Demagogue

Whom do you trust more?

Sen. John Cornyn

[Alberto Gonzales] Gonzales is right. This interpretation of the [Geneva Convention] enjoys overwhelming support. It is well grounded in the text, structure and history of the convention. It has been affirmed by three federal courts. And it is supported by the reports of the 9/11 Commission and the special prisoner-abuse commission as well as international law experts across the political spectrum. At the confirmation hearing, even the committee's senior Democrat and the two law school deans he invited to testify conceded that al-Qaeda fighters are not prisoners of war.

The president's position is not only legally right, but essential to national security. As Gonzales has rightly noted, the war on terrorism is a war of information. The United States must use all available legal means to obtain the information and intelligence necessary to protect against further attacks.

Or Human Rights Watch

At his oversight hearing, Mr. Gonzales also demonstrated a lack of understanding of the most basic concepts of the Geneva Conventions. He repeatedly argued that had the Geneva Conventions been applied to al Qaeda members captured in Afghanistan, the United States would have had to give them all the privileges of prisoner of war status. In fact, the Geneva Conventions do not require that all captured belligerents be granted POW status -- but they do require humane treatment of all captives, whether soldiers, insurgents, or civilians. He also said more than once that had the Geneva Conventions been applied to al Qaeda members, they could not have been prosecuted for war crimes. This is an elementary misstatement of the law. The Third Geneva Convention confers immunity only for lawful acts of combat - the act of taking up arms - and only on POWs. The Geneva Conventions do not grant immunity for war crimes to anyone. Given that President Bush relied on Mr. Gonzales's legal advice in deciding not to apply the Geneva Conventions to al Qaeda, it is deeply troubling that Mr. Gonzales appears to have misunderstood such a fundamental principle of the laws of war.

For the record, HRW has "never before opposed the nomination of a cabinet official in the United States" - but they are opposing Gonzales.