At a recent news conference, President Bush complained about the vagueness of article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and how it was blocking his aggressive interrogation techniques. Techniques which are conceeded to include the simulated drowning technique of water boarding.
Meanwhile, supporters of the President are arguing that Geneva is irrelevant because no one follows them to the letter.
To them, I say this. Let’s be honest about your position. If you really think that Geneva is superseded, that we simply need to do “whatever it takes” with respect to people we capture, then President Bush should submit legislation to Congress withdrawing the United States from the Geneva Conventions. Make Congress vote on it before the November elections so the American people have a clear choice between who wants to uphold our traditional high standards reached in agreement with the international community and those who say we should treat anybody we want the way we want. None of this wishy-washy search for “clarity” that frees us from limits without formally denouncing the treaty.
Supporters of the President, what do you say? Will you ask the President for real clarity by throwing out the rulebook you say no one follows anyway? If not, why not?
del.icio.us tags: AlaskanLibrarian:politics
Filed under: politics, security theater
