Must Read Interview With John Yoo at Right Wing News

Right Wing News has posted an exclusive interview with  John Yoo, one of the men responsible for the "torture memos" that were the legal basis for the enhanced interrogation techniques.

They talked about torture, Gitmo, whether the Geneva Conventions should apply to Al-Qaeda, civilian trials for terrorists, whether a President can legally torture terrorists, among other important topics.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

All right, for the average person out there who doesn't have a law degree, explain why the Geneva Convention shouldn't apply to members of Al Qaeda we capture on foreign battlefields?


That's a good question. Basically it's because the Geneva Conventions are a written treaty that apply between nations that have signed it or countries or armed forces that agree to follow them in combat.


The problem with Al Qaeda is that they're not a nation that has signed the Geneva Conventions and two, they have shown no desire to follow any of the rules of war. In fact, if you think about how Al Qaeda operates, they succeed by blurring the very careful rules that we have created over thousands of years to try to limit the damage of war to combatants.


So for example, Al Qaeda launches surprise attacks on purely civilian targets by hijacking airplanes filled with civilians. This is done with operatives who do not wear uniforms. It violates all rules of war. The key, real principle behind the rules of war, is to distinguish between who's a combatant and who's a civilian.


So that's why the Geneva Conventions require people who get treatment as POWs to wear uniforms, operate in regular armed units, and not to deliberately target civilians for attack. So I think that Al Qaeda really doesn't deserve the benefits of the Geneva Conventions because they're not willing to play by the rules.

Its a great interview, CLICK HERE to read the whole thing.