In a 78-21 vote, the US Senate today added an amendment to the upcoming military funding bill formally banning any US government agencies from engaging in torture, and requiring them to provide Red Cross access to any detainee, no matter how secretive.
Despite a wide margin of victory, the bill was opposed by a large number of the Senate’s leaders, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) and assorted other hawks. Sen. Marco Rubio (R – FL), the lone Senator not present, says he would’ve voted against it as well, on the grounds that the US shouldn’t tell the enemy whether or not they’re going to get tortured beforehand.
The amendment, assuming it survives the eventual reconciliation with the House version of the NDAA, will effectively require all government agencies to comply with the Army’s public manual on the treatment of detainees, and to abide by the Geneva convention against torture.
While rights groups were generally supportive of the passage, Human Rights Watch counsel Laura Pitter noted that the CIA had been carrying out torture in ways that were formally against the law in the first place, and cautioned that a future administration would likely just ignore the rules if they were in a torture kind of mood.
Can we arrest the 21 dissenters for voting against the constitution's requirements? These people simply do not exemplify American values, nor do they understand our rule of law.
Irony meter pinged.
It's a start.
What a Joke these laws exist as we speak, and have for decades, Geneva has them in Buckets and that is in fact US Domestic law as well voted as law by both house as well a ratified by treaty, then there is US domestic torture laws they come from the Republican Reagan Era, as well as corresponding International treaties though the UN all ratified and legal like, then they are on the UCMJ books as well, so those in the Military are just as libel and always have been! What is missing is the forcing of prosecutions of these laws on those that have in the past committed them, we can start with Bybee and YOO, who wrote "the excuse" which allowed the Bush and Cheney, to allow such Crimes to happen! If it came down to a crunch most of the laws relating to Prisoners from Afghanistan especially those of the Taliban (but not al Qaeda they can lawfully be considered to be Mercenaries) are in fact what is known as Ultra Vires in legal parlance as they are in breach of US treaties and federal laws and Constitutional Normality's in existence! This has been shown of recent times by appeals Courts throwing out Convictions made in Military Tribunals! It was also shown in Bush's day by the Hamdin and Hamdi cases! Until the US starts to prosecute those that are IN government and break laws, America will NEVER be as great as she was and will never be considered a Country of Laws as it once was! We must also be aware that we generally Prosecute or make serious comment about War crimes after the War, It now is that time, especially before the NEXT war!
Torture is illegal. It's illegal under The Constitution. It's illegal under United States Public Law. It's illegal under the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Charter. It can carry the death penalty if the victim dies, or life in prison. That has happened perhaps 100 times under Bush and Cheney. Bush, Cheney, Brennan, Rodriguez, Tenet and others are guilty of death penalty offenses. THAT'S what this silly game of "banning" torture is all about: pretending it wasn't really illegal when these criminals did it. The President cannot 'authorize' illegal acts. Keep pretending, you fools, and soon they'll be coming for you too. No 'rule of law' means no democracy either.
Hasn't torture been a crime since the middle ages already? So, when are they going to ban murder?
As our voting majority does so love war-hawk politicians, can it not be said that the purpose of torture is to protect the excessive wealth of those who love to plunder?