(no subject)

[theweaselking]

"Senators Snatch Defeat From Jaws of Victory: U.S. to be First Nation to Authorize Violations of Geneva"

It's not subtle at all, and it only takes 30 seconds or so to see that the Senators have capitualted entirely, that the U.S. will hereafter violate the Geneva Conventions by engaging in Cold Cell, Long Time Standing, etc., and that there will be very little pretense about it. In addition to the elimination of habeas rights in section 6, the bill would delegate to [Bush] the authority to interpret "the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions" "for the United States," except that the bill itself would define certain "grave breaches" of Common Article 3 to be war crimes. Some Senators apparently are taking comfort in the fact that the Administration's interpretation would have to be made, and defended, publicly. That's a small consolation, I suppose; but I'm confident the creative folks in my former shop at OLC -- you know, those who concluded that waterboarding is not torture -- will come up with something. After all, the Administration is already on record as saying that the CIA "program" can continue under this bill, so the die apparently is cast. And the courts would be precluded from reviewing it.
...
And then, for good measure -- and this is perhaps the worst part of the bill, for purposes going far beyond the questions of torture and interrogation -- section 7 would preclude courts altogether from ever interpreting the Geneva Conventions -- any part of them -- by providing that "no person may invoke the Geneva Conventions or any protocols thereto in any habeas or civil action or proceeding to which the United States, or a current or former officer, employee, member of the Armed Forces, or other agent of the United States, is a party as a source of rights, in any court of the United States or its States or territories."

Taken from fengi, whose post "We are monsters." sums it up nicely.

Comments

[anivair.livejournal.com]

I'll be in the bomb shelter if anyone needs me.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

Part of the Geneva Conventions is a clause to the effect that no party to the Geneva Conventions can absolve itself, nor anyone else, from violations of the Geneva Conventions.

Also, our Constitution provides that all treaties we enter into will be - alongside the Constitution - the supreme law of the land. It's called the Supremacy Clause.

This bill is so /immensely/ unconstitutional. Every congressperson who voted for it needs to be voted out of office or impeached.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

Specifically, Article 131 of the Third Geneva Convention (prisoners of war):

No High Contracting Party shall be allowed to absolve itself or any other High Contracting Party of any liability incurred by itself or by another High Contracting Party in respect of breaches referred to in the preceding Article.

Article 148 of the Fourth Geneva Convention says the same thing, (Civilian treatment).

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

Ah. Somebody didn't read the fine print.

I wonder how this is going to play in international courts, because (if there's any decency left anywhere) it's going to go to international courts eventually.

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

Like that'll matter. Bush et-al won't give a flying fig about the international courts.

[wb10.livejournal.com]

Indeed. What's always stuck out in my mind is how the Bush administration seems to have made a consistent and concerted effort to remain above the law - particularly in regards to the International Criminal Court. This can clearly be seen in their threat to use military force to free any military personnel held by the court, and then codifying that threat into law! (The law I refer to is the American Servicemembers' Protection Act.) At the time, even given the criticisms of the ICC, I felt that the reasons given for the bill were unusual, if not of questionable motives.

After the developments and revelations of the past several years, I'm not surprised that insuring their immunity has been so important to them!

[anivair.livejournal.com]

Like I said. I'll be in the bomb shelter.

The nice thing about this is that the geneva convention isn't jsut our law, so our stupid president can't just redefine it on a whim. The international community need to be slapped if they don't kick our asses for this.

[agingcusahack.livejournal.com]

At some point, doesn't all of this effectively mean that they are withdrawing from the Convention itself?

Of course, if they did, they couldn't enforce it against any other country either...

[harald387.livejournal.com]

Bush, and others in his administration, have already said that they don't mind these interrogation techniques being used on captured Americans.

-K

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and I'm sure they were telling the truth when they said it, too.

[harald387.livejournal.com]

I actually have no doubt that they're telling the truth. People who aren't in their circle of priveleged elite aren't 'people', after all.