Today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial is titled America’s Shameful Shift on Torture. It is quite possibly one of the most vile pieces of editorializing that I have seen in a long time. Some choice excerpts:
There is no escaping that this administration has undermined the nation’s highest ideals, thereby jeopardizing its moral leadership in the world. It is now clear that it also has jeopardized its ability to bring terror suspects to justice.
[…]
Then, early this month, the Washington Post exposed a secret string of CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and Asia where treatment most would term cruel, inhuman and degrading takes place.
There’s more, of course, but you’ll really need to read the editorial to get the full grasp of what I mean.
So, with that in mind, let me ask a few questions of the Star Tribune editorial board:
- Is a terrorist subject to the Geneva Conventions?
- Is a terrorist an unlawful combatant?
- Can a person in US custody be turned over to a foreign government?
- Does the answer to number three change if that government has a record for torturing persons in custody?
- Can a person in US custody be turned over to a country that does not have the same protection for those accused of a crime as the United States?
- If a soldier commits a crime – even a war crime – in Iraq or Afghanistan – does that mean that General Abazaid has commited a crime?
- What about Secretary Rumsfeld?
- How about President Bush?
- What rights does a person in custody captured on foreign soil that may be part of Al-Qaeda have?
Rather than all of the random opining going on out there – let’s see them discuss some facts about what is and isn’t legal.. and take some hard stances.
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