President Bush continues his full court press to the House to pass legislation legitimizing his terror plans, several having recently failed legal challenges. The language being thrown around is surely Rovian.
Senators proposing an alternative plan with key hallmarks of American justice are called “rebellious”. Two Secretaries of State have weighed in on Bush’s plans. Condi Rice gives them a green light, while Colin Powell says thumbs down.
"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," said Powell, who served under Bush and is a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk."
Bush suggests his plans are necessary to achieve “legal clarity”. The law is clear, that’s why courts (including the Supremes) ruled against him. What he wants is permission, not clarity. That includes permission to use hearsay and coerced evidence. Does that sound like the KGB to you?
The President needs the House to deliver his hard nosed version of injustice given the Senate’s likely move keeping several hallmarks of American justice. As Bush left the House caucus he said he:
"reminded them that the most important job of government is to protect the homeland."
The President’s calls for unity look more like manipulation to implement his terrorist strategies with impunity. The loser of two court decisions pushing the same things that got him in trouble should be called the defier, not the Senators clinging to American patterns and practices of justice. Bush lies, Bush defies, the record is clear.
If his plans pass, the moral basis for our war on terror loses its clarity.
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