On the First Day
There is one thing I want President Obama to do on Inauguration Day. I want him to outlaw torture. As soon as he returns to the White House I want him to sign an executive order which has been prepared in advance. The order must be complete and absolute. It must apply to all United States personnel (civilian and military) and to all contractors.
This would go a long way to restoring America’s standing in the world community. There are already laws on the books forbidding torture. The military has regulations forbidding torture. The only thing which allows the practice is executive orders signed by President Bush and his outlaw followers. An executive order signed by one president can be overturned by another president with the stroke of a pen.
This would not interfere with the work on economic recovery. The President Elect has plenty of attorneys working on the transition who are not involved in the economic program. As a constitutional scholar I am sure Obama could write such an order in his sleep. It probably only needs to be one paragraph long. If examples are needed they are readily available going clear back to General Washington.
Submitted by Vicky on 28/Nov/2008 in reply to On the First Day posted by John Harvey on 27/Nov/2008
What exactly is an executive order, John?
I certainly agree that we should not be torturing people. It makes a risk that our troops could be tortured, I think.
Submitted by John Harvey on 28/Nov/2008 in reply to Re: On the First Day posted by Vicky on 28/Nov/2008
An executive order is all that is needed. Congress already passed a law outlawing torture. It is Bush’s signing statement and orders issued by Bush and his cronies that allowed its use.
You are exactly right. Our practicing torture endangers any member of the armed forces who is captured. One cannot demand any better treatment
when captured than our side gives our prisoners. In fact, several war criminals, including Charles Taylor, have claimed that they are not guilty because they were just doing what George Bush authorized.
There is even proof that the Geneva Conventions work. After World War II the government studied treatment of POWs by the Germans and Japanese.
Germany and the United States had signed the treaties governing the treatment of POWs. Russia and Japan had not signed.
I do not remember the exact numbers but only about 10% of Americans captured by the Germans were mistreated or tortured. Russians captured
by the Germans had about 40% mistreated or tortured. About 60% of Americans captured by the Japanese were tortured or mistreated.
The first order forbidding torture was issues by General Washington as soon as he took command of the Continental Army. While torture has certainly been used by the United States. George W Bush is the first president to explicitly authorize it. It will be a black mark on American history as long as this country exists.
Tags: America, Charles Taylor, Congress, Continental Army, Elect, George W Bush, Germany, Inauguration Day, Japan, John Harvey, Obama, Russia, Torture, United States, White House