thedrifter
08-30-06, 06:06 AM
Posted on Wed, Aug. 30, 2006
Iraq must enforce rule of law, Attorney General Gonzales says
By Sudarsan Raghavan and Saad Sarhan
WASHINGTON POST
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Scavengers siphoning gasoline from a pipeline in the southern city of Diwaniyah caused an explosion Tuesday that killed 50 people and wounded 80, officials said, and a visiting Bush administration official said Iraq's future depended on its ability to enforce the rule of law but that it must set its own legal standards.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spoke to reporters after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih in which Gonzales said the two men discussed the use of "extraordinary measures" to deal with terrorists, criminals and prisoners.
"It is sometimes a difficult decision to make, as to what is the appropriate line, what is allowed under the law, under the constitution," Gonzales told reporters. "The path the Iraqi officials will take will be a decision made by the Iraqi government, but we emphasize the importance of the rule of law." He did not elaborate.
Gonzales played a key role in drafting detention policies that many critics say led to the torture of suspected terrorists and other detainees. He wrote a 2002 Justice Department memo that narrowed the definition of torture and argued that President Bush could override anti-torture laws in some cases.
When asked to distinguish between the kinds of torture he authorized and the kinds being carried out in Iraq by militias with ties to governing parties, Gonzales appeared taken aback.
"It is against the law," he said. "We have a domestic law prohibiting torture. There are international prohibitions against torture. We are a party to the convention against torture. The president has been very, very clear: This government does not engage in torture."
When asked about the status of two ongoing investigations by the U.S. military -- one involving the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by soldiers in the town of Mahmoudiya and the other stemming from accusations that Marines killed 24 civilians in the town of Haditha -- Gonzales replied:
"There are certain expectations of our men and women in uniform, and 99.9 percent of our soldiers meet the highest professional and ethical standards under very difficult circumstances," he said. "But for those who do not, if there are allegations of wrongdoing, we consider that to be very serious, and they will be investigated, and they will be held accountable. So that is my message to the Iraqi people."
Tuesday's violence in Iraq underscored the challenges of imposing rule of law in a nation besieged by sectarian violence, militias, death squads and desperate economic and social conditions.
The explosion in Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, comes as fuel prices have soared and Iraqis are desperate for sources of power. Iraq's oil supply has been plagued by insurgent attacks, dilapidated infrastructure and widespread graft.
The blast was caused because one of the thieves siphoning gasoline from a hole punched in the pipeline was smoking a cigarette, said Hameed Jiaati, the health director in Diwaniyah.
On Tuesday, officials from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's office said the death toll had risen to 73, including 50 militiamen and 23 Iraqi soldiers. The increased toll could not be independently verified.
At the Karama elementary school in western Baghdad, police discovered 11 bodies at around noon.
"The corpses were blindfolded and handcuffed behind the backs, and they were shot in different parts of their body," said Brig. Gen. Ihsan Mahmood of the Interior Ministry. "There were torture marks on some of the bodies. Their ages were between 18 and 25. They wore civilian clothes."
Ellie
Iraq must enforce rule of law, Attorney General Gonzales says
By Sudarsan Raghavan and Saad Sarhan
WASHINGTON POST
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Scavengers siphoning gasoline from a pipeline in the southern city of Diwaniyah caused an explosion Tuesday that killed 50 people and wounded 80, officials said, and a visiting Bush administration official said Iraq's future depended on its ability to enforce the rule of law but that it must set its own legal standards.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spoke to reporters after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih in which Gonzales said the two men discussed the use of "extraordinary measures" to deal with terrorists, criminals and prisoners.
"It is sometimes a difficult decision to make, as to what is the appropriate line, what is allowed under the law, under the constitution," Gonzales told reporters. "The path the Iraqi officials will take will be a decision made by the Iraqi government, but we emphasize the importance of the rule of law." He did not elaborate.
Gonzales played a key role in drafting detention policies that many critics say led to the torture of suspected terrorists and other detainees. He wrote a 2002 Justice Department memo that narrowed the definition of torture and argued that President Bush could override anti-torture laws in some cases.
When asked to distinguish between the kinds of torture he authorized and the kinds being carried out in Iraq by militias with ties to governing parties, Gonzales appeared taken aback.
"It is against the law," he said. "We have a domestic law prohibiting torture. There are international prohibitions against torture. We are a party to the convention against torture. The president has been very, very clear: This government does not engage in torture."
When asked about the status of two ongoing investigations by the U.S. military -- one involving the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by soldiers in the town of Mahmoudiya and the other stemming from accusations that Marines killed 24 civilians in the town of Haditha -- Gonzales replied:
"There are certain expectations of our men and women in uniform, and 99.9 percent of our soldiers meet the highest professional and ethical standards under very difficult circumstances," he said. "But for those who do not, if there are allegations of wrongdoing, we consider that to be very serious, and they will be investigated, and they will be held accountable. So that is my message to the Iraqi people."
Tuesday's violence in Iraq underscored the challenges of imposing rule of law in a nation besieged by sectarian violence, militias, death squads and desperate economic and social conditions.
The explosion in Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, comes as fuel prices have soared and Iraqis are desperate for sources of power. Iraq's oil supply has been plagued by insurgent attacks, dilapidated infrastructure and widespread graft.
The blast was caused because one of the thieves siphoning gasoline from a hole punched in the pipeline was smoking a cigarette, said Hameed Jiaati, the health director in Diwaniyah.
On Tuesday, officials from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's office said the death toll had risen to 73, including 50 militiamen and 23 Iraqi soldiers. The increased toll could not be independently verified.
At the Karama elementary school in western Baghdad, police discovered 11 bodies at around noon.
"The corpses were blindfolded and handcuffed behind the backs, and they were shot in different parts of their body," said Brig. Gen. Ihsan Mahmood of the Interior Ministry. "There were torture marks on some of the bodies. Their ages were between 18 and 25. They wore civilian clothes."
Ellie