The recent debate concerning torture is just one example of President George W. Bush’s disregard for the international agreements and treaties this country’s leaders have negotiated and agreed to over the years.

The controversy revolves around the following text from Common Article 3.1(c) of the Geneva Convention that prohibits “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.”

President Bush contends that this statement is vague and needs to be clarified so the interrogation program can continue. In a Sept. 14, 2006 statement, President Bush said that “aggressive interrogation” by the CIA has saved lives and enabled the U.S. to foil several terrorist plots. Bush credited the CIA interrogation of Sheik Mohammed for the intelligence used to uncover the terrorist’s plot at Heathrow Airport in London.

How much torture is acceptable to the Bush administration? Is it all right to interrogate a prisoner without bathroom breaks until the prisoner secretes waste all over themselves? Is it considered torture to use loud sounds and sleep deprivation as method for breaking a prisoner down? What about the old cold-and-naked treatment? Is that OK? This method creates a sense of urgency that is very effective. It could be argued that the prisoner was never really hurt, but most would agree this is humiliating and degrading treatment.

These methods are below the moral limit of most Americans. The law is clear about a U.S. citizen’s right to remain silent and their right to have an attorney present during questioning. Many states do not allow confessions obtained under duress. However, U.S. law does not apply to prisoners of war — the Geneva Convention is the only agreement which applies to their treatment. The Bush administration contends terrorism suspects aren’t prisoners of war and classifies them as enemy combatants. They said the Geneva Convention didn’t apply to enemy combatants until recently, when the Supreme Court ruled that the military tribunals were a violation of the Geneva Convention.

The 57-year-old Geneva Convention agreement protects soldiers from torture when they are held as prisoners of war. We want our soldiers protected by this agreement, so we should honor it. We must do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves.

America has always taken pride in its human rights record, but the Bush administration has squandered America’s prestige. Now we’re the same as all the other human rights violators around the world.

President Bush believes the international agreements and laws of our country do not apply to him. He might be right about that, because no branch of government is holding him accountable. Our system of checks and balances seems to be broken. Our country has never seen a president who openly violates the laws, agreements and treaties created by his predecessors. We need our law and order to apply to the president, too.

Liz Baxter is an opinion columnist for the Northern Star.