Powell supports amendment barring torture
A controversial move to attach legislation that
would ban torture of any prisoner of the United States came to a head Wednesday
night as the Senate was asked to ignore a White House threat of a veto and
attach the new law to a $440 billion military spending bill.
A controversial move to attach legislation that would ban torture of any prisoner of the United States came to a head Wednesday night as the Senate was asked to ignore a White House threat of a veto and attach the new law to a $440 billion military spending bill.
Republican Senators John McCain (R-Ariz) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proposed the law that would ban "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. custody. They would require American troops--and others--to follow procedures in the U.S. Army Field Manual in detaining and interrogating suspects. The amendments would also define "enemy combatant" and put into law procedures for prosecuting detainees.
When did it become “controversial” to require soldiers to go by the book?
The White House said the law would "tie the President's hands" in a time of war. Senate Republican leader Bill Frist tried to keep it from coming to a vote. And powerful Senate Armed Services chairman John Warner and equally powerful Senate defense appropriations subcommittee chairman Ted Stevens locked horns for a time over procedural matters of which Defense bill to use as a vehicle for the amendments.
Into this struggle was injected a letter signed by 28 retired high military officers declaring their strong support of Sen. McCain's amendments.
A separate letter from Gen. (ret.) Colin L. Powell, who was President Bush's secretary of state in his first term, arrived just prior to the vote declaring his support for the amendments.
But, then, everything that Bush and his bubbas know about warfare they learned from the Old Testament. They sure as hell didn’t learn it in the military.
Update: The amendment passed the Senate, last night, 5th October, by 90 to 9. Now, let's see what happens in the rest of Congress and the White House?
Posted: Wed - October 5, 2005 at 09:36 PM