Has it come to this?

In the Los Angeles Times story, Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule, we read: (emp add)

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 military lawyers, known as judge advocates general, or JAGs, have concluded that they will have to wait for a new administration before mounting another push to link Pentagon policy to the standards of Geneva.

There have been similar rumblings from other federal departments (e.g. EPA, Justice, State). The attitude is: The Bush administration simply can't be persuaded to do the right thing, so stop wasting energy and instead, wait until the crew leaves town. Sort of like having an unpleasant visitor in your home. Suck it up and be comforted in the knowledge that eventually the nightmare will pass.

What a hell of a reputation for this administration to have.


posted by Quiddity at 6/05/2006 09:53:00 AM