Thought Theater

Pentagon: Geneva Conventions Now Apply genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

In an apparent response to the recent Supreme Court ruling as to the handling of detainees held by the U.S. military, the Pentagon has issued a policy memo in which it acknowledges that those held at locations like Guantanamo Bay and other locations must be treated consistent with the Geneva Conventions. White House spokesman tried to minimize the move as simply an attempt to "get it right". Read the full article here.

From The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Tuesday that all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and in all other U.S. military custody around the world are entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions.

The policy, described in a memo by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordan England, appears to reverse the administration’s earlier insistence that the detainees are not prisoners of war and thus subject to the Geneva protections.

“It’s not really a reversal of policy," Snow asserted, calling the Supreme Court decision “complex."

He said efforts to spell out more clearly the rights of detainees does not change the president’s determination to work with Congress to enable the administration to proceed with the military tribunals, or commissions. The goal is “to find a way to properly do this in a way consistent with national security," Snow said.

Note Snow's use of the phrase, "the president's determination to work with Congress". The terminology is apparently part of a plan to portray the President in a different light. Historically, the Bush administration has demonstrated a disregard for oversight and cooperation with Congress as well as with the FISA court in its efforts to prosecute the war on terror. The recent Supreme Court ruling has apparently brought about some understanding that there is a limit to arbitrary executive authority. Time Magazine's new article titled, "The End of Cowboy Diplomacy" expands on the failures of the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts. CNN.com has a summary of the article here.

From CNN.com:

The shift under way in Bush's foreign policy is bigger and more seismic than a change of wardrobe or a modulation of tone.

Bush came to office pledging to focus on domestic issues and pursue a "humble" foreign policy that would avoid the entanglements of the Bill Clinton years.

After September 11, however, the Bush team embarked on a different path, outlining a muscular, idealistic, and unilateralist vision of American power and how to use it.

They aimed to lay the foundation for a grand strategy to fight Islamic terrorists and rogue states, by spreading democracy around the world and pre-empting gathering threats before they materialize. And the U.S. wasn't willing to wait for others to help.

The approach fit with Bush's personal style, his self-professed proclivity to dispense with the nuances of geopolitics and go with his gut. "The Bush Doctrine is actually being defined by action, as opposed to by words," Bush told Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One in 2003.

Around the world, both the U.S.'s friends and its adversaries are taking note -- and in many cases, taking advantage -- of the strains on the superpower. The past three years have seen a steady erosion in Washington's ability to bend the world to its will.