ACLU statement on torture agreement

[tpsbmam]

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/26821prs20060921.html

Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"This is a compromise of America’s commitment to the rule of law. The proposal would make the core protections of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions irrelevant and unenforceable. It deliberately provides a ‘get out of jail free card’ to the administration’s top torture officials, and backdates that card nine years. These are tactics expected of repressive regimes, not the American government.

"Also under the proposal, the president would have the authority to declare what is - and what is not - a grave breach of the War Crimes Act, making the president his own judge and jury. This provision would give him unilateral authority to declare certain torture and abuse legal and sound. In a telling move, during a call with reporters today, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley would not even answer a question about whether waterboarding would be permitted under the agreement.

"The agreement would also violate time-honored American due process standards by permitting the use of evidence coerced through cruel and abusive treatment. We urge lawmakers to stand firm in their commitment to American values and reject this charade of a compromise."

[niyad]

1. welcome to DU!!

[waiting for hope]

2. This is why I'm proud to be a

card carrying member! Thanks for posting.

On Edit: Welcome to DU!:hi:

[tpsbmam]

4. me too.....

Thanks for the welcome, both of you!

I wish to god this was from one of our Democratic candidates and not from a movie (The American President), but this was one of the great movie speeches IMO:

I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, folks, then you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

[waiting for hope]

11. I love that one too!

Didn't Richard Dreyfuss (sp?) play the ultimate Repug?

[sandnsea]

3. This isn't even the worst part

Or at least the part that the average American would understand. The worst part is that the only way for a person who has been tortured to have it brought to any kind of court is if it's prosecuted criminally. That means it would have to be a whistleblower scenario, none of these civil cases could be brought and a detainee would have no legal avenue while being held either.

Astounding.

[rodeodance]

5. good time to contribute $$ to ACLU.

[rodeodance]

6. rec. and thanks

[zeemike]

7. Now where are the democratic voices on this

They should even use the filibuster if necessary to stop it.
And welcome to DU...

[longship]

8. Welcome to DU!

Thanks for the timely post.

[warrens]

9. Filibuster. If they bring it to the floor, talk it to death, Dems. NT

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. But...but..the terraists are gonna take away freedom & justice.

If there was any remaining to take away after our government finishes doing the job for them.