Gonzales pushing for 1996 War Crimes Act protection

Interesting read from the Washington Post about the administration's attempt to cover it's collective rear end now that the Supremes have ruled on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...701908_pf.html

I especially like this comment:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Washington Post

The law initially criminalized grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions but was amended without a hearing the following year to include violations of Common Article 3, the minimum standard requiring that all detainees be treated "humanely." The article bars murder, mutilation, cruel treatment, torture and "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment." It applies to any abuse involving U.S. military personnel or "nationals."

Jones and other advocates intended the law for use against future abusers of captured U.S. troops in countries such as Bosnia, El Salvador and Somalia, but the Pentagon supported making its provisions applicable to U.S. personnel because doing so set a high standard for others to follow. Mary DeRosa, a legal adviser at the National Security Council from 1997 to 2001, said the threat of sanctions in U.S. courts in fact helped deter senior officials from approving some questionable actions. She said the law is not an impediment in the terrorism fight.

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I guess we don't need to set high standards anymore. Be interesting to see how this gets handled in Congress. Do they ram this through now (and risk giving ammo to the Dems for the election), or wait until after the election (and risk not getting it passed by a Dem-controlled Congress).