Reagan On Torture Prosecutions

[kpete]

From his signing statement ratifying the UN Convention on Torture from 1984:

"The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention . It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.

The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called 'universal jurisdiction.' Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution."

My italics. Reagan was admant about prosecuting torture, but also prosecuting inhuman treatment that some might claim was not full-on torture. Now go read National Review or The Weekly Standard. And look what has happened to conservatism in America.

http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/04/reagan-on-torture-prosecutions/202700/

[Solly Mack]

1. Each year, around March, the US State Department releases its Human Rights Report

A report that covers each country and how they are doing on human rights.


In those reports, each and every torture technique used by the US is condemned by the US when other countries use them. That didn't change during the Bush years. Each year the report came out and each year those same techniques were condemned...all the while America was torturing people....sometimes to death.

Reagan is only their hero - selectively. When it is convenient to forget something he said or did, whether for good or ill, they do.

[steve2470]

3. +1 nt

[steve2470]

2. Of course, WS and NR will contort themselves into a pretzel to lie, distort, throw out BS, anything.

to deflect from your post. I'd be really shocked if they ever agreed. Not anytime soon.