Secret Prisons

[TheDoctor]

Not following the Geneva conventions?

And secret prisons. Isn't that against the law? I honestly don't know.

Yes it is against the Geneva Conventions. You are suppose to report and inform the Red Cross about all prisoners/detainees. The Red Cross has asked about these detainees several times and were stonewalled by the bushies. Violation of the Geneva Conventions is a federal crime.

 

[TheDoctor]

I have to admit that I have been pleased by the JAG corp. and their professionalism. The JAGers went against the bush administration on the military tribunal bill being proposed by bush. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14717778

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon’s top uniformed lawyers took issue Thursday with a key part of a White House plan to prosecute terrorism detainees, telling Congress that limiting the suspects’ access to evidence could violate treaty obligations.

Their testimony to a House committee marked the latest time that military lawyers have publicly challenged Bush administration proposals to keep some evidence — such as classified information — from accused terrorists. In the past, some military officials have expressed concerns that if the U.S. adopts such standards, captured American troops might be treated the same way.....

Black and the other lawyers said such an allowance was a fundamental right in other court systems and would meet requirements under the Geneva Conventions.

The concept of secret evidence and denial of due process for these detainees is simply wrong. These JAG officers have put their careers on the line to protest the unfairness of the bush proposal and you have to admire that.

 

[crcormier]

These JAG officers have put their careers on the line to protest the unfairness of the bush proposal and you have to admire that.

I do. God bless our military.

 

[TheDoctor]

Not following the Geneva conventions?

And secret prisons. Isn't that against the law? I honestly don't know.

Here is a good article on why secret prison are illegal.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20051107_bergen.html

The Washington Post recently reported that there now exists a secret overseas network of CIA-run prisons - called "black sites." According to the Post, "several former and current intelligence officials and other U.S. government officials" claim the network was created in order to avoid U.S. laws that prohibit such detentions. But the law, it turns out, cannot be so easily avoided.

Indeed, such a detention system may violate both domestic and international laws. For this reason, it raises questions of legal liability, and accountability, not just for those who maintain these facilities, but also for those who ordered or sanctioned their creation. ....

U.S. officials may incur liability for grave violations of international law under the 1996 War Crimes Act, and Geneva and the Nuremberg Charter exclude any form of immunity for war crimes. Obedience to orders is no defense to such charges, though it may mitigate the severity of punishment. Geneva Common Article 1 imposes the positive duty to respect and ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions in all circumstances on all parties.

Additionally, the doctrine of command responsibility requires that where a commander knows, or should have known, that his troops are committing war crimes and fails to prevent them, he is liable for their actions.

According to Newsweek, President Bush signed a secret order authorizing the CIA to set up the black sites.

In conclusion, the CIA Gulag of detention camps spread around the globe violates numerous provisions of both domestic and international law. And the legal liability for these camps falls not just on CIA operatives, but on those Administration officials who have authorized or sanctioned these practices.

That is why bush wants a new law passed to absolve him from the liablity for his illegal acts.

 

[TheDoctor]

I guess that the neck rub that bush gave to German Chancellor Merkel was not enough to get her to ignore the violations of international law by bush and the US. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060909...7EY0v.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has sought to bolster ties with the United States since she took office, rebuked Washington on Saturday for sanctioning secret CIA prisons used to interrogate terror suspects.

"The use of such prisons is not compatible with my understanding of the rule of law," Merkel said in Berlin.

President Bush admitted this week the CIA had run detention centers at secret overseas locations, months after reports surfaced that the intelligence agency had used Europe as a hub to shuttle suspects around for interrogation.

Merkel said even in the fight against terrorism, such means did not justify the ends and that other solutions must be found.

"(Instead) we must find answers to how we can combat terrorists effectively without calling our fundamental principles and beliefs in question," she said.

To some extent Chancellor Merkel was being kind to bush and did all him a war criminal for the use of secret prisons.

 

[TheDoctor]

Someone is getting nervous. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14777088/

CIA counterterrorism officers have signed up in growing numbers for a government-reimbursed, private insurance plan that would pay their civil judgments and legal expenses if they are sued or charged with criminal wrongdoing, according to current and former intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the program.

The new enrollments reflect heightened anxiety at the CIA that officers may be vulnerable to accusations they were involved in abuse, torture, human rights violations and other misconduct, including wrongdoing related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They worry that they will not have Justice Department representation in court or congressional inquiries, the officials said.

The anxieties stem partly from public controversy about a system of secret CIA prisons in which detainees were subjected to harsh interrogation methods, including temperature extremes and simulated drowning. The White House contends the methods were legal, but some CIA officers have worried privately that they may have violated international law or domestic criminal statutes.

These CIA officers are probably smart to buy this insurance.

 

[Charade]

Here is a good article on why secret prison are illegal.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20051107_bergen.html That is why bush wants a new law passed to absolve him from the liablity for his illegal acts.

I see a few "may"s in your quote but somehow you know better and state they are illegal.