Posted by
Gamecock on Sunday, September 17, 2006 1:02:57 PM
Colin Powell, in a rare departure from Armitage-aided anonymous leaks to the press attacking his Commander-in-Chief, released a public letter he sent to John McCain opposing President Bush's request that Congress clarify the meaning of vague language in Common Article III, as pertains to prisoners of war, and, as recently ordered by a brain dead Supreme Court, to illegal terrorist enemy combatants as well, prohibiting "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment."
The letter reads in part: “The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism,” Powell observed. “To redefine common article 3 [of the Geneva convention] would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk.”
Any world that doubts the moral basis of our fight against terrorism has much larger problems that can be addressed by leaving in place litigation inviting vague language in a treaty.
See Common Article III after comments.
We are not "re-defining" the treaty. The treaty does not define "outrages", "humiliating", or "degrading." Powell would allow anti-American World Court judges to define those terms to imprison American interrogators of Khalid Sheik Mohammad who extracted information that saved thousands of lives.
If an American criminal statute contained such language, the law would be thrown out for vagueness. One must be fairly put on notice concerning prohibited conduct for which one may be lose their liberty.
Powell's policy would leave our military, CIA and innocent civilian lives at risk and have allowed Al Qaida to have carried out many more terrorist acts inside the United States.
The public letter from Powell comes on the heels of years of silence despite his having information that could have prevented Scooter Libby from being indicted.
The moral basis for his actions was much clearer when he was taking orders to kill enemies in the First Gulf War.
COMMON ARTICLE III
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all cases be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth of wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.