-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [apfn-1] This Administration and International Law
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 19:58:46 -0500 (CDT)
From: (PLATO) plato@cayuse.net
Reply-To: apfn-1@yahoogroups.com
War Crimes: US Insists Its Leaders are Unaccountable to the World
The US has escalated its efforts to place itself outside the jurisdiction
of international justice. Not only has the US refused to join the
International Criminal Court (ICC), but the administration insists that
other countries accept that the US is above the law-or else, they lose
economic and military aid. On Dec. 7, Bush signed an Appropriations Bill
(HR 4818) that included a controversial provision denying economic
assistance to countries that refuse to grant immunity to US citizens
before the ICC. A previous bill in 2002 denied funds for military
assistance to such countries. These explicit attempts to undermine the ICC
are occurring amidst worldwide accusations that the US may be committing
war crimes in Iraq and Guantanamo, and thus may be a strategy to protect
US political and military leaders from prosecution as war criminals.
The US is a Party to the Geneva Conventions. Thus, the administration's
arbitrary decision to label persons captured during the war in Afghanistan
as "enemy combatants" rather than "prisoners of war" is highly
controversial. It signals a brazen attempt by the US to circumvent the
Geneva Conventions. Incredibly, Alberto R. Gonzales, the President's
Counsel (and Attorney General nominee), advised Bush (Memorandum of Jan.
25, 2002) that the President could decide to ignore the Geneva
Conventions, arguing that the Geneva Convention's restrictions were
"obsolete. " His legal reasoning has since been repudiated by US Courts,
which have ruled that the Geneva conventions do apply and that those
imprisoned at Guantanamo are entitled to POW status. Recent allegations by
the International Committee of the Red Cross that the US military is using
tactics "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantanamo imply ongoing
violations of the Geneva Conventions. The horrific treatment of prisoners
at Abu Ghraib violated prohibitions regarding POWs. Torture is a violation
of other treaties to which the US is a Party. Torture is prohibited by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 5, General Assembly of the
UN, 1948) and by the UN Convention Against Torture.
http://www.g0lem.net/PhpWiki/index.php/AboveInternationalLaw
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Against Global Warming
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"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I
can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will
not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do,
I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God,
I will do." - Edward Everett Hale
http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm
Subject: [apfn-1] This Administration and International Law
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 19:58:46 -0500 (CDT)
From: (PLATO) plato@cayuse.net
Reply-To: apfn-1@yahoogroups.com
War Crimes: US Insists Its Leaders are Unaccountable to the World
The US has escalated its efforts to place itself outside the jurisdiction
of international justice. Not only has the US refused to join the
International Criminal Court (ICC), but the administration insists that
other countries accept that the US is above the law-or else, they lose
economic and military aid. On Dec. 7, Bush signed an Appropriations Bill
(HR 4818) that included a controversial provision denying economic
assistance to countries that refuse to grant immunity to US citizens
before the ICC. A previous bill in 2002 denied funds for military
assistance to such countries. These explicit attempts to undermine the ICC
are occurring amidst worldwide accusations that the US may be committing
war crimes in Iraq and Guantanamo, and thus may be a strategy to protect
US political and military leaders from prosecution as war criminals.
The US is a Party to the Geneva Conventions. Thus, the administration's
arbitrary decision to label persons captured during the war in Afghanistan
as "enemy combatants" rather than "prisoners of war" is highly
controversial. It signals a brazen attempt by the US to circumvent the
Geneva Conventions. Incredibly, Alberto R. Gonzales, the President's
Counsel (and Attorney General nominee), advised Bush (Memorandum of Jan.
25, 2002) that the President could decide to ignore the Geneva
Conventions, arguing that the Geneva Convention's restrictions were
"obsolete. " His legal reasoning has since been repudiated by US Courts,
which have ruled that the Geneva conventions do apply and that those
imprisoned at Guantanamo are entitled to POW status. Recent allegations by
the International Committee of the Red Cross that the US military is using
tactics "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantanamo imply ongoing
violations of the Geneva Conventions. The horrific treatment of prisoners
at Abu Ghraib violated prohibitions regarding POWs. Torture is a violation
of other treaties to which the US is a Party. Torture is prohibited by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 5, General Assembly of the
UN, 1948) and by the UN Convention Against Torture.
http://www.g0lem.net/PhpWiki/index.php/AboveInternationalLaw
Join Virtual March
Against Global Warming
(http://tinyurl.com/bqblb)
====OO=====OO===============
http://pnews.org/
============================
============
FIGHT THE RIGHT!
============
APFN-1 YahooGroups:
Subscribe: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apfn-1/join
Unsubscribe: apfn-1-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
APFN MSG BOARD:
`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/149495.html
APFN CONTENTS PAGE:
http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm
Without Justice, there is JUST_US!
[LEAK-GATE] INVESTIGATING THE WHITE HOUSE
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/
Find elected officials, including the president, members of
Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials, and more.
http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/
SUPPORT APFN
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/kenvardon.htm
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I
can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will
not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do,
I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God,
I will do." - Edward Everett Hale
http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm
- The Case For Impeachment: High Crimes And Misdemeanors — Wed Jun 29 01:36
- Terrorising the rule of law: — Tue Jun 28 23:27
- George Bush's Speech — Tue Jun 28 22:59
- "Operation Shekhinah a.k.a. Operation Iraqi Freedom" — Wed Jun 29 01:17
- RE: BUSH, AmericaSupportsYou.mil — Wed Jun 29 00:51
