Reasons to break the law

Mr. Gonzales said to the Senate (NYT transcript, Friday Jan 7)

“I think the decision not to apply Geneva in our conflict with al Qaeda was absolutely the right decision for a variety of reasons…. It would actually make it more difficult, in my judgment, for our troops to win in our conflict against al Qaeda. It would limit our ability to solicit information from detainees…. And so for a variety of reasons, it makes absolutely no sense.”

This is extraordinary logic. He is saying that because applying the rules would make life more difficult, they should be disregarded. The entire point of law, any law, is to modify behavior, and the Attorney General is in charge of ensuring that laws are carried out. Such blatant disregard of the very concept of law disqualifies him from this post.