A day after President Bush took responsibility for the decision to invade Iraq, the White House has conceded on another major point in the war against terror, agreeing to sign off on Senator John McCain’s bill banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terror suspects.
Vice President Dick Cheney strongly lobbied members of Congress to vote against the ban, saying it could impede the country’s progress in fighting terror. He appealed to Republican senators to include an exemption for the CIA, and though the specifics of the McCain plan were not revealed Thursday, it appears that his plea fell on deaf ears.
But facing international pressure over a Washington Post report detailing secret overseas prisons where terror suspects were held and, some claim, tortured, the Bush administration relented. Just a week ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to assure America’s European allies that the U.S. does not torture its prisoners.
The bill from McCain, who was held and tortured for five years while serving in Vietnam, specifically prohibits the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of anyone in U.S. custody, regardless of where they are held.
McCain said, “We’ve sent a message to the world that the U.S. is not like the terrorists. … What we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people no matter how evil and bad they are.” McCain said he understood the administration’s “legitimate concern” about the rights of interrogators, which is why his bill provides them with legal counsel and protections over what a “reasonable person might view as carrying out of orders.”
McCain said, "We’ve sent a message to the world that the U.S. is not like the terrorists. .. Talk is cheap because the whole world knows the US is terrorist number 1 yesterday bush the crook admits he lied to the world over Iraq today they saying they will stop torturing people whats this guilty conscience but then again we are talking about the US of da A, lies go hand in hand with there government so i don’t belive a word of this another publicty stunt unfortunately folks!