New york Times Editorial - Abu Ghraib rewarded
New york Times Editorial - Abu Ghraib rewarded
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: July 19, 2006
William Haynes II, the Pentagon's general counsel, has been closely involved in shaping some of the Bush administration's most legally and morally objectionable policies, notably on the use of torture. The last thing he is suited to be is a federal judge, but that is just what President George W. Bush wants to make him.
There is reason to hope that strong opposition to Haynes, in the U.S. Senate and from the military, may block this thoroughly inappropriate choice.
Haynes has for years been part of a small group of insiders who have mapped out the Bush administration's policies on questioning detainees and declaring American citizens to be "enemy combatants." The administration's policies in this area have been indecent and lawless, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly had to step in to rein them in.
Haynes was by many accounts a key player in the administration's development of its shamefully narrow definition of "torture," which gave the green light for a wide array of abuses. The decisions made in Washington cleared the way for abusive treatment of the detainees being held in Guantánamo Bay, and created the environment necessary for the Abu Ghraib torture scandal to occur.
The administration likes to blame opposition to its judicial nominees on "liberal activists," but Haynes's most high-profile opposition comes from the military itself. Twenty retired military officers, including a retired Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, wrote to the Senate to express their concern that the policies Haynes helped develop "compromised military values, ignored federal and international law and damaged America's reputation and world leadership."
At Haynes's confirmation hearing, some of the most pointed questioning came from Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Graham, who has served as a military lawyer, takes the law of combat seriously, and he seemed to be genuinely offended by Haynes's record.
This is one judicial nomination that Republicans should join Democrats in defeating.
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: July 19, 2006
William Haynes II, the Pentagon's general counsel, has been closely involved in shaping some of the Bush administration's most legally and morally objectionable policies, notably on the use of torture. The last thing he is suited to be is a federal judge, but that is just what President George W. Bush wants to make him.
There is reason to hope that strong opposition to Haynes, in the U.S. Senate and from the military, may block this thoroughly inappropriate choice.
Haynes has for years been part of a small group of insiders who have mapped out the Bush administration's policies on questioning detainees and declaring American citizens to be "enemy combatants." The administration's policies in this area have been indecent and lawless, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly had to step in to rein them in.
Haynes was by many accounts a key player in the administration's development of its shamefully narrow definition of "torture," which gave the green light for a wide array of abuses. The decisions made in Washington cleared the way for abusive treatment of the detainees being held in Guantánamo Bay, and created the environment necessary for the Abu Ghraib torture scandal to occur.
The administration likes to blame opposition to its judicial nominees on "liberal activists," but Haynes's most high-profile opposition comes from the military itself. Twenty retired military officers, including a retired Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, wrote to the Senate to express their concern that the policies Haynes helped develop "compromised military values, ignored federal and international law and damaged America's reputation and world leadership."
At Haynes's confirmation hearing, some of the most pointed questioning came from Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Graham, who has served as a military lawyer, takes the law of combat seriously, and he seemed to be genuinely offended by Haynes's record.
This is one judicial nomination that Republicans should join Democrats in defeating.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:52 AM
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