article 3 of convention iii of the Geneva Conventions (1949 and subsequent):
- Art 3. 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 followingprovisions:
- (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of 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 circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or 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...;(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;
- (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples....
- An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict. (Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.)
We are at war. And we cannot win this war by wishing it away or pretending it does not exist....
in a time of war, it is vital for the president to have a full national security team in place. And a key member of that team is the attorney general....
The attorney general is the highest ranking official responsible for our law enforcement community's efforts to detect and prevent terrorist attacks here at home....
As a price for his confirmation, some on that committee want Judge Mukasey to take a legal position on specific techniques allegedly used to interrogate captured terrorists.
As Judge Mukasey..., he does not know whether certain methods of questioning are, in fact, used, because the program is classified. And therefore, he is in no position to provide an informed opinion. He has not been read into the program and won't until he is confirmed and sworn in -- won't be until he's confirmed and sworn in as the attorney general.
Second, he does not want an uninformed opinion to be taken by our professional interrogators in the field as placing them in legal jeopardy. (November 1, 2007, President Bush's Remarks on the Global War on Terror, by President George W Bush)
- It is a "war." the POTUS says so, we all agree it is, therefore the combatants have to be treated as if they are in a war.
- Among those acts which are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions to which we are a signatory are those upon combatants who have been taken prisoner and have laid down their weapons (whether or not they were official combatants or not) are: "cruel treatment and torture...[and]outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment."
- Are own special forces are taught to insist upon their rights by convention iii of the Geneva Conventions if they are captured.
- Everyone know what water-boarding is; it is not some secret, classified process. You can watch it on the web by someone who went through this as what might be done by an evil enemy when he was in the military.
- So why the hell can't we ask a potential attorney general if he thinks that there are some specific processes which are illegal?
- And why in a war, especially in a war, in which our boys are in harms way, are we suggesting that the procedures for proper war conduct need not apply? If it can help our boys just once to be captured by an enemy who notes, well they are obeying the Geneva Conventions, and we know that those who don't will sooner or later be brought to trial, perhaps we won't do this, then subscribing to the Geneva Conventions has served its purpose.
