University of Houston Professor of Law Jordan Paust has written a brief missive for Jurist agreeing with the "growing chorus" supporting the firing Alberto Gonzalez. His column takes a welcomed, and slightly different tact from those of the MSM, however, by arguing that he should be fired not merely for lying about the the firing of U.S. attorneys, or the subsequent cover-up, but because Mr. Gonzalez is "reasonably accused" of responsibility for war crimes.
Because I took a class in International Criminal Law from Professor Paust, and because I greatly respect him, I was very glad to see him write this.
From the article:
On February 7, 2002, the President authorized the denial of protections under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to members of al Qaeda and the Taliban and authorized violations of Geneva law more generally by ordering humane treatment for detainees merely "to the extent appropriate" and "consistent with military necessity," despite the fact that humane treatment is an absolute requirement of Geneva law "in all circumstances," it is never appropriate to deny treatment required by Geneva law, and alleged military necessity does not justify the denial of treatment required by Geneva law.
Of course, Gonzalez's inner circle knew this. But,
They calculated that "treating the detainees as unlawful combatants would increase flexibility in detention and interrogation;" and the question became merely "what interrogation methods fell short of the torture ban and could be used" as "coercive interrogation," which includes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment outlawed by the customary and treaty-based laws of war, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and customary and treaty-based human rights law.
Professor Paust concludes that while Americans should be outraged by being lied to by the AG, they should also be outraged by an Attorney General whose conduct led to condoning actions that violated international legal conventions that our country helped to formulate.
This isn't breaking news. We've known and discussed these issues for quite some time. But the Supreme Court has refused to reign in the Bush Administration's clear abuses.
You know, I really want Gonzalez to go. But I want him to go for all the right reasons...