Bush in a Corner Over Interrogations and Military Tribunals

George Bush's training in the minor leagues in Texas didn't prepare him to exercise good judgment on his policy for the interrogation and treatment of prisoners and military tribunals, and now over his proposal to re-write the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Convention. An excess of hubris and a shortage of brains is a poor combination.

Bush wasn't up to exercising his own judgment and rejecting the bad advice he got from Dick Cheney, David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, et al. His program was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and now he faces a revolt within his own party from key senators including John Warner, John McCain, Susan Collins and Lindsay Graham as well as from former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, who expressed himself eloquently on the issue, emphasizing that we have diminished our stature in the world and put our own troops in jeopardy should they be captured.

9-18 Keith Olberman took some very strongly worded and eloquent shots at President Bush tonight over his response yesterday to a reporter's question about General Powell's letter which questioned whether the U.S. in the eyes of the world is losing the moral basis for its anti-terrorism policies and asserted that Bush's Geneva Convention proposal would endanger U.S. troops held by other countries. Olberman has been on a roll lately. I wonder how long NBC will continue to provide a forum for his strong criticisms of the Bush administration. Go Keith!

9-19 NYTimes--CANADIANS FAULT U.S. FOR ROLE IN TORTURE CASE--A Canadian government commission on Monday exonerated a Canadian computer engineer of any ties to terrorism and issued a scathing report that faulted Canada and the United States for his deportation four years ago to Syria where he was imprisoned and tortured. [Full article linked below.]

9-21 David Broder Washington Post Op-ed

"The country thought Bush was a pleasant down-to-earth guy who wouldn't rock the boat. Instead, swayed by some inner impulse or the influence of Dick Cheney, he has proved to be lawless and reckless. He started a war he cannot finish, drove the government into debt and repeatedly defied the Constitution.

[Broder op-ed linked below.]