Monday, February 21, 2005

It's not just DOMESTIC lawsuits the President hates...

...it's apparently lawsuits of any kind. Even lawsuits by former American POWs who have successfully sued - and won their case against - Saddam Hussein. I guess we're extending the term "junk lawsuits" to encompass lawsuits against the deposed dictator's regime now. That wacky President - he must really hate lawyers. Or America. I'll report - you decide.

The next time the President or anyone from this administration says they support the troops, ask them why they don't support American POWs. We already know the disdain they have for actual war heroes based on their treatment of John McCain, Max Cleland, and John Kerry. But the Administration has sunk to an all new level of slime with this latest episode.

The Bush administration is fighting the former prisoners of war in court, trying to prevent them from collecting nearly $1 billion from Iraq that a federal judge awarded them as compensation for their torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The rationale: Today's Iraqis are good guys, and they need the money.


On the one side, you have the Bush Administration and Hussein's regime of torture. And on the other, American POWs and the Geneva Convention. Hmmmmm. Which side should the Bush Administration be on?

Sayeth Scott McClellan:

"No amount of money can truly compensate these brave men and women for the suffering that they went through at the hands of this very brutal regime and at the hands of Saddam Hussein," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters when asked about the case in November 2003.


And apparently, the current Administration has taken that to heart, trying to deny AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS any compensation.


But Iraq needs that money more, whines Scotty on behalf of his masters.

"These resources are required for the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq," McClellan said.


Well, then, how about this: ignoring Iraq's abuse against our troops violates the Geneva Convention.


The case also tests a key provision of the Geneva Convention, the international law that governs the treatment of prisoners of war. The United States and other signers pledged never to "absolve" a state of "any liability" for the torture of POWs.


Oh, but wait. This Administration hates the Geneva Convention. It's "quaint" and "obsolete."

Former Army lawyer Jeffrey Addicott sums it up best:


"Our government is on the wrong side of this issue," said Jeffrey F. Addicott, a former Army lawyer and director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. "A lot of Americans would scratch their heads and ask why is our government taking the side of Iraq against our POWs."


And that's the bottom line: WHY?

The answer is simple: This Administration does not support our troops. They may talk a good game, but they don't support our troops in deed, nor do they support our troops in spirit. I could go through the horrific torture that these truly brave men endured, but you can read all about it in the article. Because the more I write about this, the more outraged I am that the only thing standing between them and justice is George. W. Bush. He's just plain wrong. And all the Tobey Keith songs in the world can't make Bush right on this issue.