According to this story in Reuters and other news media, the president is not bound by US and international laws banning torture.
Is Bush a King, and therefore above the law? What form of government do we have these days?
Adina Levin's weblog. For conversation about books I've been reading, social software, and other stuff too.
According to this story in Reuters and other news media, the president is not bound by US and international laws banning torture.
Is Bush a King, and therefore above the law? What form of government do we have these days?
Here’s more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/politics/08ABUS.html?position=&ei=5007&en=31f4ba9107488f17&ex=1402027200&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=print&position=
Well, the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to non-governmental (non-uniformed) combatants.
Also, international law doesn’t really exist. Treaties and contracts between countries do exist. Breaking a treaty or the law of the country of which you are a leader isn’t okay. Ignoring some vague international law promulgated by some corrupt organization held captive by totalitarian regimes (like the UN or the ICC) is okay (by me anyway). Actually, if an “international law” conflicts with US law, US law should take precedence, otherwise our soveriegnty is compromised.
Torture. Was the document an analysis intended to explore the legalities of the issue, or was it a directive?
We should just follow the Israelis in the area – they have done so much painstaking thinking about it, including what interrogation methods actually work.
Long discussion about the memo. Or draft of a classified memo:
http://tacitus.org/story/2004/6/8/12307/20735
About the President being “above the law”: The President can pardon anyone for anything. But then there is discussion about consequences to the President (such as impeachment) if his pardon is considered illegal or morally awful.
Checks and balances.
The ability to pardon is a much narrower privilege than the broad claim that the President is above the law!
The ability to pardon is a much narrower privilege than the broad claim that the President is above the law!
I know. But the discussion on the blog I referenced was saying that pardon is what was being referred to in the memo. Apparently pardon is the only way in which a president can be “above the law,” and then the President has to take the consequences if the judicial and legislative branches think he went too far.
Anyway, here’s an example of international law run amok:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1238263,00.html