Outsourcing Torture

Well, well, well, stung by press reports regarding a Canadian citizen who was refused entry into America and deported to Syria where he was tortured, how does the U.S. government propose dealing with such issues in the future? Obsidian Wings reports on a bill, H.R. 10 - the "9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004" which would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue new regulations to exclude from the protection of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, any suspected terrorist - thereby allowing them to be deported or transferred to a country that may engage in torture. The provision would put the burden of proof on the person being deported or rendered to establish "by clear and convincing evidence that he or she would be tortured," would bar the courts from having jurisdiction to review the Secretary's regulations, and would free the Secretary to deport or remove terrorist suspects to any country in the world at will - even countries other than the person's home country or the country in which they were born. The provision would also apply retroactively.

Let's see, the Republicans outsource jobs, they outsource health care reform, they've proposed outsourcing the president, and now they want to outsource torture. Have they ever seen an opportunity to dodge responsibility that they didn't like?