Posted on 12/15/2005 1:14:03 AM PST by FairOpinion
The House of Representatives on Wednesday threw its weight behind a Senate-approved ban on the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading interrogation techniques - a major defeat for President Bush that raises pressure on the White House to reach a compromise on the measure. Democrats were joined by 107 Republicans in the 308-122 vote, which instructed House members to adopt the Senate ban during conference committee negotiations over a Defense Department spending bill. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who has recently clashed with the White House over Iraq policy, proposed the instruction. Only one Democrat, Jim Marshall of Georgia, voted against it. "We cannot torture and still retain the moral high ground. Torture brings discredit upon the United States," said Murtha, the only House member who spoke before the vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
As Rep. Hunter said on C-Span yesterday, Torture is already against the US law. According to him, any person in the Gov't will get twenty years for it, execution if they kill someone. So, its already illegal, I dunno why they had the vote.
Well, I think one of our chief goals is to get Afghanistan and Iraq to stand on their own, anyhow. At that point what they do with the terrorists they catch will be their own internal affair.
And the Dems paint us as pro-torture. Goodbye 2006.
May the Lord protect us from the self proclaimed
"do gooders." Also remember that no good deed goes
unpunished.
I would buy into this bill if and a big IF:
These fighter wore regular uniforms and not hide
behind these long dresses.
But terrorists are all over the world, NOT just in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They just arrested some in France with ties to Zarqawi.
What if we capture some terrorists, who planted a nuke somewhere in the US, which is on a timer to go off, but we can't use even "degrading" techniques, never mind cruel ones, against them to find out where the bomb is, because the interrogation officer will get prosecuted by US law?
Oops, there goes New York, or Washington DC, or Boston or LA or...
re:uniforms
Agreed. That was the whole point behind the laws against spies and terrorists. If you are here, but have a foreign allegience or agenda, you should be presumed to be an enemy, if not traitor. Unless you're a congresscritter, I guess...
But the whole idea of torture offends my sensibilities. If we are not fighting to support a government that is truly humane, how can we possibly complain if it ever is inhumane to us? Or our sons? Or our neighbors?
Somehow, I see this as fallout of the separation of church and state.
Oh that's simple, they will bring in Hillary to meet him. He'll be so frightened he'll spill the beans in half a minute.
"Oh that's simple, they will bring in Hillary to meet him."
===
You couldn't do that, that would be considered "degrading" and it's prohibited by the new law.
This all so subjective..
What is torture? Naked Twister???
What is degrading? If I say that I do not like you?
It is really crazy to write a bill such as this.
Exactly. It is very ambigous. What if terrorists find being captured "degrading". Does that mean that based on the new US law we have to release them?
They already decided, that having dogs BARK at the terrorist prisoners is cruel, because it intimidates them. Well, that WAS the idea. How are you going to get them to talk, if they know that NOTHING bad could possibly happen to them.
I disagree with McCain's bill because of its absolutism, but I blame the administration for not taking the lead in the argument about torture and interrogation. By adbicating that responsibility and by playing stupid semantic games, they all but invited this reaction.
Yeah it's Bush's fault(/sarcasm).
As distastful as it sounds, I now understand why Rome went from a republic to an Empire.
One of the reasons that I'm a Bush supporter is his straightforward manner. The public isn't stupid, if the administration had taken the initiative and laid out clear guidelines in the wake of Abu Gharib then we wouldn't be where we are now. So, yeah, I'm criticizing Bush and his team.
And of course people like tancredo and paul and press are pure as the wind driven snow.
Amazing your disconnect of a press that is out to defeat the US and the WOT.
I do agree. The administration left a vacuum, and the Dems and other idiots, like McCain filled it.
I also think, that if the Bush adminstration had been constantly explaining to the people what it's all about, this wouldn't have passed.
They were also too defensive about the Gitmo and Abu Ghraib manufactured scandals.
Tancredo lost me after that "Nuke Mecca!" idiocy. Don't know much about Ron Paul.
Amazing your disconnect of a press that is out to defeat the US and the WOT.
Not sure what that has to do with my argument that the administration dropped the ball.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.