May 22, 2004 - This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. Art. VI, clause 2. US Constitution

The United States is a party to the treaties popularly known as the Geneva Conventions. Those treaties are made part of the supreme Law of the Land by that quaint document by which we guide our system of government – The Constitution of the United States. The War Crimes Act of 1996 is also part of the supreme Law of the Land. It provides:

“Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b) [the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States], shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.”

The War Crimes Act goes on to define the offense as any conduct defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party; prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;or which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party and which deals with non-international armed conflict. TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 118, Sec. 2441.USCA

That small portion of the supreme Law of the Land is what the Bush Administration has been trying to find its way around since invading Afghanistan. And, that is the reason why the investigation into the conduct at Abu Ghraib won’t climb the ladder of the chain of command. It will be frozen at the first rung because once the ascent starts it will go all the way to the top. That is why the Justice Department’s secret memo dated January 9, 2002 and the Gonzales memo of January 25, 2002 were written. The authors were desperate to construct a legalistic formula to avoid liability for the high crimes and misdemeanors defined by the War Crimes Act of 1996. The act was aimed at Bin Laden and Al Qaeda but it applies to US as well.

That is why the witnesses testifying before Congress have been so reluctant to acknowledge that the outrageous conduct in Abu Ghraib violated the Geneva Conventions. The War Crimes Act of 1996 is clear, concise and precise. It gives the Justice Department the authority to prosecute and the civilian courts jurisdiction to try those responsible. It defines offenses that fit the definition of impeachable offenses.

None of those things is likely to occur while the Bush Administration is in office or the House of Representatives is in Republican Control but that depends upon the whim of the electorate. Those in the Abu Ghraib chain of command – all the way to the top – have to be asking, “Is there a Pardon in my future?”