WP, Froomkin: WH has cleared up NOTHING on Geneva standards, torture

[DeepModem Mom]

More Ambiguity About Torture
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, July 12, 2006

The White House spin yesterday on the reinstatement of Geneva Convention protections for all U.S. detainees -- that it's not a reversal, and won't really change anything -- is another example of the self-contradicting ambiguity that has been a hallmark of this administration's position on torture and inhumane conduct.

On the one hand, the spin suggests that the administration has no intention of revising the policies that have been in force during a sordid cavalcade of incidents that have shocked the conscience of ordinary citizens.

And on the other hand, it contradicts the administration's previous, passionate insistence that granting the convention's protections to suspected terrorists could, in some cases, conflict with what it has called military necessity....

***

So what does the return to Geneva standards really mean? Beyond the political posturing, there is a reality. In that reality, Americans have abused, tortured and even killed detainees in their custody.

Is that behind us now? Whatever else the White House has accomplished, it certainly hasn't clear that up one bit.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

[cornermouse]

1. Its pretty much what they've always done.

A fancier version of the shell game. They're going to talk a good game while they rearrange the chairs on the deck without actually changing the basic fact that they haven't changed their tactics and have no intention of altering any of their actions to conform to legal requirements.