On Face the Nation this morning, Sen. John McCain became the latest figure to publicly state that the Bush Administration violated the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture. It is not clear how many international and domestic figures will have to publicly acknowledge these crimes before Attorney General Eric Holder will appoint a special prosecutor. I discussed the torture issue last night on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
During the show, McCain stated “[Torture memo author Jay Bybee] falls into the same category as everybody else, as far as giving very bad advice and misinterpreting fundamentally what the United States is all about, much less things like the Geneva Conventions. Under President Reagan, we signed [the Convention] Against Torture. We were in violation of that.”
Article 7 of the Convention Against Torture states:
Article 7
1. The State Party in territory under whose jurisdiction a person alleged to have committed any offence referred to in article 4 is found, shall in the cases contemplated in article 5, if it does not extradite him, submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.
2. These authorities shall take their decision in the same manner as in the case of any ordinary offence of a serious nature under the law of that State. In the cases referred to in article 5, paragraph 2, the standards of evidence required for prosecution and conviction shall in no way be less stringent than those which apply in the cases referred to in article 5, paragraph 1.
There is now Republican and Democratic leaders acknowledging the obvious: we violated these treaties and international law. What they are not being asked is how we reconcile our ongoing violation of these laws by not investigating and prosecuting such crimes. Once again, it is important to note that it is not the lawyers but the leaders who are the principle targets of such investigations: Bush, Cheney, Tenet, Gonzales and others. The lawyers may also be investigated but there is a clear effort to focus on the attorneys to avoid dealing with the obvious responsible parties at the top of the chain of command.
Hear Obamas own voice when he says the constitution is a fundamental FLAW that continues until today.
So now the trolls are replaying the Clinton killed everyone crap. You guys are really getting desperate. By the way, BDN,Obama was the editor of the Law Review at Harvard Law. I think you can rest assured that he is educated. By the way,
Mike S., these claims don’t even rise to the level of being called conspiracy theories. They are just fabrications.
Mike, correction on She is one of the principal proponents of the claim that Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
It’s NATURAL BORN CITIZEN as perscribed in Article II, section I of the Suprmeme Law of the Land that this O-ministration cares nothing about. Show me some quotes from the Oricle on how he views the constitution. Somewhere in those quotes he will tell you that piece of paper was written two hundred years ago and things have CHANGED.
Google Obama’s view of the constitution and start reading.
Well Mr. Spindell you explain the near $700k payment to Mr. Bauer. Sure is an expensive firm to recieve that much money in the first quarter of this year. Must be some really good legal advice. I would prefer the Twilight Zone vs space
Any thread where BVM and BDAMAN are the primary commentators is not worth the time. BVM is a hysteric posing as a radical and BDAMAN is somewhere out in space. Happy conspiracy theories to both of you.
I guess my reading of this I cannot tell if he was recently shot or he was shot in 2008.
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/04/key-witness-in-presidential-passport-tampering-case-murdered.html
BVM, Dr. Taitz is a fruitcake dentist with a law degree. She is one of the principal proponents of the claim that Obama is not a U.S. citizen. She cannot find anyone to consider her claims on their merits because her claims don’t have any merit. She is the last person one should rely upon as a source of credible criticism of anything. I’m not sure I would even want her cleaning my teeth.
Hers is the link to the Passport Murder:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/19/key-witness-in-passport-fraud-case-fatally-shot/
Jill, are you saying that if Mr. President had a GED it would be O.K. with you. His education is irrelevant? We already know his only business experience, lets hope he did better in education.
Holder said we are a nation of cowards. To use the word “we”, he has included himself in that description.
http://BuenaVistaMall.com don’t bring up Taitz or Berg here, If you want to bring that up use Donofrio, Appuzo, Gary Kreep ect. ect. I appreciate Taitz passion and her desire and alot of times she is misunderstood. Being a Russian transplant she has taken her right to free speech a little to far.
http://BuenaVistaMall.com
I’m sorry to be off topic but needed to add in case you all missed it. The employee that breeched the passport files of McCain, Clinton and Obama was found dead last week just as he was beginning to cooperate with the Federal investigation. I’m sure it was suicide seeing how The “O”s file was the intended target. I wonder what he scrubbed from the file?
bdaman
Have you seen this site? http://www.orlytaitzesq.com
Dr. Orly Taitz is after Obama big time. She has him on many, many charges but can’t find a prosecutor or judge to enforce the laws.
Thank you. Sir.
Anonymously Yours Mr. Presidents dog is named BO.
http://BuenaVistaMall.com
and that there is now proof that during the first quarter of this year he has spent close to $700,000 in legal fees to Bob Bauer all to keep his records sealed. More openness and transparency. Change you can believe in.
Obama’s education is irrelevant. This story does not concern Obama. Holder is the AG, this is his decision. The law is clear. We need an impartial, independent invetigation and should charges be waranted, prosecution should proceed.
Thank you, I think Pardon me?
I will not take you on if you are saying PBO is a dog.
Jill, again your request has been noted.
In order to prosecute the law one must know what the law is. By doing so it can be determined what laws were broken. My personal belief is that the law was broken but we are a court of public opinion. In light of the circumstances I think the bastards got what they deserve.
Obama’s education: To prosecute or defend the law one must have an education in law, unless you are a fool.
Anonymously Yours: PBO, MR.P, The “O”, This “O” ministration and B.O. for the dog are just a few.
For a good laugh on a serious subject. Steve Benen dug up W’s words after Abu Ghraib was exposed:
George W. Bush Thinks the Bush-Era Torture Should Be Investigated
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 2:15 PM on April 27, 2009.
If Democrats are looking for an excuse to do the right thing, they don’t have to say much more than, “We’re doing what Bush told us to do.” {Here’s Bush’s own words}:
“The right sentiment for a U.S. president to express when it comes to government-sanctioned, government-directed torture policies:
“It’s important for people to understand that in a democracy, there will be a full investigation. In other words, we want to know the truth. In our country, when there’s an allegation of abuse … there will be a full investigation, and justice will be delivered. … It’s very important for people and your listeners to understand that in our country, when an issue is brought to our attention on this magnitude, we act. And we act in a way in which leaders are willing to discuss it with the media. … In other words, people want to know the truth.
“That stands in contrast to dictatorships. A dictator wouldn’t be answering questions about this. A dictator wouldn’t be saying that the system will be investigated and the world will see the results of the investigation.”
Oh thank you ever so much. Why a title such as that when he is Mr. President at the present and President B. Obama when he is out of office.
President Barack Obama