McCain: Bush Should Veto Torture Bill

Associated Press ^ | Feb 20th, 2008 | LIBBY QUAID

[Bishop_Malachi]

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said President Bush should veto a measure that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.

McCain voted against the bill, which would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual.

His vote was controversial because the manual prohibits waterboarding - a simulated drowning technique that McCain also opposes - yet McCain doesn't want the CIA bound by the manual and its prohibitions.

McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is well-known for his opposition to waterboarding, which puts him at odds with the Bush administration.

[Bishop_Malachi]

I knew I would be criticized for it," McCain told reporters Wednesday in Ohio. "I think I can show my record is clear. I said there should be additional techniques allowed to other agencies of government as long as they were not" torture.

"I was on the record as saying that they could use additional techniques as long as they were not cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment," McCain said. "So the vote was in keeping with my clear record of saying that they could have additional techniques, but those techniques could not violate" international rules against torture.

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What would be the point of adding further techniques if they did not put the interrogatee in more physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual anguish? Can someone sort out what John McCain really believes about torture/aggressive interrogation? When you do get it figured out, can you explain it to me?

[Yo-Yo]

Let me get this straight. McCain is against waterboarding. McCain thinks waterboarding is torture. Yet he voted against banning waterboarding, and is encouraging Bush to veto the bill that bans waterboarding.

I'm sorry, I just can't grok this.

[bw17]

Only one possibility...

McCain is senile.

[TexasRedeye]

Easy! It’s political “speak”. It means whatever a voter wants it to mean. If a voter ever ask McCain what he means, he will simply say, “I’ve explained it before. It’s in my record. Next question, please”.

Just like Rush says about Obama-lama-ding-dong. He will ensure the next Super Bowl winner. He will see to it that gas prices never exceed 85 cents per gallon. He will outlaw cancer and ensure a cure for those that have it now. He will ensure the success of all peanut growers. He will stop any outages on Direct TV caused by weather. He will do whatever a voter needs him to do.

Good politicians can do all this, don’t you know?

[jwalsh07]

McCain is senile.

No, he is smart. He has moved toward the fiscal conservatives by taking the no new taxes pledge.

Now he is moving toward security conservatives, and the population as a whole I might add, by finessing his heretofore previous position against water boarding.

McCain is making the right moves.

Now if he moves against blanket amnesty he will have a real chance of beating Barak Gantry.

[ozzymandus]

He’s trying to play both ends. Was McLame waterboarded by the N Viets? After reading the accounts of a number of US personnel who were waterboarded as part of their training, and don’t consider it “torture”, I’d say it should be acceptable practice on terror suspects. Frankly, I don’t object to anything done to interrogate terrorists, as long as it gains valuable (accurate) information that may save innocent lives. These whiney types who say waterboarding is “un-American” are living in a fantasy worle.

[Right Cal Gal]

Oh goody...I was wondering when today’s “WTF?!” moment would arrive....

[Eva]

McCain was demagoguing the waterboarding issue to play up his claim to have been tortured before giving up information about the Navy flight maneuvers. He was thinking about distancing himself from the Bush administration, not giving enough thought to the fact that he could be hamstringing himself.