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Bush nominee criticised on abuse claims
US attorney-general nominee Alberto Gonzales faced blistering criticism today for his role in shaping administration policies blamed for the torture of terrorist suspects. Democrats said the policies had put Americans at greater risk. "Those abuses serve as recruiting posters for the terrorists," Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said at a Senate confirmation hearing for Gonzales, President George W. Bush's White House counsel. "America's troops and citizens are at greater risk because of those actions," the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Sen Leahy, said.
Let me guess: someone had a camera on?
"The searing photographs from Abu Ghraib (prison in Iraq) have made it harder to create and maintain the alliances we need to prevail." At issue are a memo Mr Gonzales approved that said only the most severe types of torture were not permissible under US and international agreements, and another he wrote that described parts of the half-century-old Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war as "obsolete" or "quaint." At the packed hearing, Mr Gonzales denounced torture and vowed if confirmed as attorney general to abide by international treaties. "I want to make very clear that I am deeply committed to the rule of law," Mr Gonzales said.

Republicans were quick to come to Mr Gonzales' defence, though some voiced concerns about the treatment of prisoners and the memos. But even Democrats conceded he had the votes to be confirmed as the first Hispanic-American to serve as the nation's top lawman. Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, praised Mr Gonzales and asked:
"Do you approve of torture?"

"Absolutely not," Mr Gonzales said.

"Do you condemn the interrogators' techniques at Abu Ghraib shown on the widely published photographs?" Senator Specter asked.

"Let me say senator that as a human being I am sickened and outraged by those photos," Mr Gonzales said.
Many of the questions focused on Mr Gonzales' January 2002 memo on how the Geneva Conventions should not apply to Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners captured during the Afghanistan conflict. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, introduced Mr Gonzales, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice, at the hearing, saying: "Now, I hate to ruin a good story for the president's political opponents. But there is one important problem with this criticism: Judge Gonzales is right."

Mr Gonzales was questioned about an August 2002 memo he approved — which was recently withdrawn and replaced — that outlined how to avoid violating US and international terror statutes while interrogating prisoners. The memo was behind many of the harsh techniques inflicted on detainees at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba and other locations. "The issue of your commitment to the rule of law is what most concerns us," Massachusetts Democrat Senator Edward Bagogas Kennedy said. "With the consent of the Senate, I will no longer represent only the White House," Mr Gonzales said. "I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the differences. In the former, I have been privileged to advise the president and his staff; in the latter, I would have a far broader responsibility — to pursue justice for all the people of our great nation."
This one is done. 80 - 20 in the full Senate vote.

Posted by: Anon5607 2005-01-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=53084