Those Darned Memos

While investigating some of the websites from Chenkoff (discussed yesterday), came across this article that presumably Chernkoff would rather I didn't read.

It's about those Memos we've all been discussing for weeks. You know the ones that we inevitably end up talking about in the context of the Geneva Convention? Well this article took a different tack. I particularly liked this section.

"What makes this memo disturbing is how it uses law and legal reasoning in a dishonest fashion to undermine core principles of the American legal and political systems. This includes the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, the Fifth Amendment's protection of due process, and the system of checks and balances built into the constitution to prevent any one branch of government from becoming dominant.

These values have been part of the US since its inception. Moreover, they are the basis for other US statutes such as the federal anti-torture statue enacted in 1994, which provides for the prosecution of an American national or anyone present in the US who, while outside the country, commits or attempts to commit torture. A person found guilty under the act can even receive the death penalty if the violence results in a victim's death.

By extending the jurisdiction of the prohibition on torture in such a way, but also by ratifying major international treaties forbidding torture under any circumstance and by regularly issuing statements against torture, the US has shown a commitment to the value that torture is absolutely forbidden and prosecutable. The Pentagon memo argues, in essence, that there are loopholes in this ban and, therefore, loopholes in American values."

The whole article is well worth reading.

One counter argument that I can hear some making is that the Constitution only applies to United States citizens, which is technically accurate. But I would argue that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence reflect American principles and Ideals that exist independently of the Documents themselves. While the 8th Amendment may only protect American Citizens it is a reflection of our belief that such techniques are immoral and un-American.

Right in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." All men.

Something to consider.