Fallout of SCOTUS Rulling - Bush MUST comply with Geneva Convention
Writing by on Friday, 30 of June , 2006 at 10:00 am
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It is well known that Bush hates laws, he hates brown people, and he hates that the United States shares this earth with other nations. He has selectivly removed the US from treaties that we not only signed, but in many cases wrote. Well the SCOTUS said, "NO" to the boy king, and I am sure he is about to cry about it…
From the SCOTUSBlog
As I predicted below, the Court held that Congress had, by statute, required that the commissions comply with the laws of war — and held further that these commissions do not (for various reasons). I have not yet read the complete opinions, but from what I’ve seen of not only the Stevens majority, but also the Kennedy and Breyer concurrences (see Orin Kerr with the relevant AMK and SGB excerpts here), it is hard to overstate the principal, powerfully stated themes emanating from the Court, which are (i) that the President’s conduct is subject to the limitations of statute and treaty; and (ii) that Congress’s enactments are best construed to require compliance with the international laws of armed conflict.
Even more importantly for present purposes, the Court held that Common Article 3 of Geneva aplies as a matter of treaty obligation to the conflict against Al Qaeda. That is the HUGE part of today’s ruling. The commissions are the least of it. This basically resolves the debate about interrogation techniques, because Common Article 3 provides that detained persons "shall in all circumstances be treated humanely," and that "[t]o this end," certain specified acts "are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever"—including "cruel treatment and torture," and "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment." This standard, not limited to the restrictions of the due process clause, is much more restrictive than even the McCain Amendment. See my further discussion here.
This almost certainly means that the CIA’s interrogation regime is unlawful, and indeed, that many techniques the Administation has been using, such as waterboarding and hypothermia (and others) violate the War Crimes Act (because violations of Common Article 3 are deemed war crimes).
There is a lot more, I think you should go and read it.
Technorati Tags: Failed Leadership, Incompetent Establishment, Life in Bushs America, Republican Culture of Corruption, Right Wing HypocrisyShare This
Category: Life in Bushs America, Right Wing Hypocrisy, Failed Leadership, Republican Culture of Corruption, Incompetent Establishment
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