Senate Bars Cruel Treatment of Detainees
by TChris
Further proof that the president is now powerless (even rudderless, a disabled swift boat being swept out to sea): he couldn't convince the Senate to allow his administration the freedom it has enjoyed to abuse detainees.
"We have to clarify that this is not what the United States is all about. This is what makes us different from the enemy we are fighting," said Sen. John McCain (R-) of Arizona, who sponsored the amendment that bars cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees.
The Senate was apparently persuaded by evidence that front-line interrogators weren't given direction to guide their actions, and by disagreement among Pentagon officials as to what is or isn't an acceptable interrogation technique, and who is or isn't subject to the Geneva Conventions.
"If the Pentagon's top minds can't sort these matters out, after exhaustive debate and preparation, how in the world do we expect our enlisted men and women to do so?" asked McCain, before the Senate passed the measure in a 90-9 vote.
McCain explains the amendment:
This amendment would (1) establish the Army Field Manual as the uniform standard for the interrogation of Department of Defense detainees and (2) prohibit cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of persons in the detention of the U.S. government.
As for the rudderless president, who much preferred ambiguity to clarity (and unfettered discretion to restraint):
The amendment's overwhelming passage, despite objections from the White House, marks a rare congressional challenge to President Bush as commander-in-chief at a time when public support for his presidency is at a low.
Bush has threatened to veto the measure, but the margin of victory is veto-proof. The Senate bill must still be reconciled with the House version.
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