http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/opinion/22fri1.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=printhttp://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/09/senators-snatch-defeat-from-jaws-of.htmlSenators Snatch Defeat From Jaws of Victory: U.S. to be First Nation to Authorize Violations of Geneva
Marty Lederman
I hope that that headline is a gross exaggeration, but based on a few quick seconds purusing the "compromise," I'm afraid it's not. [The Administration appears to agree. Stephen Hadley was crowing to reporters within minutes that the bill would authorize the CIA "program" to "go forward." And a "senior administration official" -- apparently Dan Bartlett -- told the Washington Post "that Bush essentially got what he asked for in a different formulation that allows both sides to maintain their concerns were addressed. 'We kind of take the scenic route, but we get there,' the official said."] [NOTE: I will be updating this post as we learn more, and if I have any time to parse the language more closely. I would dearly love if my initial impression -- and Hadley's -- is proven to be dead wrong. So I sincerely invite folks from the Senate staffs and elsewhere to write in with comments and corrections. [...........]
