But here's the problem: Such a power is not his to give, since torture is banned by international law, federal law, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Moreover, military personnel are obligated to refuse an unlawful order. And Mattis is a retired Marine Corps general.
So why would Trump claim he was granting Mattis the "power" to disobey a presidential order? Answer: To cover his own butt, because any such order to use torture is illegal to begin with. And if lower echelon people do use such tactics, Trump would be able to evade responsibility for it and blame it on Mattis. Not that Mattis would authorize such behavior, and would likely refuse to obey any such Trumpian order.
Trump has said of torture, "Absolutely, it works." And several of his newly named cabinet officials have denied that such techniques are useful. Moreover, if U.S. interrogators use them, others would feel more justified in torturing American prisoners.
Here's another example of an illegal order issued by the new President of the United States: Muslim refugees will no longer be allowed to come to America, with Christians and others from minority religions getting first priority.
Establishing a religious test is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, which states, "No religious test shall ever be required for any office or public trust" in the U.S. Citizenship is a public trust. The First Amendment reinforces that, banning any law restricting freedom of religion or the free exercise thereof, and especially prohibiting a preference for any particular religion.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) immediately filed suit challenging that order.
No comments:
Post a Comment