Let's impeach the president.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Crazyhorse,

We are going to simply have to agree to disagree. You seem like a smart person. I also want to state that I detest many of Bush's policies. However, it appears that your hatred of Bush has colored your analysis and perception of historical events, trends, etc. In particular, I think your understanding of international law, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Geneva Conventions, etc. is very one-sided and not entirely accurate. I am no legal scholar, but when I went to law school I took a class from the former assistant general counsel for the State Department (i.e., the #2 lawyer for the State Department), a guy who helped draft the UN Charter and represented the U.S. government in negotiating many treaties. We discussed these issues (including Gitmo, trials of enemy combatants) at length. I sympathize with your ultimate positions, but I don't think your analysis is correct. Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all jerk.

In any event, cheers.

[Crazyhorse1]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Crazyhorse,

We are going to simply have to agree to disagree. You seem like a smart person. I also want to state that I detest many of Bush's policies. However, it appears that your hatred of Bush has colored your analysis and perception of historical events, trends, etc. In particular, I think your understanding of international law, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Geneva Conventions, etc. is very one-sided and not entirely accurate. I am no legal scholar, but when I went to law school I took a class from the former assistant general counsel for the State Department (i.e., the #2 lawyer for the State Department), a guy who helped draft the UN Charter and represented the U.S. government in negotiating many treaties. We discussed these issues (including Gitmo, trials of enemy combatants) at length. I sympathize with your ultimate positions, but I don't think your analysis is correct. Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all jerk.

In any event, cheers.

Ok. You seem like a smart person too and I have enjoyed debating with you. You have caused me to challenge my assumption and have, in fact, moved me toward your point of view. I am a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing, and by nature a generalist, as many writers of poetry and fiction are. We tend to know a little about a lot rather than the other way around. An in-depth understanding of the Geneva Conventions is more likely to be achieved by a person such as yourself who is trained in law than one who has just read the Conventions "generally."

So, answer this question for me, if you will: Is it not true that whereas the Geneva Conventions does in fact classify combatants that it nevertheless banns torture and murder of prisoners universality? It have read the provisions many times, and it seems to me they protect everyone: combatants, non-combatant, citizens of all countries (not just those from countries who have signed the agreement), suspected terrorists, spies, etc. Note that I am not speaking of executions or prison sentences after legal trials, but am speaking of torture (at any time) and other punishments (before trials).