And The World Just Got A Hell Of A Lot Scarier…
In 1859, a Swiss businessman named Jean Henri Dunant witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in the Austro-Sardinian War. After seeing the suffering of tens of thousands of wounded soldiers, Dunant went on to form the Red Cross and conceive the original Geneva Conventions. Dunant would go on to be awarded the first ever Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Originally conceived as a way to protect injured and captive soldiers in wartime, the Geneva Conventions were greatly expanded upon, especially after World War 2, and have become the backbone of modern international law.

Leave it to George W. Bush to fuck everything up.

Ever since the official outing of the ‘secret’ CIA prisons in Cuba and other parts of the world, Bush & Co. have done everything in their power to convince the American public that torturing prisoners held without trial or access to legal assistance is some how a good thing. And apparently the majority of the House and Senate agree with the bastards. Last week the Senate, after some very minor changes, approved the bill.

So that you can see what I’m talking about, here’s the important part of bill in question. Gaze upon thy works and despair, oh citizens of these United States:

AGREEMENT UPON COMMON ARTICLE 3

SEC. 7. TREATY OBLIGATIONS NOT ESTABLISHING GROUNDS FOR CERTAIN CLAIMS.
(a) IN GENERAL. No person may invoke the Geneva Conventions or any protocols thereto in any habeas or civil action or proceeding to which the United States, or a current or former officer, employee, member of the Armed Forces, or other agent of the United States, is a party as a source of rights, in any court of the United States or its States or territories.
…

SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATY OBLIGATIONS.
(a)(1) IN GENERAL. The acts enumerated in subsection 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b) of this section, and in subsection (c) of this section, constitute violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions prohibited by United States law.
(2) PROHIBITION ON GRAVE BREACHES. The provisions in section 2441 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section, fully satisfy the obligation under Article 129 of the Third Geneva Convention for the United States to provide effective penal sanctions for grave breaches which are encompassed in Common Article 3 in the context of an armed conflict not of an international character. No foreign or international sources of law shall supply a basis for a rule of decision in the courts of the United States in interpreting the prohibitions enumerated in subsection 2441(d).
(3)INTERPRETATION BY THE PRESIDENT. (A) As provided by the
Constitution and by this section, the President has the authority for the United States to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions and to promulgate higher standards and administrative regulations for violations of treaty obligations which are not grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
(B) The President shall issue such interpretations by Executive
Order published in the Federal Register, and such orders shall be
authoritative (as to non-grave breach provisions) as a matter of United States law, in the same manner as other administrative regulations.
(C) Nothing in this section shall affect the constitutional
functions and responsibilities of Congress and the judicial branch of the United States.
…

Pretty scary shit. The President of the United States now gets to interpret the Geneva Conventions (because “outrages upon human dignity” is too “vague and undefined” for the president, apparently). This would be the same man behind the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and quite possibly Iran if things don’t start changing real soon; behind “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq three years ago; behind the general government incompetence during the numerous hurricane disasters last fall; and- just for good measure- let’s not forget being behind numerous attempts to declare homosexual marriage illegal, proving he is just a world class jerk. Yes, clearly this is the man most qualified to determine what the Geneva Convention writers really meant when they said “outrages upon human dignity”. Of course.

The real tragedy, (other than the hundreds of people who will now “legally” be brutalized because of this insanity, of course) is that Congress let him do this. Oh that’s right, I went there. See, Bush and company are historically a group of sociopathic fucktards who are obsessed with gaining more and more power for themselves. And after six bloody years (Ha! Syntax! Take the meaning of that as you will!) of the Bush machine ruining virtually everything they touch like some sort of weird anti-Midas, CONGRESS SHOULD KNOW BETTER! Essentially, they just handed the reigns of international law over to a moron who, quite frankly, cares nothing at all for international law (or international relations, for that matter). Why the hell did anyone think this was a good idea?

Well, the answer to that is that there’s this really irritating trump card Bush likes to flash anytime he feels a bit of pressure, called “American Security”. For some reason, all the dick has to do is say something is for “American Security”, and he gets anything he wants. Anything. No matter how horrible. And no matter how many more laws that are made and liberties that are crushed by the Bush machine, actual national security doesn’t really seem to change. The only thing that really changes is how many metaphorical cameras are watching us at any given time. And considering how frequently this country seems to come under direct assault from “terrorists”, for some reason the current administration seems a lot more scary to me than the people we’re supposed to be afraid of.

Ever wonder what it looks like when the bad guys are winning? I’m thinking it’s pretty much like this.