SubscribeGreat to see that the European Human Rights Convention applies to Iraqis under British occupation. This is a court ruling that proves liberal values can survive war and contrasts greatly with one of the summer’s low points; that evidence obtained by torture is okay so long as foreigners (in this case the US) do the dirty work. Surprisingly the defence that this is war, or that our enemies do worse, hasn’t been made as loudly made as when troops tortured prisoners to let off steam. Yet the idea is the same. While we may not have entered the war for the noblest of reasons, we can still set out to demonstrate the worth of our ideals and surprise Iraqis by not stooping down to the evil dictator’s level.
That the US offers the tortured’s testimony while a European convention strives to limit abuse shows not that Europeans are in way superior. It proves the value of the rule of law and shows how easily those who believe too much in their own righteousness lose moral direction.
