Nine Explain Interrogation Votes (The 9 Brave Ones That Voted Against McCain)

Wako WAPO ^ | October 7, 2005 | Christopher Lee and Sam Coates

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Reacting to reports of abuse of detainees in Iraq and elsewhere, the Senate voted 90 to 9 Wednesday night for an amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would ban the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in the custody of the U.S. military. The provision, inserted in a military spending bill, also would restrict interrogation techniques to those authorized in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.

The House version contains no such language, so the fate of the amendment will be determined in a House-Senate conference. The Federal Page checked in yesterday with the nine Republicans who voted against to find out why they opposed the McCain amendment. Here is what they told us: Sen. Wayne Allard (Colo.)

"I believe acts of torture are despicable and deplorable. . . . Requiring the codification of the Army field manual, however, does not right the wrong committed by those individuals who were clearly acting outside of the Army's existing regulations and laws of our country. In fact, all it does is tie the hands of the Department of Defense at a time when maximum flexibility within the boundaries of the U.S. law is needed." Sen. Christopher S. Bond (Mo.)

"The last thing we want to do is put undue burdens on military and intelligence officials who are on the ground trying to obtain critical information on the war on terror. There are already guidelines in place, including administrative processes, to investigate misconduct and take corrective and punitive action."

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

The rest of the nine in the article are:

Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.)

Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.)

Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.)

Sen. James M. Inhofe (Okla.)

Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.)

Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.)

Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska)

[gondramB]

Any democrats on that list? I don't recognize a couple of the names.

[FairOpinion]

Full list:

Here's a link to those who voted for / against

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00249

The only NAYS were as follows:

NAYs ---9
Allard (R-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Stevens (R-AK)

[onyx]

Not one of the nine have voiced any interest in running for POTUS.

They're just quietly doing their jobs.

We certainly need more in the mold of these nine senators.

[FairOpinion]

And related article:

Senate Supports Interrogation Limits (90-9 vote to protect terrorist detainees)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1497443/posts

FULL TEXT of Amendment:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r109:1:./temp/~r109H252jM:e911694:

(a) In General.--"No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

(b) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose any geographical limitation on the applicability of the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment under this section.

(c) Limitation on Supersedure.--The provisions of this section shall not be superseded, except by a provision of law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act which specifically repeals, modifies, or supersedes the provisions of this section.

(d) Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Defined.--In this section, the term ``cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment'' means the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, as defined in the United States Reservations, Declarations and Understandings to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment done at New York, December 10, 1984. "

[johnmecainrino]

The key vote on this was July's cloture vote that needed 60 votes to cut off debate.

It failed 50-48

Only a few dems voted for cloture. McCain, Warner, Graham all voted against it. Thune, Snowe, Collins voted against cloture too because of the brac commission.

Frist should have had the amendments put on the separate bill not on the entire budget. Frist really stabbed the white house in the back again.

[onyx]

Of course not.

Not one.

Telling, huh?

[FairOpinion]

I am glad they are speaking out. But where is the outrage from the American people about the 90 that sold us out.

Roberts is speaking it out also:

Kansas senator refuses to sign bill banning torture

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/kansas_senator_refuses_sign_bill_banning_torture/?city_local

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. says he doesn’t condone torture, but he believes that terror suspects have information that can save innocent American lives.

“One of the most valuable tools we have in getting this information is terrorists’ fear of the unknown,” Roberts, a Kansas Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Journal-World on Thursday.

That’s why Roberts was part of a small minority Wednesday to oppose a Senate measure banning “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment of prisoners held by U.S. forces. The act passed 90-9, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans.

Roberts said the measure, if it becomes law, will give terrorists an unfair advantage.

“Passing a law that telegraphs to the entire world what (terror suspects) can expect, if caught, I think would be a great mistake,” he said.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Any democrats on that list? I don't recognize a couple of the names.

100% Republican, of course.

[Gator113]

McCain, please take your pills and STFU.

This Country should never go to War again, it doesn't have the stomach for it.

[TheDon]

I wonder if all the "brave" senators voted for this ammendment because they knew it would die in negotiations to reconcile the bill with the House version. A typical DC vote for nothing.

[FairOpinion]

It still sends a message to the terrorists, that we don't have the will to get as tough as necessary.

Excerpt from Al Qaeda training manual:

"UK/BM-176 TO UK/BM-180 TRANSLATION Lesson Eighteen
PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTERS
IF AN INDICTMENT IS ISSUED AND THE TRIAL, BEGINS, THE BROTHER HAS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING:
1. At the beginning of the trial, once more the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by State Security [investigators] before the judge.
2. Complain [to the court] of mistreatment while in prison."

http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/manualpart1_4.pdf

[loveliberty2]

"Not one of the nine have voiced any interest in running for POTUS. They're just quietly doing their jobs."

Now, why does that description sound familiar, but, in this case, like a qualification and a compliment?

There's another person in the news who was not on anyone's list for a certain distinguished position, who went about "quietly doing (her) job," and is being criticized for it.

Strange....

[tfecw]

What's really telling is only 9 republicans voted against it.

[F.J. Mitchell]

North Carolina's brave and noble pair of Senators,Dole and Burr, must surely have been on potty break when the vote was taken.

[Just A Nobody]

Nice try! lol

IIRC, THE PEOPLE, of OK recruited Coburn to run for the Senate and refused the RNC backed candidate.

IMO, it is time that WE THE PEOPLE choose our representatives, not the beltway crappos. Dole is not worthy to choose senate candidates.

[Logical me]

And McNut thinks this will help his bid for President. What a total fool. I would rather give it to a Democrat (except Hitlery) that go for that piece of rotgut.

[Christian4Bush]

Roberts said the measure, if it becomes law, will give terrorists an unfair advantage.

“Passing a law that telegraphs to the entire world what (terror suspects) can expect, if caught, I think would be a great mistake,” he said.

They already know that they get three meals a day, five prayer calls a day and a free, unflushed Koran if they end up at Club Gitmo...

[AIC]

I think McCain was turned and became a Communist. This and the illegal immigrant bill with Ted Kennedy sure smells like a Communist action.

[Cboldt]

Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment include such practices as corporal punishment, pain-causing devices, interrogation under duress, biomedical experiments on prisoners, the use of drugs on prisoners, and solitary confinement.

http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/declaration/5.asp