

The US War Crimes Act of 1996 makes it a felony to commit grave violations of the Geneva Conventions. The Washington Post recently reported that the Bush administration is quietly circulating draft legislation to eliminate crucial parts of the War Crimes Act. Observers on The Hill say the Administration plans to slip it through Congress this fall while there still is a guaranteed Republican majority--perhaps as part of the military appropriations bill, the proposals for Guantánamo tribunals or a new catch-all "anti-terrorism" package. Why are they doing it, and how can they be stopped?

American prohibitions on abuse of prisoners go back to the Lieber Code promulgated by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The first international Geneva Convention dates from the following year.

After World War II, international law protecting prisoners of war and all noncombatants was codified in the Geneva Conventions. They were ratified by the US Senate and, under Article II of the Constitution, they thereby became the law of the land.

Wishing to rebuke the unpunished war crimes of dictators like Saddam Hussein, in 1996 a Republican-dominated Congress passed the War Crimes Act without a dissenting vote. It defined a "war crime" as any "grave breach" of the Geneva Conventions. It thereby advanced a global trend of mutual reinforcement between national and international law...

[TomInTib]

1. The putsch begins tomorrow

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060905/ts_nm/security_guantanamo_bush_dc_1

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

2. I don't see how they make the determination...

...that it is the province of the Executive Branch to provide the construct/rules for the processing of POWs or Enemy Combatants or whatever label they want to give them. This is clearly a judicial function. The White House has no legitimate business meddling in it.

[wtmusic]

4. AG Gonzales says testimony obtained by coercion is admissible

Can the defense torture the prosecution? Seems fair...

[TomInTib]

5. Great take..

"Yeah, you can question us but we need to talk to you first".

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

6. "...Gonzales Says Testimony Obtained by Coercion is Admissable..."

...in the normal world in which we once lived, this would be a headline you might expect to see on the front page of The Onion---but in the Bizarro BushCo World in which we presently live...well...just in case you forgot to check your calendar today, it's Groundhog Fuck Day all over again.

[Matilda]

3. As the poll numbers drop, so do the ethics of the Administration.

Don't they ever try to connect the dots?