Bush: Treaty Outlawing Torture Doesn’t Apply Beyond US Soil

Echoing recent comments by White House officials, a U.S. government report submitted to the United Nations last Friday bears a message that the brutal treatment of people held in U.S. military custody abroad is and should be legal. The report, which was submitted to the UN’s Human Rights Committee and is designed to document U.S. … Continue reading “Bush: Treaty Outlawing Torture Doesn’t Apply Beyond US Soil”

Call to Expand Military Powers at Home Seen as Unnecessary, Political

President Bush recently suggested that the military be given broader powers to deal with domestic crises like Hurricane Katrina or a potential bird flu epidemic, but emergency response and security groups in the U.S. say the military already has the power it needs to provide both relief and protection to citizens, and question whether the … Continue reading “Call to Expand Military Powers at Home Seen as Unnecessary, Political”

Rights Groups Assail US Govt Torture Report

Civil rights groups are accusing the U.S. government of failing to admit the extent to which abuse of non-citizens in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Iraq, and its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, violates the international treaty against torture. At issue is a report submitted by the U.S. State Department, or foreign ministry, to the UN … Continue reading “Rights Groups Assail US Govt Torture Report”

An Army of the Unwilling

At the end of last month, the U.S. Selective Service System issued a report assuring President George W. Bush that it would be ready to implement a draft within 75 days. While stirring up a storm of speculation, this report may actually be the least compelling harbinger of a draft. Far more dire is the … Continue reading “An Army of the Unwilling”