Glenn, I don't know if you are currently working on a new book but I want to say today that I'd love to see you write your fourth book about the beltway coverup of Bush administration crimes. A book that would document and critique what specific journalists, political leaders and others did to first enable the Bush administration in their shredding of the Constitution and then, once some of the secrets were revealed, worked hard at actively covering up those crimes. The book could also include examples of those rare journalists who have behaved as real journalists during one of the worst chapters in our history. It could also document what some political leaders, military leaders and everyday Americans did to resist the coverup.

The journalists who so carelessly enabled the Bush administration to commit and then cover up these crimes against America and the world need to be held accountable for being traitors to their profession. They shouldn't be allowed to continue to pretend that they are journalists without being challenged. Individual politicians and other leaders likewise need to be held accountable.

Equally important would be to recognize those journalists, political leaders and others who courageously worked to uncover these crimes but who have been marginalized by the MSM.

I know of no better person to write this book than you.

Because a book like this would provide so many examples it would require a great deal of research. In order to reduce the amount of work that you'd have to do you could ask your readers to help by supplying links to examples of both the bad stuff and the good stuff. Actually I think a lot of people would jump at the chance to help you document a book like this.

I hope you will at least think about it.

What about prisons at Camp Cropper near the Baghdad airport, Camp Bucca in the southern desert, and Fort Suse in the Kurdish north? Do we still hold prisoners there? What about the navy ships like the USS Bataan. Are we still holding prisoners aboard these ships? Why don't we have a list of names of all the prisoners being held by the U.S.?

Goodness Gracious Heavens to Betsy

These folks are out of uiniform, they are not entitled to the Geneva Conventions but anyway HEY KIDDIES, WHO GIVE A DAMN?

-- hunthorse

[Read hunthorse's other letters]

Permalink Monday, March 9, 2009 04:35 AM PDT

Evidently the "kiddies" know much more than you do hunthorse. They know that anyone who is a prisoner, in uniform or not, is covered by Common Article 3 (see below). You really should read up on the Geneva Conventions before you comment about them.

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here is the text of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which the Bush administration acknowledged on Tuesday applies to terror war detainees held by the United States:

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed 'hors de combat' by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) taking of hostages;

(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/AP-Guantanamo-Geneva-Conventions.html

While reading the Charlie Savage story in the NYT today I noticed that he referenced a news release about John Yoo being appointed by Bush to a war crimes board/commission back in 2004. I've tried to find this news release and have been unsuccessful. Does anyone have a link to this? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you could post it here. I've tried everything I can think of to search for this through Google but I just can't find anything.

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal was exploding, and fellow panelists learned that Mr. Yoo had written secret legal opinions saying presidents have sweeping wartime power to circumvent the Geneva Conventions. They protested that it was absurd to name Mr. Yoo, who they believed might have sanctioned war crimes, to a war crimes commission.

White House officials canceled the appointment, though it had already been announced in a news release, and kept the episode quiet. “We saved them from incredible embarrassment,” said Thomas H. Baer, one of the dissenting panelists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/washington/09lawyers.html?hp