Now that US soldiers have become POW's in Iraq, Secretary of Defense,
   Donald Rumsfeld is quick to remind Iraq of international law in the form
   of the Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of POW's during
   wartime.  Yet, this administration has done more to undermine the body of
   international law than any previous administration in the last 50 years.
  
   Moreover, this is the same Mr. Rumsfeld who, on 6 August 2002, referred
   to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as "so called occupied territories"
   when speaking to reporters about Israeli settlements.  The UN Security
   Council has passed numerous resolutions which affirm the applicability of
   the Fourth Geneva Convention to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  All of
   which Israel has rejected and defied.  Israeli settlements in these
   areas are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.  Even so, this
   administration as well as previous administrations have allowed Israel
 
   to continue build these settlements as well as violate other provisions
   of this Geneva Convention.
  
   Although Fourth Geneva Convention issues regarding Palestine get little
   attention in the US media, the rest of the world is not so unaware.
   It is this effrontery engaged in by Mr. Rumsfeld which makes the US look
   deeply hypocritcal.  The Bush adminstration invokes international law
   when it suits them and ignore it when it does not further their agenda.
   Such an inconsistent and unequal application of international law makes
   the world a more dangerous place for ourselves and others in both the
   short and long term.
 
 
Paul D. Boyle