http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/genevaconvention/ en-us Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:58:01 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057141/posts A map of President Bush's motorcade to Camp David was found last week in the possession of a teenager accused of stockpiling weapons and bomb-making materials, according to prosecutors. With the possibility that the motorcade was a target, federal authorities have joined police in investigating Collin Matthew McKenzie-Gude, 18, who allegedly was storing the weapons and materials just outside Washington, D.C., at the Bethesda, Md., home where he lives with his parents. MyFOXDC.com reports that Assistant State's Attorney Peter Feeney disclosed the discovery of the map of Camp David during a court hearing on Tuesday in Rockville, Md. The map... FoxNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057141/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:58:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046458/posts BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says one Red Cross symbol was used in a daring and successful hostage rescue mission that took place two weeks ago. What seems to be part of a red cross is seen on a bib worn by a man involved in the rescue in this official image. One of the rescuers was wearing the symbol on a bib, Uribe said Wednesday in a nationally televised announcement that was also carried on radio. He described the wearing of the symbol as a slip-up. Such a use of the Red Cross emblem could constitute... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046458/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:42:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046099/posts BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian military intelligence used the Red Cross emblem in a rescue operation in which leftist guerrillas were duped into handing over 15 hostages, according to unpublished photographs and video viewed by CNN. Photographs of the Colombian military intelligence-led team that spearheaded the rescue, shown to CNN by a confidential military source, show one man wearing a bib with the Red Cross symbol. The military source said the three photos were taken moments before the mission took off to persuade the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels to release the hostages to a supposed international aid group... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046099/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:40:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008270/posts The manner in which free societies lose their moral compass is always incremental. Step by step by step, certain core values are whittled away. There is rarely a moment at which a government stands up, and asks its people if they wish to abandon such "quaint" notions as the Geneva Conventions, the rule of law, humane interrogation or habeas corpus. These things are abandoned incrementally or secretly, slice by slice, euphemism by euphemism, the chronology always clearer in retrospect than at the time. And each incremental step is always portrayed as a small but essential temporary sacrifice for the sake... The Atlantic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008270/posts#comment Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:00:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1872497/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush, under fire over the treatment of CIA detainees, on Friday ordered that agency interrogators comply with the Geneva Conventions against torture. Five years after he exempted al Qaeda and Taliban members from the Geneva provisions, Bush signed an executive order requiring the CIA to comply with prohibitions against "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" as set down in the conventions' Common Article 3. Human rights activists criticized Bush's action, saying it did not go far enough to eliminate dangerous interrogation techniques. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1872497/posts#comment Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:42:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866831/posts Procedures Exceed the Requirements of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Law, and Customary International Law Human rights activists, liberal media outlets, and Bush Administration critics have derisively characterized the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the "gulag of our times,"[1] a "legal black hole,"[2] and a "stain on our nation's character."[3] One need not dig too deeply into the facts, however, to discover that the detainees held at Guantanamo receive the most systematic and extensive procedural protections afforded to foreign enemy combatants in the history of armed conflict, including unprecedented access to legal representation and U.S. courts. In... The Heritage Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866831/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:05:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840006/posts In response to the news blurb about the Marine who put two rounds ("double tap") in a wounded insurgent's head in Fallujah, here's a response from a Marine: "It's a safety issue, pure and simple. After assaulting through a target, we put a security round in everybody's head. Sorry al- Reuters, there's no paddy wagon rolling around Fallujah picking up "prisoners" and offering them a hot cup a Joe, falafel, and a blanket. There's no time to dick around on the target. You clear the space, dump the chumps, and move on. Are Corpsman expected to treat wounded terrorists? Negative.... My E-mail inbox http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840006/posts#comment Sat, 26 May 2007 02:50:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1839102/posts Torture, Al-Qaeda StyleDrawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid MAY 24--In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images, which you'll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. Photos of those items can be seen here. The images, which were just declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an... The Smoking Gun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1839102/posts#comment Thu, 24 May 2007 16:18:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825185/posts Shame on the Liberals for their Afghan policy By PETER WORTHINGTON Regardless of what they say for public consumption, the federal Liberals really do not like the military, especially the soldiers. This is apparent in their efforts to mortify the Harper government over claims of torture and abuse of Taliban prisoners captured by the Canadians in Kandahar and turned over to the Afghans. There's even the suggestion that our soldiers could be nailed for war crimes if abuses are committed against these prisoners by Afghans -- a concern echoed by Liberal allies in the private sector. The ludicrous alternative is... