McCain Supports Bush Veto of Bill Banning Torture

[Joanne98]

Doesn’t Want CIA Limited To Methods Used by Military

by Bob Egelko
When President Bush vetoed legislation Saturday that would have prohibited the CIA from using physical force in interrogations, he had the support of Sen. John McCain - the most outspoken of any presidential candidate in his opposition to torture.The Arizona Republican has described his own torture by the North Vietnamese, who captured him in 1967 after his plane was shot down on a bombing run. He spoke out against the near-drowning technique called waterboarding when it was being defended by other Republican candidates and by Vice President Dick Cheney.

And McCain won the signature of a reluctant Bush on 2005 legislation that prohibited military interrogators from using waterboarding and other “cruel, inhumane or degrading” methods.

On Saturday, however, McCain backed Bush’s veto of a bill that would have barred the CIA from employing those same techniques - or any others not authorized by the Army Field Manual - when questioning prisoners.

In a Saturday morning radio address announcing the veto, Bush said the measure would have barred “safe and lawful” interrogation methods that have prevented terrorist attacks.

“This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe,” the president said.

He did not specify those practices, but repeated previous statements that the CIA no longer uses waterboarding.

In congressional testimony last month, however, Justice Department official Stephen Bradbury indicated the administration does not consider waterboarding illegal in all circumstances and reserved the right to resume its use by the CIA.

Campaign aides said Saturday that McCain believes waterboarding violates both U.S. and international law and is forbidden to all federal agencies. Randy Scheunemann, foreign policy director for McCain’s campaign, denied any inconsistency between the senator’s record and his position on the bill.

“It’s not about waterboarding and it’s not about torture,” Scheunemann said.

He said McCain opposed the bill for the same reason he exempted the CIA from his 2005 legislation: his belief that the agency should not be limited to methods spelled out in a public Army manual.

McCain feels “it’s a good thing that (the CIA can use) enhanced interrogation techniques that are not revealed in your newspaper,” Scheunemann said. He declined to identify methods that McCain believes should remain available to the CIA while being off-limits to military interrogators.

The Army Field Manual prohibits the use of force during interrogation. Among the techniques it forbids, in addition to waterboarding, are beatings, burns and electric shock; use of extreme heat; use of dogs; mock executions; forced nudity or sexual acts; hooding or taping a prisoner’s eyes; prolonged sleep deprivation; and denial of needed food, water or medical care.

Democratic backers of the vetoed bill are far short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush’s veto.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/10/7590/

[madrchsod]

1. he has Stockholm Syndrome

i think he`s never recovered from his stay at the Hanoi Hilton

[classysassy]

2. My fellow Americans

I will say anything to get elected or selected as your president.

[Skittles]

3. he makes me sick n/t