ARTICLE 3
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.
The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.
Bush: “The Enemy Wants To Attack Us Again”
Bush Argues for New Terrorism Legislation
(September 15, 2006)--President Bush urged Congress Friday to come together on a bill to spell out strategies for interrogating and trying terrorism suspects, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again."
In a White House news conference, Mr. Bush pushed Congress to approve military tribunals for terror suspects, calling them necessary to bring the those responsible for the 9/11 attacks to justice.
Speaking from the Rose Garden, Mr. Bush said he will work with Congress to pass an acceptable measure that would allow the CIA to continue interrogating terrorism suspects, a program he calls "vital."
Without a law that lays out clear rules for interrogations of suspected terrorists, Mr. Bush said, the “program won’t go forward”
Mr. Bush wants Congress to lay out clearly the obligations of the US under Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and its ban on ” outrages upon personal dignity,” which he calls vague and open to interpretation.
Click Here For Text Of Article 3
“This program won’t go forward if there’s vague standards applied like those in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions,” Mr. Bush said.
“You can’t ask a young professional on the front line of protecting this country to violate the law,” he said.
Responding to criticism from former Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell and others, Mr. Bush said it's "flawed logic" and "unacceptable to think" there's any way to compare the actions of the US and the actions of terrorists.
Powell warned the president's plans could undercut the Geneva Conventions, and put US troops at risk.
The president also failed Thursday to get the US Senate Armed Services Committee to approve his version of a plan to deal with detainees in the war on terrorism.
Committee Chairman Senator John Warner and three other Republicans voted with all the committee's Democrats against lowering the standard for the treatment of prisoners.
The bill the committee approved would allow suspects to see classified material that's being used against them and would bar the use of testimony obtained through coercion.
Like Powell, Warner fears the administration proposal would potentially put US troops at risk if other countries retaliate.
The debate, Mr. Bush said Friday is “going to define whether we can protect ourselves.”
http://www.kwtx.com/breakingnews/3927481.html