The Geneva Conventions: A Bush Annoyance

President Bush on the need to re-interpret Article III of the Geneva Conventions:

"It is very important for the American people to understand that in order to protect this country, we must be able to interrogate people who have information about future attacks," Bush said. "I will resist any bill that does not enable this program to go forward with legal clarity. If there's not clarity, if there's ambiguity, if there's any doubt in our professionals' mind if they can conduct their operation in a legal way, with support of the Congress, the program won't go forward and the American people will be in danger," Bush said.

However, the other 192 countries do not see any need to re-define this convention document.

We ought to thank Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona), Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Senator John Warner (Virginia), and Senator Susan Collins (Maine) for approving alternative legislation that would protect US troops and maintain the standard for treating war prisoners and detainees.

Yes, terrorism must be eliminated. This should not mean we should re-define a treaty which the US has ratified to support our own agenda. We are expected to abide with the rules of the Geneva Conventions. If we wish to change something, then it must be done within the framework of the Convention, not through unilateral action.

Bush has countered that "active duty personnel in the Pentagon, the [Judge Advocates Generals], supported the concept that I have just outlined to you." However, the military lawyers to whom the president referred had initially supported the McCain version of the anti-terror legislation.

Yahoo News (Reuters) - Bush argues terrorism case after Republican revolt