Thursday, December 15, 2005

 

Setting The Trap

Let's be clear about what John McCain's "victory" over Bush on the issue of detainee torture is, and isn't. I, for one, don't for a minute believe that Bushco will stop doing what it's been doing to detainees up until now, as a result of this new legislation.

The fact that Bush now publicly accepts this anti-torture legislation should be seen, in a legal sense, as analogous to the courts requiring Bill Clinton to testify under oath in the Paula Jones case about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In other words, this is just a necessary first step (assuming the Democrats take back the Congress next year) to lay the groundwork for impeachment proceedings against Bushco when proof of its inevitable violation of this law comes to light.

One other point: Let's make sure, when this legislation finally passes, that Bushco understands that we'll be using the international definition of "torture," rather than the Orwellian definition the Bushco bullies dreamed up (i.e., nothing short of "death, or major organ failure" qualifies). Remember, under Bushco's draconian definition, even the repeated breaking of POW John McCain's arms, so that he cannot now straighten out his right one at all, doesn't constitute proof that the Vietcong ever "tortured" him.

posted by Michael 2:11 PM