Prohibit detainee abuse.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insists that the issue of prisoner abuse in Iraq has been resolved. The abuses, he says, were confined to isolated acts committed by a few "bad apples" such as Army Pfc. Lynndie England, who was convicted Monday of mistreating detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

President Bush, meanwhile, believes that the rest of the world should regard his administration's handling of the Abu Ghraib abuses as the very model of transparency and accountability. Justice in full and glorious flower.

Both are up to their noses in denial. The administration has refused at every turn to resolve the issue of prisoner abuse and has successfully resisted bipartisan efforts in Congress to intervene.

Now, new reports of prisoner abuse make it imperative that Congress pass legislation requiring this nation to live up to its international obligations under the Geneva Conventions prohibiting the mistreatment of detainees.

A new report by Human Rights Watch includes allegations by three former members of the U.S. Army's elite 82nd Airborne division. They said soldiers in their battalion routinely beat and abused Iraqi prisoners to gather intelligence and - all Americans should hang their heads in shame at what comes next- sometimes simply to amuse themselves.

While the report does not name the three soldiers, one is known to be Army Capt. Ian Fishback. Earlier this month, he presented his allegations to Sens. John McCain, R-Arz., and John Warner, R-Va., after 17 months of futile attempts to report his allegations to military superiors.

In a Sept. 16 letter to the senators, Fishback, a combat veteran who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, cited abuses "including death threats, beatings, broken bones, murder, exposure to elements, extreme forced physical exertion, hostage-taking, stripping, sleep deprivation and degrading treatment."

The Bush administration has shown that it's unwilling to provide a full accounting of prisoner abuses on its watch - or of taking the steps necessary to ensure that future abuses do not occur. None of the Pentagon whitewashes or the prosecutions of low-ranking soldiers such as England has come close to revealing the extent of abuses, or holding accountable those high-ranking members of the military and administration who are ultimately responsible.

McCain, who was himself a victim of torture as a prisoner during the Vietnam War, has responded to the new allegations by ordering the staff of his Armed Services Committee to investigate them. Along with Warner and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., McCain is also proposing an amendment to a defense bill requiring the military to abide by the Geneva Conventions. It would prohibit "cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment" of all prisoners in U.S. custody, whatever their status and wherever they're held.

Bush's response? He's threatening to veto the bill because, White House officials insist, it usurps presidential authority. If that's true, then the president should point out where in the Constitution or federal law he finds authority to permit the torture of detainees in violation of international agreements.

There are many other reasons why Congress should pass this bill. Mistreatment of detaines has no practical value and produces little useful information. It puts U.S. forces at greater risk of being mistreated if they're captured. It gives other nations a convenient excuse for not adhering to human rights standards. And it undermines both public support for the military and morale within the armed forces.

Mistreatment of prisoners is also morally reprehensible and is a rot that threatens the very heart of American values and tradition. As McCain puts it: "It's not about prisoners, it's about us."