Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to knowledgeable military officials, a step that would mark a further, potentially permanent, shift away from strict adherence to international human rights standards.
The decision could culminate a lengthy debate within the Defense Department but will not become final until the Pentagon makes new guidelines public, a step that has been delayed. However, the State Department fiercely opposes the military's decision to exclude Geneva Convention protections and has been pushing for the Pentagon and White House to reconsider, the Defense Department officials acknowledged.
[entire article]
This doesn't bode well for our reputation as a peaceful and God-fearin' country. Sure, I understand the need to sometimes "skirt the law" in order to get things done, and I also get the idea behind "the end justifies the means." But for Pete's sake, you don't advertise that sort of thing! As Steve Martin said, you just use the time-honored defense of: "I forgot." Get caught speeding? "I forgot that it was illegal." Get caught smothering a neighbor to death, forcing the body into a wood chipper, then serving it to local troop 409 for breakfast? Just say, "I forgot."
But you don't advertise your intent to break the laws of all civilized countries. That's just stupid.
The decision could culminate a lengthy debate within the Defense Department but will not become final until the Pentagon makes new guidelines public, a step that has been delayed. However, the State Department fiercely opposes the military's decision to exclude Geneva Convention protections and has been pushing for the Pentagon and White House to reconsider, the Defense Department officials acknowledged.
[entire article]
"The rest of the world is completely convinced that we are busy torturing people," said Oona A. Hathaway, an expert in international law at Yale Law School. "Whether that is true or not, the fact we keep refusing to provide these protections in our formal directives puts a lot of fuel on the fire."
This doesn't bode well for our reputation as a peaceful and God-fearin' country. Sure, I understand the need to sometimes "skirt the law" in order to get things done, and I also get the idea behind "the end justifies the means." But for Pete's sake, you don't advertise that sort of thing! As Steve Martin said, you just use the time-honored defense of: "I forgot." Get caught speeding? "I forgot that it was illegal." Get caught smothering a neighbor to death, forcing the body into a wood chipper, then serving it to local troop 409 for breakfast? Just say, "I forgot."
But you don't advertise your intent to break the laws of all civilized countries. That's just stupid.
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