International Law, Schminternational Law
You know, there used to be a time when we were surprised, maybe even shocked, that the Bush administration, in our name, was violating international law. Nowadays, it’s just assumed that the United States is exempt from international law and George W. Bush is free to do whatever he damn well pleases. Hell, did most of you even know about the Bush administration’s latest crime?
A confidential 2003 manual for operating the Guantánamo detention center shows that military officials had a policy of denying detainees access to independent monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The manual said one goal was to “exploit the disorientation and disorganization felt by a newly arrived detainee,” by denying access to the Koran and by preventing visits with Red Cross representatives, who have a long history of monitoring the conditions under which prisoners in international conflicts are held. The document said that even after their initial weeks at Guantánamo, some detainees would not be permitted to see representatives of the International Red Cross, known as the I.C.R.C.
It was permissible, the document said, for some long-term detainees to have “No access. No contact of any kind with the I.C.R.C.”
Some legal experts and advocates for detainees said yesterday that the policy might have violated international law, which provides for such monitoring to assure humanitarian treatment and to limit the ability of governments to hold detainees secretly.
…
In response to critics’ assertions that the detention camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, may have violated international law, a spokesman, Lt. Col. Edward M. Bush III, said, “I am in no position to speculate about what happened in 2003.”
Once again, the United States–the supposed bastion of liberty, freedom, and democracy–demonstrates that international law only applies when it helps us put Muslims terrorists in prison in definitely, deprive them of their rights, and torture them.
And do you know what the worst part of this is? We, the American people, are becoming complacent. We’ve accepted that our government is going to ignore whatever treaties and laws are inconvenient to it and do whatever it wants, so we’ve stopped caring and, in doing so, we’re letting it trample the rights of the rest of humanity. As proof, let’s play a little game of hide-and-seek. Head over to the NYT homepage and see if you can find this article. Here’s a hint: it’s not anywhere near the fold.
As long as Bush & Co. know that they can get away with these kinds of things without the American people caring, they’re never going to stop. It’s time to let the administration know that we’re watching what they do. Call the White House (202-456-1111) and tell President Bush: “I know you’re breaking international law, and I want you to respect human rights.”
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