I think you should have a speedy Gonzales departure!

From the blog of the author of American Torture, Michael Otterman, comes a very disturbing revelation from Alberto Gonzales - the US Attorney General. In a Judiciary Committee Hearing in the US, Gonzales all but admitted that the US has not only used torture against detainees, but that torture will still be permitted on detainees that are not held in the conflict with Al Qaida!!!!

Firstly, the initial admission came because Bush signed an executive order which reinstated the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention - which outlaws torture. This rejected the previous position of Gonzales which defined the torture provisions of the Geneva Convention as being “quaint”.

Secondly, the executive order only covers detainees held by the CIA in the conflict with Al Qaida. This means that the any detainees not held in the Al Qaida conflict must therefore not be covered by this new executive order.

Again, the questions should be put to the Howard government: Was David Hicks tortured at Guantanamo by the US government?

From American Torture:

“…stress positions, threatening detainees with dogs, forced nudity, waterboarding and mock execution– methods that four senior military JAG lawyers recently opined are violations of Geneva Common Article Three…”