Wednesday, November 10, 2004
From All Bark to All Bite
To Ashcroft's recent resignation as Attorney General, I can only say "Good riddance." He was a divisive, polarizing figure who trumpeted indictments of terrorists like Moussaioui or Padilla that ended up going nowhere. According to this news report, "With Attorney General John Ashcroft, the country often got more bark than bite from its Justice Department chief. Usually willing, often eager to get on television to announce a development in the legal war on terror, many of Ashcroft's heralded breakthroughs turned out to be far less decisive and important than first declared."
CBS News | Ashcroft's Mixed Legacy | November 10, 2004 11:14:47
But now Bush has nominated Alberto Gonzales to take Ashcroft's place. Here are few of his credentials:
On Jan. 25, 2002, Mr. Gonzales wrote a memorandum to President Bush in which he supported the Justice Department's position that suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban members did not need to be treated according to rules of the Geneva Conventions, which govern treatment of prisoners of war.
Even Secretary of State (Colin) Powell objected to Mr. Gonzales' memorandum undermining the Geneva Conventions, which Mr. Gonzales called 'obsolete' and 'quaint.'"
Gonzales also defended the administration's policy — essentially repudiated by the Supreme Court and now being fought out in lower courts — of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts.
Bush Names Gonzales to Succeed Ashcroft
Oh well, I guess the Chief of the Justice Dept. shouldn't let pesky things like international treaties and the rule of law get in his way.
CBS News | Ashcroft's Mixed Legacy | November 10, 2004 11:14:47
But now Bush has nominated Alberto Gonzales to take Ashcroft's place. Here are few of his credentials:
On Jan. 25, 2002, Mr. Gonzales wrote a memorandum to President Bush in which he supported the Justice Department's position that suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban members did not need to be treated according to rules of the Geneva Conventions, which govern treatment of prisoners of war.
Even Secretary of State (Colin) Powell objected to Mr. Gonzales' memorandum undermining the Geneva Conventions, which Mr. Gonzales called 'obsolete' and 'quaint.'"
Gonzales also defended the administration's policy — essentially repudiated by the Supreme Court and now being fought out in lower courts — of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts.
Bush Names Gonzales to Succeed Ashcroft
Oh well, I guess the Chief of the Justice Dept. shouldn't let pesky things like international treaties and the rule of law get in his way.
