I won't step into the legal realm itself but looking from the outside I just can't shake off the impression that the whole US law sphere regarding conflict has a lot in common with the old joke about the accountant. Asked what two plus two equals he answers, after closing the door, "What do you want it to equal?"

To correctly guess the outcome of the official internal US legal opinion regarding the torture, espionage and the killing of citiziens the famous dictum of the Melian dialogue seems to be often a better guide then the legal framework itself. In short "the strong do as they can and the weak suffer what they must" tends to be a pretty good heuristic.

So if a certain outcome has been seen as expedient for issues right at hand it was highly probable that the legal aspects were at the least strechted very much to meet the political intent and in other cases likely outright broken.

Now this is nothing new under the sun, perhaps apart from the fact just how far the US has gone trying to cover herself with the garb of law. Sadly, with a cloth as thinly streched and partly torn she* looks pretty naked...


*her intent fits generally better. The beauty of the mental picture of a partly naked US depends on her beauty, and although there is plenty of it some areas have rather little.