How could we?

Looks like we're well on our way to legalizing torture. Oh, there are a lot of euphemisms here - nobody has literally said, "Yes, we're legalizing torture." - but it doesn't take much to figure out what really went down yesterday. The CNN article is entitled "Deal on detainee treatment quells GOP revolt" and here's part of what it says:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House and dissenting GOP senators settled a disagreement Thursday on a bill setting out procedures for interrogating terror suspects and trying them in front of military tribunals.

The deal, reached after three days of intense intra-party negotiations, satisfied the concerns of three Republicans on how the measure would affect U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions.

While the agreement does not redefine the Geneva Conventions, as the White House originally proposed, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said it would provide enough "clarity" to allow the CIA's interrogation program to go forward.

The White House backed off an effort to define language in the conventions barring "humiliating treatment and outrages upon personal dignity."
...
But the agreement explicitly gives the president "the authority for the United States to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions."

President Bush hailed the agreement, saying it will preserve the "most potent tool we have" in the war against terror -- the ability of the CIA to interrogate detainees and "get their secrets."

"The agreement clears the way to do what the American people expect us to do -- to capture terrorists, to detain terrorists, to question terrorists and then to try them," said Bush.

If Bush has the authority to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions then our integrity as a nation is utterly lost. Because he has been doing this already and this "deal" is intended to keep him out of jail - which is what this "debate" has been about all along.

We've been torturing people for years but yesterday the Republicans said it's okay. The shame is beyond expression. Except that they feel no shame. They are too drunk with power.

I grieve for my country. Oh, I so grieve.