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825185/posts#comment Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:19:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1810364/posts The FReeper Canteen looks at The Geneva Convention   International Humanitarian Law   Until the middle of the 19th century all of the treaties concerning war victims' protection were circumstantial and binding only for the signing parties. These agreements were purely military-designed, based on strictly binding mutual obligations; and they were in force only during specific armed conflict.The 1864 Geneva Convention laid the foundations for the contemporary humanitarian law. It was in a whole characterized by: standing written rules of universal scope to protect the victims of conflicts;its multilateral nature, open to all States; the obligation to extend care... Linked in thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1810364/posts#comment Sun, 1 Apr 2007 23:44:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1809900/posts How we can fight Tehran David Frum, National Post Published: Saturday, March 31, 2007 The Iranian seizure of 15 British naval personnel is an outrage -- and an opportunity. Iran invaded Iraqi territorial waters, attacked British naval personnel enforcing resolutions of the UN Security Council and committed an act of piracy and kidnapping. Iran then displayed its captives on national television and compelled them to read coerced political statements. It forced the captured female sailor to wear the Islamic hijab, a violation of her Geneva Convention right to practice her own religion. These violent and lawless actions have shocked... National Post - Canada http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1809900/posts#comment Sat, 31 Mar 2007 19:33:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1808202/posts Iran TV shows female navy captive Faye Turney said her captors had been 'friendly' and 'nice' Iranian state television has broadcast an interview with captured British female sailor Faye Turney and footage of the 14 servicemen seized with her.Leading Seaman Turney, 26, said they had been seized in the Gulf because "obviously we trespassed" in Iranian waters - something the UK disputes. She said her captors had been friendly and the 15 personnel were unharmed. The circumstances of the filming are not known. The Foreign Office said the footage was "completely unacceptable". 'Hospitable' Earlier Iran said it would release... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1808202/posts#comment Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:38:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1745692/posts If it’s true that all Americans want proper national defense measures while enforcing and adhering to humane treatment of enemy captives, then we must begin with knowing what the Geneva Convention says, knowing to whom it applies (and doesn’t apply), being honest in the assessment of events, and applying the same rules of engagement expected of ourselves, to enemy forces. The Boston Globe writes ''Ex-General at Abu Ghraib Says Rumsfeld OK'd Abuse. That is a sensational headline to be sure, and the average reader would assume that this column is referring to the photos we’ve all seen of US soldiers... ChronWatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1745692/posts#comment Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:04:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707349/posts To my American Friends, The Judge that ruled that the US is bound by the Geneva Convention is wrong, and should be removed from the Bench for such an outrageous misinterpretation. Read the Geneva Convention here: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm For the US to be bound by the Convention, a number of circumstances must be present, including: (A Party is a Country that signed up as a party to the Geneva Convention) "1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces. 2. Members of other... Geneva Convention http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707349/posts#comment Sun, 24 Sep 2006 14:14:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706825/posts What could be the first public appearance of the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been posted on the Internet, showing him executing a Turkish hostage. Abu Ayyoub al-Masri succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was slain in a US airstrike June Seventh. The new leader is also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer. The video shows three men in masks standing behind a blindfolded hostage. The militant in the middle, identified as al-Masri, reads a statement criticizing companies and people that cooperate with the US military. Then he shoots the hostage three times in the head. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706825/posts#comment Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:50:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706186/posts by Mark Finkelstein September 22, 2006 - 07:08 The bio of Los Angeles Times columnist Rosa Brooks couldn't be much more impressive in terms of conventional credentials: Harvard, Oxford, Yale. Adviser to State Department. Kennedy School Fellow. But despite having her ticket prestigiously punched time and again, her column of today reveals that nowhere has she learned much in the way of nuance or common sense. Her opposition to President Bush's efforts to clarify interrogation rules so as to allow some more forceful technqiues is absolute and implacable, utterly failing to acknowledge the realities of terrorism on a scale unimaginable... Los Angeles Times/NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706186/posts#comment Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:24:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704678/posts President Bush's stalled anti-terrorism agenda edged forward Tuesday, with a rebellious House member rewriting her bill on wiretaps more to his liking and maverick Senate Republicans reopening talks over how to handle detainees. Rep. Heather Wilson R-N.M., offered to substitute her original bill on giving legal status to Bush's warrantless surveillance program with a bill that would grant a key administration request: allow wiretapping on Americans in the event of an "imminent" terrorist attack. In exchange, the administration would be required to share with Congress more details of the nature of the threat, presumably with the House and Senate Intelligence... