Article 3

The Bush Administration just announced that as a result of last week's 5-3 (5-4 actually) Supreme Court decision on Gitmo, terrorists held at the facility will be offered the protections offered by Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which says:

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.

None of this applies to the well treated temporary residents of Guantanamo except "The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples."

And that doesn't help much. Where in there is there a timeline for these procedures? Where is there a guarantee to a specific process? Indeed, the inclusion of the word "all" ("all the judicial guarantees") is confusing at best. We can't leave out even one? Who publishes a list of all the guarantees that are recognized? Who publishes a list of recognized civilized peoples?

Our Justice Department is well aware of this problem. From AP:

Steven Bradbury, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, told the Senate hearing that the Bush administration would abide by the Supreme Court's ruling that a provision of the Geneva Conventions applies.

But he acknowledged that the provision - which requires humane treatment of captured combatants and requires trials with judicial guarantees "recognized as indispensable by civilized people" - is ambiguous and would be hard to interpret.

"The application of common Article 3 will create a degree of uncertainty for those who fight to defend us from terrorist attack," Bradbury said.

So we're back where we started. The Bush Administration will try to deal with these bloodthirsty America-haters in a human and just manner that still protects our interests. And those who don't have America's interests at heart (can you say ACLU and Move On?) will continue to say Bush is not doing enough for these poor souls.

Photo: AP