Escalation


U.S. law becomes the excuse of the week
Some of the more tyrannical governments on the planet now excuse their treatment of prisoners by blaming American law.

Manfred Nowak, the U.N. investigator on torture, told a news conference that "all too frequently" governments respond to criticism about their jails by saying they handled detainees the same way the United States did.

"The United States has been the pioneer of human rights and is a country that has a high reputation in the world," Nowak said. "Today, other governments are kind of saying, 'But why are you criticizing us, we are not doing something different than what the United States is doing.'"

He said nations like Jordan tell him, "We are collaborating with the United States so it can't be wrong if it is also done by the United States."

Nowak, along with other U.N. human rights officials, has criticized U.S. policies against terror suspects, including secret jails, harsh treatment and the lack of due process. He turned down a visit to Guantanamo Bay because he could not interview detainees and prison officials in private.

He has argued that if there is evidence against detainees, after years in jail, it should be presented to the usually "efficient" and fair civilian courts rather than military tribunals.

There are several issues here that are being deliberately confused.

First, the U.S. law is the excuse, not the cause. It was happening before President Bush signed the law.

Second, despite protestations, war powers have always been more extensive than civilian law. War should always be a last resort, but once invoked, it smashes the enemy. That is it's purpose. That is why it is terrible. That is why the normal, civilized standards do not apply.

That is why politicos are always so anxious to invoke war.

Third, the United States is becoming the scapegoat. No one wants many of these prisoners. It's too easy to blame the U.S. when we're cleaning up the mess.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, this is one of the reasons why the new law bothers me. Presidential power over detainees is now separate from war powers.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - October 26, 2006 at 05:42 AM  Tag


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