Think You're Safe?

No doubt you've heard of the debate in the Senate over the redefining of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention (the article defining what degrading treatment toward prisoners is). The Bush administration is pushing to redefine degrading treatment so that it may use tactics to extract information from suspected terrorists. A few courageous Senators, like John McCain (R-AZ) and John Warner (R-VA) and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are resisting the President's efforts. They point out, rather correctly, that this redefinition is detrimental as it would set a precedent for other countries to do the same thing, and also because America, as a moral leader, is above such degrading treatment.

So, you think this is just something for the suits in Washington to worry about? Think again. A Canadian citizen (with dual citizenship in Syria) was detained by the Canadian police and handed over to the CIA while he was traveling in La Guardia airport. He was accused of being a member of al Qaeda and taken to Syria to be tortured. Turns out, this gentleman has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

So often the argument is made that terrorists are the only ones who will be caught up in rough-handling of prisoners and torture, so innocent people needn't worry. In fact, as the above case illustrates, that is not the case. Americans ought to support the resistance to the Administration's efforts to redefine Common Article 3 to suit our needs during this war. Indeed it is important for the President to protect Americans, and I don't think he means anything evil by his efforts. But we as Americans must recognize that we could be detained by another country when we are traveling and not have our rights because that particular country is following the lead of the United States government in redefining Common Article 3. We must protect America, but not lose our moral high ground and our rights in the process.