Nothing is the Matter

It doesn't really matter that the Pentagon has decided to set a policy that article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applies to all prisoners held by the military. It also doesn't matter whether this is, or is not, a change in policy for the Bush Administration. (The White House says there is no policy change, even though Bush said in a February 2002 that “Common article III of Geneva does not apply to either al-Qaeda or Taliban detainees.”)

But none of this matters, just as the Supreme Court ruling on the Hamdan case doesn't matter, and the closing of prisons at Guantanamo won't matter either.

The reason these things matter not at all is the Bush White House lies. They lie about everything. They have lied about their torture from the very start, and at every turn. They lie about what they have done, and they lie about what they will do.

For example, they say Abu Ghraib was only a few bad apples, yet documents reveal the systemic nature of the torture, and the approval of the bad apples' behavior. They claim to not condone torture, but there are memos by Alberto Gonzales and Don Rumsfeld explicitly encouraging abuse.

So let's cut the pretense. Anybody fooled is a willing fool. None of what they say will ever matter.

But what will make them stop?

PS - Don't beleive me? Just ask if this new policy applies to the CIA and their secret prisons all over the world.