Gutting habeas corpus is no way to restore America's moral standing.
St. Petersburg Times Editorial
After all the fuss and noise made by three Republican senators who stood in the way of the Bush administration's military tribunals legislation, they quietly capitulated when the pressure was turned up. The "compromise" they reached with the White House is a serious disappointment that will do little to resurrect America's international standing as an upright actor and moral leader.
Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Warner had it about right when they insisted that the Geneva Conventions as written be respected for every prisoner, including terror suspects. They were right to demand that any military tribunal system would have to include basic due process protections, including the right of the accused to know the evidence used against him, and the exclusion of any evidence obtained through coercive means. These are baseline principles that should not be compromised. We would accept no lesser standard for an American captured by a foreign power.
But by entering into negotiations with the White House on these key points, McCain, Graham and Warner demonstrated a willingness to horse-trade our bedrock values in exchange for an agreement where everybody claims victory and essential protections are lost.
The senators do deserve credit for their resistance. Unlike so many other Republicans, they were unwilling to adopt whatever was put forward. Because of that, the administration was forced to grant prisoners the right to see all evidence used against them. That is an important concession.
But the senators gave the rest away. Under the "compromise," evidence obtained through coercive means could be used if a judge finds it reliable and probative. The president also would be given the explicit power to interpret aspects of the Geneva Conventions, opening the door for the continued use of abusive interrogation techniques.
Habeas corpus protections also would be gutted. Detainees would be barred from going before a judge to challenge their treatment and indefinite detention. And the legislation would retroactively excuse brutal and illegal conduct by civilian interrogators under the War Crimes Act, leaving members of the military to stand alone in answering for the abuse of prisoners.
If the point of the stand by McCain and the others was to bring our treatment of detainees into the realm of recognized civilized conduct, the "compromise" measure falls far short. As Bush adviser Dan Bartlett told the New York Times, the president essentially got what he wanted on the Geneva Conventions. "This is more of the scenic route, but it gets us there," Bartlett said.
The case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen kidnapped by the CIA, illustrates how damaging the continuation of Bush's corrosive policies would be to our national character and national security.
Our government sent Arar to Syria, convinced he had terrorist connections. Arar was then tortured until he signed a confession that he had been in Afghanistan training in an al-Qaida camp. After a thorough investigation by Canada, it turns out that Arar was completely innocent and had never been to Afghanistan.
Innocent people will admit to anything to stop abusive interrogations, including implicating others and outlining phantom plots. Then we have to deploy valuable manpower to track down those worthless leads.
Arar's case has been an international disgrace, yet Bush refuses to apologize or hold anyone responsible for the actions taken against this man. Instead, he pushes for the power to do the same to others. This cannot be making us safer.
The Senate should not move forward on any legislation that does not uphold the core America values of humanity and fair process. This "compromise" doesn't come close.
Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Warner had it about right when they insisted that the Geneva Conventions as written be respected for every prisoner, including terror suspects. They were right to demand that any military tribunal system would have to include basic due process protections, including the right of the accused to know the evidence used against him, and the exclusion of any evidence obtained through coercive means. These are baseline principles that should not be compromised. We would accept no lesser standard for an American captured by a foreign power.
But by entering into negotiations with the White House on these key points, McCain, Graham and Warner demonstrated a willingness to horse-trade our bedrock values in exchange for an agreement where everybody claims victory and essential protections are lost.
The senators do deserve credit for their resistance. Unlike so many other Republicans, they were unwilling to adopt whatever was put forward. Because of that, the administration was forced to grant prisoners the right to see all evidence used against them. That is an important concession.
But the senators gave the rest away. Under the "compromise," evidence obtained through coercive means could be used if a judge finds it reliable and probative. The president also would be given the explicit power to interpret aspects of the Geneva Conventions, opening the door for the continued use of abusive interrogation techniques.
Habeas corpus protections also would be gutted. Detainees would be barred from going before a judge to challenge their treatment and indefinite detention. And the legislation would retroactively excuse brutal and illegal conduct by civilian interrogators under the War Crimes Act, leaving members of the military to stand alone in answering for the abuse of prisoners.
If the point of the stand by McCain and the others was to bring our treatment of detainees into the realm of recognized civilized conduct, the "compromise" measure falls far short. As Bush adviser Dan Bartlett told the New York Times, the president essentially got what he wanted on the Geneva Conventions. "This is more of the scenic route, but it gets us there," Bartlett said.
The case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen kidnapped by the CIA, illustrates how damaging the continuation of Bush's corrosive policies would be to our national character and national security.
Our government sent Arar to Syria, convinced he had terrorist connections. Arar was then tortured until he signed a confession that he had been in Afghanistan training in an al-Qaida camp. After a thorough investigation by Canada, it turns out that Arar was completely innocent and had never been to Afghanistan.
Innocent people will admit to anything to stop abusive interrogations, including implicating others and outlining phantom plots. Then we have to deploy valuable manpower to track down those worthless leads.
Arar's case has been an international disgrace, yet Bush refuses to apologize or hold anyone responsible for the actions taken against this man. Instead, he pushes for the power to do the same to others. This cannot be making us safer.
The Senate should not move forward on any legislation that does not uphold the core America values of humanity and fair process. This "compromise" doesn't come close.
No comments:
Post a Comment