Top News Article Reuters.com
On a straight party-line vote (10 Republicans for, 8 Democrats against), the Senate Judiciary committee approved Alberto Gonzales's nomination for Attorney General of the United States. He must still be approved by the entire Senate. A vote may come as early as next week.
What does this mean?
It means, at this point in time, that Republicans apparently approve of Gonzales's, the Justice Department's, and John Ashcroft's interpretation of the Geneva Conventions and definitions of torture, as outlined in a 2002 memo by Gonzales. Shorthand: The GOP believes torture is okay, even on unindicted suspects. The Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Prisoners of War does not apply in a war against terrorists or "irregular forces," even when torture is used against people who we have insufficient evidence to indict or convict. Because the "war on terrorism" is "a new kind of war" many of the provisions called for by the Conventions are "obsolete."
It means that the GOP is unphased by the possibility that Gonzales aided in keeping then Governor Bush's DUI conviction secret in 1996.
And it means that Democrats disagree. They will be accused of "stone-walling" and "obstruction." I hope they have the backbone to fight this one out. America deserves better.
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