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704678/posts#comment Wed, 20 Sep 2006 04:18:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704541/posts The Senate is stalling another Bush Administration proposal to effectively fight the war on terror. After the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year that the President does not have inherent authority to try captured terrorists using military tribunals, President Bush asked Congress to grant him that authority in law. The Senate is balking at the President’s proposal, though, claiming that it runs afoul of a portion of the Geneva Conventions known as Common Article 3. But Heritage national security expert James Carafano notes that the administration’s proposal as it exists now would “satisfy[y] U.S. obligations under the Conventions.” In fact,... The Heritage Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704541/posts#comment Tue, 19 Sep 2006 23:53:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704120/posts by Mark Finkelstein September 19, 2006 - 07:46 In the course of the last few weeks Keith Olbermann's 'Special Comments' have become a Countdown staple in which the host plays to his Daily Kos demographic with vitriolic condemnations of all things Bush. I thought Olbermann had reached the nec plus ultra of nastiness with his suggestion a couple weeks ago that the Bush administration represented "a new type of fascism." I might have been wrong. MRC's Brad Wilmouth has comprehensively documented Keith Olbermann's 'Special Comment' of last night. In the course of those comments, Olbermann chose to invoke, of all... Countdown with Keith Olbermann/NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704120/posts#comment Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:15:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703991/posts When you enter a boxing ring, you agree to abide by the rules of boxing. But when you are attacked from behind in a dark alley, you would be a fool to abide by the Marquis of Queensbury rules. If you do, you can end up being a dead fool.Even with a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon and the prospect that its nuclear weapons will end up in the hands of international terrorists that it has been sponsoring for years, many in the media and in the government that is supposed to protect us have been preoccupied with whether... Creator's Syndicate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703991/posts#comment Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:04:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1703943/posts Earlier this year, I made a friendly wager with a Republican legislative aid whereby I picked U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to be the GOP's presidential nominee in November 2008. Though the Viet Nam veteran was responsible for some highly dubious legislation in the past, including the infamous McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Bill, I still believed the Party's base could have given him their vote, in order to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House. However, McCain--who obviously loves to see his name in print--cannot seem to stand prosperity within his own political Party. Earlier this year he was one... RFFM.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1703943/posts#comment Tue, 19 Sep 2006 01:55:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703263/posts Dear Senator McCain: I just returned to town and learned about the debate taking place in Congress to redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. I do not support such a step and believe it would be inconsistent with the McCain amendment on torture which I supported last year. I have read the powerful and eloquent letter sent to you by one [stet] my distinguished predecessors as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Jack Vessey. I fully endorse in tone and tint his powerful argument. The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703263/posts#comment Mon, 18 Sep 2006 01:00:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1702757/posts Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. Preamble The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from April 21 to August 12, 1949, for the purpose of revising the Convention concluded at Geneva on July 27, 1929, relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, have agreed as follows: Part I. General Provisions Art 1. The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances. Art 2. In addition to the provisions which shall be implemented in peace time,... International Humanitarian Law - Treaties & Documents http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1702757/posts#comment Sat, 16 Sep 2006 20:05:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1702608/posts President Bush wasted no time yesterday responding to the Senate Armed Services Committee's passage of legislation that could damage the ability of intelligence agencies to obtain information from terrorist detainees. On Thursday, four Republicans [on] the Senate Armed Services Committee -- John Warner and John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins -- joined committee Democrats in passing flawed legislation governing detainee treatment that fails to respond to Bush's critical request. The lawmakers must clarify what interrogators can and cannot do when interrogating suspected jihadists. ... ...it would be difficult to imagine a more irresponsible decision... American forces captured Abu Zubaydah... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1702608/posts#comment Sat, 16 Sep 2006 14:05:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701969/posts by Mark Finkelstein September 15, 2006 - 08:01 Like a baseball player - rescued from the nether reaches of the minor leagues and brought up to the Yankees - who cuts his hair, shaves the shaggy mustache and minds his grammar in his first TV interview, Keith Olbermann was on his better behavior in a 'Today' appearance this morning. In a temporary reprieve from the ratings purgatory that is his own Countdown on MSNBC, Olbermann was awarded an interview on Today for purposes of plumping his new book, 'The Worst Person in the World.' Lauer gave Olbermann respectful treatment, inviting... Today Show/NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701969/posts#comment Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:23:33 GMT