Bush Detainee Plan Adds to World Doubts Of U.S., Powell Says
Ex-Secretary of State Defends Conventions
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he decided to publicly oppose the Bush administration's proposed rules for the treatment of terrorism suspects in part because the plan would add to growing doubts about whether the United States adheres to its own moral code.
"If you just look at how we are perceived in the world and the kind of criticism we have taken over Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and renditions," Powell said in an interview, "whether we believe it or not, people are now starting to question whether we're following our own high standards."
Powell declined yesterday to address Bush's comments. "To say that we want to modify, clarify or redefine Common Article 3, which has not been modified for the 57 years of its history, I think adds to the doubt" about U.S. morality, he said. "Plus I believe that the legitimate concerns that the administration has can be dealt with in other ways."
Yesterday, another prominent Republican weighed in. In a statement released by his office in California, former secretary of state George P. Shultz said he believes that a compromise can be reached that "leaves the Geneva Convention alone and achieves the specificity that the administration wants."
Meanwhile, former president Jimmy Carter, a leading voice on human rights, said yesterday that he is "filled with admiration" for McCain, Powell and others who have joined in opposition. The Bush administration, Carter told Reuters, has "redefined torture to make it convenient for them," adding: "Things that are . . . globally assumed to be torture they claim . . . [are] not torture." More on the story
1 comment:
Good start on cleaning up the mistake of lying. Strange Powell is a 4 star general who says we should never torture and Bush is a drunk how skipped out rather then serve his country. Now who would you follow a war hero or a loser drunk?
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