How "Quaint"

So, who is this man "The Great Uniter" has chosen to be our next Attorney General?

President George W. Bush named Alberto Gonzales as his choice for attorney general yesterday, picking a close personal friend who has a compelling personal story but who many say also carries a lot of baggage from his four years as White House counsel.

Both Gonzales' bid to become the first Hispanic attorney general and his role in controversial administration policies on military commissions, enemy combatants and the use of torture will be highlighted during his Senate confirmation hearings, experts said.

Bush yesterday cited Gonzales' story as one of eight children of Mexican migrants who joined the Air Force when he couldn't afford college but made it to Harvard Law School.

(Translation: Bush yesterday pandered to the ever-increasing bloc of Hispanic Voters.)

As Texas governor, Bush tapped Gonzales as a legal counsel, then secretary of state and finally Texas Supreme Court justice. But that story could be overwhelmed by the need to defend his actions as White House counsel.

Among them was a series of memos Gonzales wrote after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in which he argued that the United States needn't be bound by the Geneva Convention on the rights of prisoners in the conflict in Afghanistan, said Deborah Pearlstein of the rights group Human Rights First.

Those memos set a new bar that "no rules apply" in the war on terrorism, she said.

Second was his role in developing the policy of enemy combatants, that resulted in the arrests and the detentions of U.S. citizens without access to the courts or lawyers on the president's determination that they are a terrorist threat, she said, a policy overturned earlier this year in an 8-1 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Finally, questions abound about the role Gonzales had in 2002 memos written by the Justice Department that created a narrow definition of terror and led to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, Pearlstein said. (source: NY Newsday)

Wanna read some of the highlights from Gonzales' Jan. 25th, 2002 memo? Of course you do:

• Gonzales says the "new paradigm" of the war on terrorism "renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions."

• Gonzales outlines the pros and cons of applying the Geneva Conventions to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees. He is prescient in his prediction that a failure to apply the Conventions across the board "could undermine U.S. military culture which emphasizes maintaining the highest standards of conduct in combat, and could introduce an element of uncertainty in the status of adversaries."

• He rejects his own argument, concluding that "our military remains bound to apply the principles of GPW [Geneva Conventions on Prisoners of War] because that is what you have directed them to do."

• Gonzales also notes that "It is difficult to predict the motives of prosecutors and independent counsels who may in the future decide to pursue unwarranted charges based on Section 2441 (of the US code, the War Crimes Act). Your determination [to bypass the Geneva Conventions] would create a reasonable basis in law that Section 2441 does not apply, which would provide a solid defense to any future prosecution." (source: Center for American Progress)

Here was Colin Powell's response the very next day:

"It [declaring Geneva does not apply] will reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice in supporting the Geneva conventions and undermine the protections of the law of war for our troops, both in this specific conflict and in general." (source: Center for American Progress)

Here's what two retired JAGS had to say:

• "If we – 'we' being the uniformed lawyers – had been listened to, and what we said put into practice, then these abuses would not have occurred,' said Rear Admiral Don Guter (ret.), the Navy Judge Advocate General from 2000 to 2002."

• "'When you say something down the chain of command like, 'The Geneva conventions don't apply,' that sets the stage for the kind of chaos that we've seen,' said Rear Admiral John Hutson (ret.), who was the Navy Judge Advocate General from 1997 to 2000." (source: Center for American Progress)

And here's what Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said yesterday about Gonzales:

"I can tell you already he's a better candidate than John Ashcroft."

Let's review then, shall we?

• Gonzales: Close, personal friend of The Big Turd Sandwich (check)
• Gonzales: Set the stage for chaos, torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib (check)
• Gonzales: Advocated the reversal of over a century of U.S. policy (check)
• Chuck Schumer: Spineless Democratic Asshole (check)

I'm so glad I voted for him...

Update: The Rude Pundit has a quaint suggestion for Gonzales' confirmation hearings:

"How about this - instead of a nice, orderly Congressional hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the good Senators get to strip Gonzales nude, put a hood on his head, force him to masturbate, and then attach electrodes to his flaccid genitals and put a leash and collar on his neck. Then, with Patrick Leahy on the switch, let the questioning commence."