|
<< Back
Gitmo Reconsidered
Our Opinion: Next step should be fair rules for terror detainees
Editorial
Miami Herald
July 12, 2006
The Bush administration's decision to invoke the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of terrorist suspects in U.S. military custody should be cheered by civil libertarians and all who cherish the rule of law. It took only two Supreme Court decisions and years of litigation for the administration to decide that there is something to be said for playing by the rules.
This is a far better way to go than trying to find a way around the Supreme Court ruling that rejected the inadequate military tribunals for detainees at GuantanamoBay. Now the government must devise rules that comply with the letter and spirit of the Geneva protocols.
Hard, but not impossible. All suspects must receive fair treatment and a trial that meets international standards of justice. Surely Congress and the White House can figure out how to do that without producing a wholesale release of dangerous terrorists.
The decision to extend Geneva Conventions protection to terrorist detainees sends a hopeful signal that the days of going it alone are over for this White House. As the administration is discovering on a host of issues -- from North Korea to Darfur to Iran -- even a country with the resources of the United States can't put out all the fires around the world without the help of its friends.
Creating an alternative legal universe in Guantanamo, however, alienated our allies and diminished U.S. standing around the world. We can't go it alone, and we can't flout the rules of international law one day and expect that the next day others will rally to support us in a just cause.
Among those who may be relishing yesterday's news is former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who fought in vain for such a policy years ago.
Just think of all the trouble and embarrassment that the United States could have avoided.
<< Back
|
