NYT: Administration Prods Congress to Curb the Rights of Detainees

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, July 12 — A day after saying that terror suspects had a right to protections under the Geneva Conventions, the Bush administration said Wednesday that it wanted Congress to pass legislation that would limit the rights granted to detainees.

The earlier statement had been widely interpreted as a retreat, but testimony to Congress by administration lawyers on Wednesday made clear that the picture was more complicated.

The administration has now abandoned its four-year-old claim that members of Al Qaeda are not protected under the Geneva Conventions, acknowledging that a Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago established as a matter of law that they are. Still, administration lawyers urged Congress to pass legislation that would narrowly define the rights granted to detainees under a provision of the Geneva Conventions known as Common Article Three, which guarantees legal rights “recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

The maneuvering now under way was prompted by that Supreme Court decision, which struck down the tribunals the administration had established for terror suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/washington/13gitmo.html?hp&ex=1152849600&en=bcab8dcbbad5f3fc&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[leesa]

1. Good. Disrespect the Geneva Convention loud and clear after the

Supremes declared it law. Perhaps it will wake up a few more Republican deadheads.

[PSPS]

2. The domestic media is firing up the wurlitzer

This morning, NPR had that freak job Yoo on and treated him reasonably as he blathered on about how bush was correct and congress could easily overturn the court ruling and how the geneva convention was "too vague" to really mean anything anyway. Of course, the NPR guy did nothing to refute the outrageous claims made by this neanderthal.

[Judi Lynn]

4. NPR is as helpful as a rubber crutch since the Republican Congress

gutted its funding. It's still a shock to see how low they've fallen, and how eager they are to please the right-wing.

I wonder if there's any hope some Republican legislators are starting to recognize people are going to be watching their votes intently this time, and chose NOT to repudiate the Geneva Conventions.

[mbperrin]

3. "the picture was more complicated" What complicated? They lied!

As usual.....