Quote of the Day: Will America Comply With the UN Convention on Torture?

Cheney - the real architect of the torture regime?

Perhaps I have beat to death the issue of American sponsored torture, but to me it gets to the heart of the problem with today's far right American conservatives and the Christofascists: they have no compassion for those who are different, especially in matters of race and religion, and they believe that they are wholly above the law.  Today's release of the Senate torture report now places America at the cross roads of either complying with the law - actually a treaty that it signed - or becoming in essence a rogue nation.  Andrew Sullivan quoting Ronald Reagan sums it up well:

“The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of [this] 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,” – Ronald Reagan’s signing statement on the ratification of the UN Convention on Torture.

Allow me to repeat:

“Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”

I guess all of a sudden the Christofascists and GOP crowd will claim amnesia on this part of Reagan legacy.