Aug 3, 2008

Travel advisory

Gen. Antonio Taguba, lead Army investigator of the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib, wrote in a recent report, "There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account." It seems unlikely in the US, given the current political climate, but according to British lawyer Phillip Sands, writing in Vanity Fair:—
"For some of those involved in the Guantánamo decisions, prudence may well dictate a more cautious approach to international travel. And for some the future may hold a tap on the shoulder. 'It’s a matter of time,' the judge observed. 'These things take time..... And then something unexpected happens, when one of these lawyers travels to the wrong place.'"
Among those who have to watch their step overseas: Feith, Haynes, Bybee, Addington, Yoo and Gonzales, all of whom "should never travel outside the U.S., except perhaps to Saudi Arabia and Israel." Leaving aside the morality of law-breaking for a second, a foreign policy that leaves its chief architects unable to travel, you know, abroad is not foreign policy working at the highest pitch of efficiency.

No comments:

Post a Comment