Republicans now openly argue in favour of war crimes.

I honestly find this simply astonishing.

"There is a reason why we have not been attacked on US soil during president Bush's administration. There are things which did work and which did keep American safe and we should not take that for granted."

"You are a legal expert, do you believe that torture is constitutional?"

"I believe that it is necessary and that it is within the constitution."

The Republicans, especially people like Hannity and O'Reilly, are actually arguing publicly that torture should be official US policy.

How did the Republican party and the American right ever descend into such immorality? Whenever I hear arguments that Bush, Cheney and others should not be prosecuted for war crimes I think of these people and these arguments.

These people are openly and unapologetically calling for war crimes to be committed. That is why Bush, Cheney and others should be prosecuted. To remind these nutcases that what they are advocating are war crimes.

Here we see David Hunt argue that the US did torture and justify that by saying that "bad things happen in war."



I've said it before, but these crimes are not called peace crimes, they are called war crimes, because it is precisely during a war that people might be tempted to commit them. The argument that "bad things happen in a war" is the very reason why these things were deemed to be crimes. To prevent such things ever being excused simply because a state of war existed.

And yet, the American right are now attempting to reverse international law and excuse war crimes simply because they are the people now committing them. It's beyond despicable.

UPDATE:

Matthews: Well why did we prosecute people at Abu Ghraib for abusing prisoners if we're not going to prosecute people who may have authorized that kind of treatment?

Fineman: It is an issue.

I'll say it's an issue. Either the US is a country of laws or it is not. Either it is committed to the international agreements it has signed up to or it is not. Not only have clear crimes been committed here, but many on the right are openly calling for them to be continued. The US should either prosecute the people who committed these crimes or, failing that, withdraw from the Geneva Conventions. You either agree with the conventions or you don't. If the US want to identify themselves as a rogue state which refuses to adhere to something as widely accepted as Geneva, then let them do so. But you simply can't have it both ways.

The UN Convention Against Torture, which the US has signed but not yet ratified, clearly states:

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

As I say, you either agree with that or you don't. And many on the American right are making it very clear that they don't.

Tags: O'Reilly, Hannity, torture, war crimes, Republicans, Bush, Cheney