I hate to keep harping on yesterday’s White House press conference, but it was a treasure trove of material.
There was an interesting question from an international reporter, whom I believe works for BBC, who asked whether Bush is concerned whether the multiple torture reports from the last year might “damage America’s reputation as a nation which stands for liberty and justice internationally?”
I don’t think Bush had fully thought through his response.
“Look, we are a nation of laws and to the extent that people say, well, America is no longer a nation of laws — that does hurt our reputation. But I think it’s an unfair criticism. As you might remember, our courts have made a ruling, they looked at the jurisdiction, the right of people in Guantanamo to have habeas review, and so we’re now complying with the court’s decisions.”
So to follow Bush’s line of reasoning through, the proof that the United States remains a “nation of laws” is a court ruling that rejected Bush’s argument over detainees at Guantanamo. That’s not exactly a good sign.
Left unsaid, of course, was a White House legal memo, written by our next attorney general and endorsed by the president, which said Bush had the authority to ignore international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and the federal war-crimes statute, whenever he deemed necessary.
Instead, Bush wants the world to know we’re a “nation of laws” because he’s inclined to follow court rulings that insist he’s wrong. How reassuring.