Update: Bush In Deep Denial

In today's news we see George freaking out at an overt rebellion by his own party members, & in a fit of pique, calling into question their critical thinking skills because they dare defy his proposed draconian legislation which would revise & redefine portions of the Geneva Conventions out of existence. Otherwise, he delares, the CIA won't be able to keep its torture playdates in its supersecret detention facilities abroad.

The rebels: John McCain, Lindsey Graham, John Warner & Colin Powell--who, unlike Bush or Cheney, have served in wars. McCain was held as a POW during the Vietnam War, Graham served as a military judge in the reserves.

Bush, still confusing obtuseness with strength, & steadfastly refusing to emerge from his bubble of self-absorption, threw hubris, bullshit & ample unintended irony by "snapping" at those who defied him that they were victims of "flawed logic."


Following up with one of his meanest displeased- dictator cranky faces ever.
Photo: Yahoo News





Following an earlier Washington Post article on the same topic (title bar), the Associated Press reported: "The president called a Rose Garden news conference to confront a Republican rebellion led by Sens. John Warner of Virginia, John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine.

"To the administration's dismay, Colin Powell, Bush's former secretary of state, has joined with the lawmakers. Powell said Bush's plan to redefine the Geneva Conventions would cause the world 'to doubt the moral basis' of the fight against terror and 'put our own troops at risk.'"

"Seven weeks before the November elections, the dispute left Republicans fighting among themselves — rather than with Democrats — about national security issues that have been a winning theme for the GOP in past elections.

"Responding to Bush, McCain rejected the president's assertion that an alternative bill approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee dealing with the trial and interrogation of terror suspects would require the closure of the CIA's detainee program.

"McCain said the measure would protect agents from criminal and civil liability and, by not reinterpreting the meaning of the Geneva Conventions, uphold the nation's obligations.
"To do any less risks our reputation, our moral standing and the lives of those Americans who
risk everything to defend our country," the senator said.
...
"Bush took vehement exception when asked about Powell's assertion that the world might doubt the moral basis of the fight against terror if lawmakers went along with the administration's proposal to come up with a U.S. interpretation of the Geneva Convention's ban on 'outrages upon personal dignity.'

"'If there's any comparison between the compassion and decency of the American people and the terrorist tactics of extremists, it's flawed logic,' Bush said. 'It's just — I simply can't accept that.'

"Growing animated, he said, 'It's unacceptable to think that there's any kind of comparison between the behavior of the United States of America and the action of Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve an objective.'"


Apparently Bush does not see the flawed logic of declaring a war on a country with no connection to terrorism at all, causing the deaths, and in some cases, premeditated murders of innocent civilians there. Never mind waging a proxy war through Israel on Lebanon with much the same results.

Moreover, since when can one country signatory to an international convention such as the Geneva Conventions unilaterally revise them without consulting the others? Does that not invite others to do the same?

Ah, but what do I know?

Sat. 9/16 Update:

Say it ain't so! Now there are allegations that Bushco twisted Judge Advocate General (JAG) arms in the signing of a letter inferring their approval of the Bush-proposed legislation not only allowing torture, but condoning its acceptance in proposed kangaroo courts. Unintended irony as to how well mere political coercion (as opposed to more extreme versions of torture presumably being practiced by the CIA overseas) goes largely unnoticed by Bushco.

Note: Evidence obtained by coercion comes back to bite you in the ass, Bushco, because it's just not believable. If I have to state the obvious, here, I will.

From the WaPo: "Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) called for a Judiciary Committee investigation into whether military judge advocates general were pressured into writing a letter this week saying they 'do not object' to two sensitive parts of the administration's legislation.

"Officials who attended the meeting in question, in the office of Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes II on Wednesday, said there was no pressure on the military lawyers to produce the letter, describing a robust discussion about how to word its contents. The lawyers initially drafted a letter saying they "support" the two sections but later settled on saying they 'do not object' to them.

"'None of us would have signed anything if we had not believed it and absolutely agreed with it,' Col. Ronald M. Reed, counsel to the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said yesterday. 'The discussion was nothing out of the ordinary.'

"But late yesterday, Maj. Gen. Scott C. Black, the Army's judge advocate general, sent a new letter to McCain and other senators, saying 'further redefinition" of the conventions 'is unnecessary and could be seen as a weakening of our treaty obligations, rather than a reinforcement of the standards of treatment.' (Emphasis added.)

This in response to Bushco efforts to spin its proposed legislation as a mere clarification of a technicality & a strengthening of the Conventions as opposed to evisceration of them.