Le Temps
Thursday 11 October 2007
All American students learn this old adage: "The power of the president is the power to persuade." Gauged by that measure, the power of the president of the United States has perhaps never been as low as that of George Bush. Today, it's the revelation of the existence of secret documents that justified the use of torture at the very moment when the government was publicly pronouncing those techniques to be "odious." The day before, it was the proven collusion between the Blackwater mercenaries who are acting in Iraq on the US Army's dime and for Republican Party interests. Still earlier, it was that triumphant formula, "Mission Accomplished," when the war in Iraq had only just begun.
George Bush has become the preferred and risible bugbear and butt of comedians, television commentators, and the neighborhood to the same extent that, following the September 11 attacks, he embodied the need for unity in the face of an external enemy. But, in the end, it's not so much the use of torture that is in question right now. When asked, the main presidential candidates (in the first ranks of which are Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) have proven to be particularly evasive on that subject. Sensing the approach of the time when they may perhaps seize power themselves, they guardedly stick to a prudent promise: "Keep America safe."
In Americans' eyes, what these memoranda on torture reveal above all is the extent to which their government has become a government of secrecy and lies. The president does not only hold himself haughtily above any countervailing power, whether American public opinion, the Congress or the Supreme Court, without even mentioning international opinion. Even within the very heart of the administration, all discordant voices have been progressively choked off. The president no longer tries to convince anyone. He imposes. And that's the paradox: never has his authority appeared so diminished.
"International Law Bans Torture"
By Luis Lema
Le Temps
Thursday 11 October 2007
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is exceedingly concerned by the existence of the American Department of Justice's secret directives. The analysis of Simon Schorno, the organization's spokesperson in Washington, follows.
Le Temps: What is your reaction to the existence of these secret memoranda?
Simon Schorno: I cannot comment on this specific case. But our position on torture is clear. International humanitarian law bans all forms of torture absolutely under any and all circumstances. The ICRC's position is that torture is immoral and contrary to the most fundamental principles of humanity.
But according to what is known about them, don't these memos laud the use of torture? Can George Bush assert that, "the United States does not torture people?"
The ICRC cannot enter into these questions and make a would-be-exhaustive list of the practices that would be considered torture. That we stick to a broad definition allows us to define this notion in all its complexity, while taking into account the specific contexts or consequences produced by thus and such specific practice. In the United States, the Military Commissions Act (signed by George Bush in 2006; it establishes military commissions for "illegal enemy combatants" by depriving them of the right to invoke the Geneva Conventions - editor's note) attempted that exercise by establishing diverse categories of prisoners. But we cannot participate in that game and must limit ourselves to a more general vision. That represents the foundation of our intervention in many contexts.
Does the fact that these memos exist and that they continue to be applicable by CIA agents worry you?
What's in play for us here is the question of access to detainees. Our president, Jakob Kellenberger, publicly demanded during a 2006 visit to Washington that our delegates be able to meet with detainees. Today, the prisons in the framework of official detention are open to us and we can transmit our observations to the authorities on the treatment of prisoners. But our worry concerns the possible existence of secret detention centers in which we would not receive notification.
One hears mention once again in the press of ICRC reports on the conditions of detention at Guantanamo. Similar "leaks" made a big splash in the past. Do you worry about these "leaks?"
We deplore the fact that information attributed to us should be made public. That goes against our modus operandi. We remain persuaded that confidentiality is the best means for us to fulfill our mission.
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