Quotes by John Yoo

“The national government has certain kinds of compelling interests that conflict with the right of the press to keep their sources confidential, like national defense and security.”

“That is the litmus test that distinguishes legal conservatives from liberals: What is the proper role of the courts in deciding contentious, divisive social issues? ... It would be very surprising to see someone who clerked for Rehnquist, who worked for Ronald Reagan , to change from that basic view.”

“[Former co-clerk Saikrishna Prakash recalls teasing,] John, break out the crystal ball and tell us what the framers thought. ... Yes, I consulted the framers. Youre all wrong, and Im right.”

“If you believe those rules have been changed by the state Supreme Court in this instance, you have the legal right and indeed the constitutional duty at that point to intervene,”

“I thought of John Roberts as a peace offering. President Bush could have nominated someone much more conservative.”

“Its a document that reinforces tradition, ... incremental changes.”

“It shows an interest in thinking deeply about the role of the courts in society and the proper interpretation of the Constitution based on its text and history.”

“The Bush administration policy is against torture of any kind; its prohibited by federal criminal law.”

“I think it depends on why the president thinks he needs to do that.”

“Whatever benefits would have been gained by interrogating him are now gone,”

The effort to blur the lines between Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib reflects a deep misunderstanding about the different legal regimes that apply to Iraq and the war against al Qaeda.

Human-rights advocates, for example, claim that the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is of a piece with President Bushs 2002 decision to deny al Qaeda and Taliban fighters the legal status of prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

While Taliban fighters had an initial claim to protection under the conventions, they lost POW status by failing to obey the standards of conduct for legal combatants: wearing uniforms, a responsible command structure, and obeying the laws of war.

Once the attacks occur, as we learned on Sept. 11, it is too late. It makes little sense to deprive ourselves of an important, and legal, means to detect and prevent terrorist attacks while we are still in the middle of a fight to the death with al Qaeda.

Nonetheless, Article 5 makes clear that if an Iraqi civilian who is not a member of the armed forces, has engaged in attacks on Coalition forces, the Geneva Convention permits the use of more coercive interrogation approaches to prevent future attacks.