To all those right-wing talk show hosts and ditto-clones who think the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Bagram Air Base is mild and the subject of jokes; tell that to our soldiers who have been prisoners of war. To paraphrase V.P. Cheney who has never been in the military, “we aren’t any worse than other countries.” That sounds like the logic of a five year old. Our future war prisoners can expect the same kind of treatment we are giving those in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Geneva Convention treaty, the U.N. Convention against Torture and finally the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice which obligates us to humane treatment of prisoners is the standard we have used for decades until the administration of George W. Bush. To skirt the agreements and treaties we have promised to abide by, Bush has danced around every possible loophole to exempt us. F.B.I. agents documented that our soldiers have tortured many prisoners, and beaten them to death. They reported that we have knowingly sent many prisoners to other countries for the sole purpose of torturing them and performing acts that are not allowed on our soil. That is like the Mafia putting a contract out on someone. You are just as guilty as the one who actually does the deed. There is no indication that this behavior will stop. Actually Gen. Sanchez who has presided over the scandal is being considered for a promotion. Some Congressmen justify all these actions by saying that these prisoners don’t deserve humane treatment because they are accused terrorists but no proof or trial has been given and they are held indefinitely. Couldn’t that be said of any war enemies throughout history? Ashcroft’s Justice Department argued that Bush’s authority could trump treaties and federal law. What happened to the last president who thought he was above the law? Most Americans have a sense of ourselves as a moral and religious people and they want to project that view to the entire world. The cost of our actions against human rights makes hypocrites of us all in the eyes of the world. How can we expect other nations to admire and emulate our form of government when we so easily discard the values we espouse? It is very much like vengeful Christians who are capital punishment proponents. How do you prove killing is wrong when you kill? The circular logic escapes them and dooms them to “an eye for an eye” get-even existence. Not exactly what Christ taught.

Relative to the basic foundation of our democracy, the law; how do we justify excluding ourselves from the very laws and treaties we make? We say no government or politician is above the law but conveniently discard it at will. Justice Brandeis said, “If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law.” Contempt for law leads to anarchy. Anarchy destroys nations. Too bad we don’t heed the wisdom of Brandeis today.