Government Immunity

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Just when you thought it was safe to come out...those familiar words...this administration has the ability to continue its campaign of shock and awe!! The latest development is the executive intiative calling for a Congressional amendment to the War Powers Act. The intent of this amendment is to remove any culpability for interrogators regarding suspect methods of obtaining information. Of course, this includes the topical and poignant considerations of torture, pseudo torture and simulated torture.

The prospective changes have been recently introduced in Congress and they aim to amend the language in Title 18, section 2441. This section's emphsis had been to enumerate actions and tactics that have been prohibited pursuant to the Geneva Convention, signed on August 12, 1949.

For clarity's sake, here is an exact representation of the CURRENT language of section 2441 of Title 18:

(a) Offense. - Whoever, whether inside or outside the United

States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described

in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned

for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the

victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

(b) Circumstances. - The circumstances referred to in subsection

(a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of

such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States

or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of

the Immigration and Nationality Act).

(c) Definition. - As used in this section the term "war crime"

means any conduct -

(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international

conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to

such convention to which the United States is a party;

(2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the

Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on

Land, signed 18 October 1907;

(3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the

international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or

any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a

party and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or

(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and

contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or

Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices

as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3

May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol,

willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.



Below is the NEW language for which the Bush administration is seeking an amendment:


"which constitutes any of the following offenses, when committed in the context of and in association with an armed conflict not of an international character under common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949:



1. Torture, inhuman treatment, or cruel treatment. -- Any person who commits, or attempts to commit, an act specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection. "Severe mental pain or suffering" has the meaning provided in 18 SC 2340(2). [I.e. despite the title, which includes "inhuman" and "cruel" treatment, the definition follows only the torture definition, and does not include reference to legislation on "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."



2. Performing biological experiments. -- Any person who subjects one or more persons to biological experiments without a legitimate medical purpose and in so doing seriously endangers the body or health or such person or persons shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection.



3. Intentionally killing any person taking no active part in the hostilities. -- Any person who intentionally kills, or attempts to kill, one or more persons who were taking no active part in the hostilities, including those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection. The intent required for this offense precludes its applicability with regard to collateral damage or to death, damage, or injury incident to a lawful attack.



4. Mutilating or maiming any person taking no active part in the hostilities. -- Any person who intentionally injures, or attempts to injure, one or more persons who were taking no active part [in hostilities, presumably], including those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, by disfiguring the person or persons by any mutilation thereof or by permanently disabling any member, limb, or organ of his body, without any legitimate medical or dental purpose, shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection. The intent required for this offense precludes its applicability with regard to collateral damage or to death, damage, or injury incident to a lawful attack.



5. Intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury. -- Any person who intentionally causes, or attempts to cause, serious bodily injury to one or more persons who were taking no active part in the hostilities, including those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, or intentionally engages in conduct that places such a person at significant risk of serious bodily injury, shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection. The intent required for this offense precludes its applicability with regard to collateral damage or to death, damage, or injury incident to a lawful attack. "Serious bodily injury" has the meaning provided in 18 USC 1365(h)(3).



6. Rape -- Any person who forcibly or with coercion or threat of force wrongfully invades, or attempts to invade, the body of a person by penetrating, however slightly, the anal or genital opening of the victim with any part of the body of the accused or with any foreign object shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection.



7. Sexual assault or abuse. -- Any person who forcibly or with coercion or threat of force engages in sexual contact with one or more persons, or causes one of more persons to engage in sexual contact shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection. For purpose of this offense, "sexual contact" has the meaning provided in 18 USC 2246(3).



8. Taking hostages. -- Any person who, having knowingly seized or detained one or more persons in violation of the laws of armed conflict, threatens to kill, injure, or continue to detain such person or persons with the intent of compelling any nation, person other than the hostage, or group of persons to act or refrain from acting as an explicit or implicit condition for the safety or release of such person or persons, shall be guilty of a violation of this amendment."


Note that the clause whcih reads as follows:

"which constitutes any of the following offenses, when committed in the context of and in association with an armed conflict not of an international character under common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949:"

They have restated the provision to exclude any conflict NOT of an international character, which precludes the inclusion of conflicts with other than "nation states"...in other words...unaffiliated combatants. This is a complete and total negation of the intent for which the Geneva Convention had been created and nothing short of the wholesale undermining of an interrogator's responsibilty or culpability. In short, this is just one more example of the tendency towards revisionism and one more instance of this administration's attempts to broaden executive power while shortening executive oversight.

Note, also, that the list of alleged war crimes has been shortened to exclude "less than" torture tactics as well as simultated torture. Excluded are psychological torture, sexual humiliation, sleep deprivation, prolonged standing, and a host of "psudo torture techniques" that will now be considered to be acceptable. Additionally, this amendment's intent is to include retroactive measures used at Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and other detention centers, extending back in time to cover any Bush administration abuses.

Any sane person who does not find this amendment to be frightening is clearly NOT paying attention. As that old expression goes, if you are not outraged, you are not paying attention. This amendment must NOT be allowed to clear the Congressional process and make it to Pres. Bush's desk, where he will, undoubtedly, sign it.

This amendment is a violation of rights. This amendment cannot be allowed to pass. It is obviously a reaction to the Supreme Court's Hamdan v Rumsfeld decision and an attempt to sideswipe the Supreme Court's intent regarding this case. George Bush, Dick Cheney, et al, are committed to the broadest possible interpretation of the Patriot Act and of executive authority and this proposed amendment is clear evidence for their agenda.. It is, perhaps, footwork they deemed necesary before their next preemptive and illegal invasion of another foreign nation. Because it will be internatinal in nature, it will now, if this amendment passes, be excluded from any of the Geneva Convention protections and safeguards.

All efforts necessary must be made to ensure that this administration is not allowed to breach Geneva Convention protocol and rules governing the treatment and interrogation of those persons seized as alleged prisoners of war. This is nothing short of a moral imperative!

trickster108