Hey, everybody. Longtime lurker, first-time diarist.
The Bush Administration has apparently drafted an amendment to the War Crimes Act that would protect themselves from being prosecuted as war criminals.
The Washington Post reports:
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen the proposal.
...
The White House, without elaboration, said in a statement that the bill "will apply to any conduct by any U.S. personnel, whether committed before or after the law is enacted."
Two attorneys said that the draft is in the revision stage but that the administration seems intent on pushing forward the draft's major points in Congress after Labor Day. The two attorneys spoke on condition of anonymity because their sources did not authorize them to release the information.
Clearly, this is a move by the White House to protect itself (and the CIA) from prosecution in the light of the Hamdan V. Rumsfeld decision, in which the Supreme Court said that Article 3 of the Geneva Convention does apply to all military combatants held in US custody.
This amendment cannot become law. It needs to be blocked by the Democrats. If we are a nation of laws, if we stand for anything, if we ever hope to regain our standing in the eyes of the world, we cannot codify an amendment that say that our government is free to torture people.
I believe our best chance to defeat this amendment is in the Senate, where 90 Senators voted for the McCain amendment which banned torture. It seems to me if you voted for the McCain amendment, you would also have to vote against this amendment, especially since it is clear the Bush Administration hopes to protect itself from future violations of the Geneva Convention, which are forbidden under the McCain amendment.
If Republicans are not willing to join Democrats to vote down this amendment, it will be up to Democrats to stop it by whatever means possible, including filibuster.
According to The Washington Post article, this amendment will be scheduled for a vote shortly after the Labor Day weekend. Please keep an eye out for any developments on this story and please be prepared to call your Senators if it should come to that. Letters to editors would also be welcome.