Molly Ivins: Proposed Program Is Illegal-For BothYoung & Old War Criminals

[kpete]

Molly Ivins

Saying the same thing louder doesn't make it true
September 20, 2006

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Yo. Sometimes I'm convinced this is a war of words. Should we call it surveillance or eavesdropping? Is the detainee issue about holding terrorists, or is it about torturing them and then trying them without telling then what evidence we have against them? If we stop calling it eavesdropping plus torture and with kangaroo trials, will it stop being eavesdropping, torture and kangaroo trials, and become anti-terrorist activity? Who gets to name things? Would a rose by any other name, like skunkwort, smell as sweet?
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It's a thorny issue, but Bush kept getting more and more annoyed as he reiterated, "And I will tell you again, David, you can ask every hypothetical (question) you want, but the American people have got to know the facts. And the bottom line is simple: If Congress passes a law that does not clarify the rules, if they do not do that, the program is not going forward." (In other words, we will not hold tribunals for suspected terrorists.) In what court in what world is not allowing the defendant to hear the evidence against him held to be just?

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"Let's see if I can put it (Article III of the Geneva Convention) this way for people to understand. There is a very vague standard that the (U.S. Supreme) Court said must kind of be the guide for our conduct in the war on terror and detainee policy. It's so vague that it's impossible to ask anybody to participate in the program for fear ... of breaking the law. That's the problem."

Actually, the problem is the proposed program of tribunals is illegal -- and not young intelligence officers but potentially old war criminals are at risk, as well.

more at:
http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/1/2006/1434

[Demeter]

1. I Just Want It To Be Over

I want the guilty in jail, the soldiers home, and the profiteers taxed out of existence. I want the US of A deGOPped, just as Germany deNazified, and the Constitution subjected to a rigorous tightening of specific clauses to make indisputably clear that we will never have to go through this again.

I want the Supreme Court and all courts purged of pandering politicos and ideologues. I want schools to teach again, instead of indoctrinating with lies and distracting with stupid, pointless tests.

I will forgo the traditional pony. Just let the nation have some peace and prosperity and morals again. That's my Christmas wish: peace on earth, good government to people.

[Flying Dream Blues]

2. Amen.

[PaddyMac]

3. way to act now

I've posted this elsewhere, but here is an easy way to tell your senators that they had better not legalize torture: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/involved/warcrimes091906.html