Bush Backs down?

Some resolution? (password required)

Common Article 3 guarantees humane treatment to combatants seized during wartime. The two sides agree that the article’s language prohibiting “outrages upon human dignity” is too vague and leaves military and C.I.A. personnel uncertain about what techniques they may use in interrogating detainees.

The White House has argued that without more “clarity,” it will have no choice but to shut down a C.I.A. program for interrogating top terrorism suspects. But Mr. Warner, Mr. McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have argued against any changes in the language interpreting the article, saying such a change would invite other countries to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions as they saw fit, which in turn could endanger captured American troops.

The senators propose to provide clearer guidelines for interrogators by amending the War Crimes Act to enumerate several “grave breaches” that constitute violations of Common Article 3.

Several issues appeared to remain in flux, among them whether the two sides could agree on language protecting C.I.A. officers from legal action for past interrogations and for any conducted in the future. Beyond the issue of interrogations, the two sides have also been at odds over the rights that should be granted to terrorism suspects during trials, in particular whether they should be able to see all evidence, including classified material, that a jury might use to convict them.

I'm still a little fuzzy on the whole thing. But I think that specifying which techniques would be allowed and which prohibited (as the AFC wants to do) is a good idea (and addresses the lack of clarity issue). However, I think caution should be exercised in granting amnesty to earlier interrogations, it sounds more like a cya move by Bush and Rumsfield for allowing extreme coercive techniques. I'd say, give the field agents amnesty, but those who set the policy should take responsibility for their actions.

I'm glad to see that Bush backed down from this. Lets see how it turns out.

Edit> although the above quoted article seems to claim that Bush backed down, I just read elsewhere that Bush's original langugae was passed. I'll have to do some more research. :?