I was listening to a very interesting show on WPFW this morning about the Geneva Convention and the treatment of Saddam. Fraces Boyle, who is a professor of international law at the University of Illinios made some very interesting observations.

First, it has been widely reprorted that the US Secretary of Defense, Don Rumsfeld, has said that Sddam is being treated as if he were a P.O.W. and in accordance with interantional law.

Now, let me also interject something here which I also hadn't given much thought to and that is the repetition of showing clips of someone looking in Saddam's mouth with a flashlight and picking thru his hair looking for lice. The show had a reporter who is in Iraq, Mat ____________ ( I can get a last name later if anyone needs it) who has talked with Mnay Iraqis who, though are happy to have saddam captured, are incensed by this *spectical* being aired...

Which brings us to Article 13 of the Geneva Convention which states:

"Prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and **public curiousity**"

Now Saddam is clearly a bad man. This is well understood. But does this give the US a right to humiliate him and turn film over that certainly has fallen into the "public curiuosity" wording of protection? And does it help the US *cause* to further infuriate the Arab world in the airing of such footage?

I think not and it sure does tarnish the "war on terrorism" by heightening, rather than lowering, the hatred of the US by the Arab world. I am ashamed of the Bush adminstration's behavior. It's borish, bullyish, arrogant and just plain unwise and here is just another example that they don't want to get along with anyone...

Bobert