Child abusers and war criminals

I'm fucking angry right now, and I'm not sure how much I can write rationally at the moment. Perhaps I can't write rationally, and perhaps I shouldn't write rationally.

What's set me off is a piece by Dahlia Lithwick in Wednesday's Slate that I didn't see until Thursday, "Welcome Back Khadr?" in which Ms. Lithwick discusses the case of Omar Khadr, one of the youngest detainees at Guantánamo Bay and the only remaining westerner (I mention this because everyone does, not because I see how it matters). Mr. Khadr was fifteen years old when he allegedly killed an American soldier, Special Forces Sgt. 1^st Class Christopher Speer. He is now twenty-two.

It is alleged that Mr. Khadr, in the service of a criminal, terrorist gang, murdered a father of two serving his country while deployed in Afghanistan, a war that seems as justifiable as such things ever can be; it is possible another man threw the grenade, and if Mr. Khadr ever sees a courtroom his defense is likely to present that case. Will Mr. Khadr ever be tried? His cases have been dismissed once, and were on the verge of being dismissed again when the Colonel serving as judge in Mr. Khadr's matters was removed from his duties in the matter, allegedly after ruling that the prosecutors needed to stop withholding evidence. I do want to be clear about this before I go on, however: there is a very high probability that the young Mr. Khadr threw a grenade and killed a man, a father, a soldier who was doing his duty; it is not my place nor my intention to absolve Mr. Khadr of either the moral consequences or appropriate legal consequences (if any) of what he probably has done.

It is also alleged that Mr. Khadr confessed under torture. Ms. Lithwick writes:

Then there's the fact that Khadr claims to have confessed under torture. Videos of him weeping during an interrogation surfaced last year and served only to remind the world that he was a teenager confined at Guantanamo among "the worst of the worst." Khadr was allegedly shackled in stress positions until he urinated on himself, then covered with pine solvent and used as a "human mop" to clean his own urine. He was beaten, nearly suffocated, beset by attack dogs, and threatened with rape. In May 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Canada v. Khadr that the detention of Khadr at Guantanamo Bay "constituted a clear violation of fundamental human rights protected by international law."

Ms. Lithwick then goes on to cite another treaty that the United States is a party to, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Here's a portion of the Convention--and I apologize for the length, but these sections must be read in full to appreciate what we've allegedly done:

Article 37

States Parties shall ensure that:

(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;

(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;

(c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;

(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.

Article 38

1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child.

2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities.

3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest.

4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.

Article 39

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.

Article 40

1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society.

2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that:

(a) No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law by reason of acts or omissions that were not prohibited by national or international law at the time they were committed;

(b) Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has at least the following guarantees:

(i) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law;

(ii) To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him or her, and, if appropriate, through his or her parents or legal guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of his or her defence;

(iii) To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians;

(iv) Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of equality;

(v) If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this decision and any measures imposed in consequence thereof reviewed by a higher competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body according to law;

(vi) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot understand or speak the language used;

(vii) To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the proceedings.

3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular:

(a) The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;

(b) Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected.

4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.

I have been asked if I thought former President Bush and former Vice-President Dick Cheney should be tried for war crimes in the United States. I have been challenged with the probability that this would rip the country asunder--never mind that this nation survived the divisions of 1861-1865 and 1967-1975 and arguable emerged stronger, at least for awhile. I have hemmed and hawed, because yes, such a division would get in the way of so many things this nation already needs to do to repair itself. And now I stand corrected.

If a fifteen-year-old really was turned into a "human mop" and the President Of The United States knew about it and authorized it, and this nation is one that turns a blind eye or looks the other way because we're "too important" to follow the most basic fundamentals of human decency, much less the laws we've enacted and treaties we've ratified, then this nation does not deserve to exist. I don't care if the prosecution of Mr. Bush somehow triggers another civil war. I don't care if it causes further global collapse. And no, I'm not being fucking rational right now: I believe that a society is judged by how it treats the weak--if the allegations in the Khadr case are true....

I can't even think of an appropriate way to finish that sentence.

There needs to be a bipartisan, unlimited investigation, and if probable cause exists to believe crimes have been committed, there need to be indictments and the defendants given what the Bush Administration was quick to deny their victims: open trials. I am not saying this needs to happen tomorrow; but it needs to happen while these allegations are fresh and while this is still vital. We need to affirm to ourselves, and to the world, that we are not a rogue state and that we are a nation of laws, and that we are moral people, not the monsters we seem to have become--and if we cannot affirm this, we do not deserve to exist on this Earth.

That's all. I need to find something else to write about for the next few days. I knew we were holding kids in Gitmo--I guess, silly me, I somehow didn't think we tortured them, too.