Don't Pay No Never Mind to the Geneva Conventions

In the end, I suppose Alberto Gonzales will be our next attorney general. But his nomination is sure to renew attention on well-documented human rights abuses, including the torture at Abu Ghraib.

Gonzales advised the president that the Geneva Conventions did not need to be followed in the conflict with Afghanistan. Secretary of State Colin Powell urged that this policy be reconsidered, warning: "It will reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice in supporting the Geneva Conventions and undermine the protections of the rule of law for our troops, both in this specific conduct and in general. It has a high cost in terms of negative international reaction, with immediate adverse consequences for our conduct of foreign policy. It will undermine public support among critical allies, making military cooperation more difficult to sustain."

My wife, who's been an attorney for the government as well as a defense lawyer, said when the memos were first released, "Whoever wrote that memo should not only be fired -- they should be disbarred." Well, either that or promoted to the nation's number one law enforcement position.

Human Rights First has a good summary of these concerns, with links to the memos.