This could get ugly. “Harsh treatment is tantamount to torture.” Sen.

Leahy has taken the ICRC position, which is not the U.S. interpretation

of the UN Convention Against Torture. This lays the groundwork for

tagging the administration directly for Abu Ghraib. Plus, according to

the senator, the American people have failed our government: By placing

Republicans in charge of all three branches, they have left too few

checks and balances in place. As a result, so the argument goes, we

need an exquisitely independent AG — not an “enabler” as, according to

Leahy, Judge Gonzales has demonstrated a propensity to be.

This administration — “high officials,” with Rumsfeld particularly

Rumsfeld mentioned — have engaged in a “systematic effort” to ignore

our law and treaty obligations. Gonzales has been at the center of this

effort. Thus, Sen Leahy intones: “I hope things will be different if

you are confirmed, Judge Gonzales.”

According to Leahy’s remarks, Dems have evidently packed the hearing

audience with military torture victims who oppose administration policy.

Evidently, Sen. Leahy believes Zarqawi will stop beheading his captives

if we give al Qaeda Geneva prisoners the kitchenettes and sports

equipment contemplated by the Geneva Conventions for honorable

combatants. Right.