It Girl, Friday, September 15: Colin Powell

Let me explain.

It surprised even me that Colin Powell made It Girl status this week. Powell is male and a member of the GOP. But he brings some much needed logic and moral sanity to the savage argument about streamlining torture. Powell yesterday wrote a letter to John McCain criticizing the president, saying, "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism."

Bush is trying to define the terms of the Geneva Convention stating that it is too vague.

As the Boston Globe reported today, "Since the Supreme Court struck down his system of using military tribunals to try detainees on criminal charges, Bush has used the presidential "bully pulpit" to try to save the tribunals and the CIA interrogation program by specifying acceptable interrogation techniques."

Powell should be applauded for standing up against his former boss. If you read Ron Suskind's "Price of Loyalty" you will see how Powell was very much a moderate going against the grain of a tight, little, neo-con clusterfuck in Bush's top circle.

As for the Geneva Convention, the part about treating detainees is MEANT to be vague, to promote the use of conscience when it comes to treating prisoners and fellow human beings. McCain said is rightly worried about how our own troops will be treated if the U.S. starts interpreting the limits of the Geneva Convention in our own special way.

Politically, this open talk of torture is going to backfire on Bush in a big way. If the American public didn't want to think of covert torture before, they'll most likely reject the notion now that it's out in the open.

This is the American justice system, not Lord of the Flies. Although some true blue readers of this blog will be horrified that I am honoring Powell, I think it's time we support the words of people who make sense.