Posted on 12/15/2005 1:47:19 PM PST by antaresequity
This was picked up off the PR Wire about 10 minutes ago.
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of remarks by President Bush after meeting with Senator John McCain and Senator John Warner:
The Oval Office 2:41 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: It's my honor to welcome two good friends, the Chairman, John Warner, and, of course, John McCain -- Senator John McCain, here to the Oval Office. We share a common goal, and that is to protect the American people and to win the war on terror.
Senator McCain has been a leader to make sure that the United States of America upholds the values of America as we fight and win this war on terror. And we've been happy to work with him to achieve a common objective, and that is to make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad. And so we have worked very closely with the Senator and others to achieve that objective, as well as to provide protections for those who are on the front line of fighting the terrorists.
And so I appreciate your hard work, Senator. You're a good man who honors the values of America. I also appreciate the strong support that you've given -- both of you have given in the war on terror. The central front of that war is Iraq. Part of our strategy is to train Iraqis so they can join our forces and fight off the terrorists and, eventually, have the Iraqis be able to stand on their own. The other part is the democratic process that will help marginalize the Saddamists and the rejectionists.
And today, the Iraqi people went to the polls. I was so honored to welcome some young Iraqi Fulbright Scholars here that were able to vote, and to see the joy -- and to hear the joy they expressed and to see the joy on their faces after having just voted in a -- for a permanent government and a new constitution was just a fantastic experience.
And so I want to welcome you all to the Oval Office. Thanks for coming. Thanks for your good work on behalf of America.
SENATOR McCAIN: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the effort that you made to resolve this very difficult issue. I thank you for your active participation in it. And I also want to thank your National Security Advisor, Steve Hadley, who played a very important role, as well. And I'm very pleased that we reached this agreement, and now we can move forward and make sure that the whole world knows that, as the President has stated many times, that we do not practice cruel, inhuman treatment or torture. This agreement basically does two things: One, puts into the Army Field Manual the specific procedures for interrogations. And two, it prohibits cruel, inhumane -- or torture. In our negotiations, there was legitimate concerns raised by the administration concerning the rights of interrogators. And taking language from the Uniform Code of Military Justice, we provide them with legal counsel and certain protections that a reasonable person might view as carrying out of orders, not to contradict the Nuremberg decision, which, of course, said that obeying orders is not a sufficient defense.
I, again, thank the President. And I would like to also repeat, we've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists. We have no grief for them, but what we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are. And I think that this will help us enormously in winning the war for the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror. And again, I want to thank the President; I want to thank Steve Hadley; I thank all the people who worked so hard to come to this agreement. Now I think we can move forward with winning the war on terror and in Iraq.
I thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, John. END 2:45 P.M. EST SOURCE White House Press Office
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Text of the McStain Ammendment:
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SA 1977. Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. SMITH, and Ms. COLLINS) submitted an amendment as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE INTERROGATION OF PERSONS UNDER THE DETENTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.--No person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or under detention in a Department of Defense facility shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.
(b) APPLICABILITY.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to with respect to any person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense pursuant to a criminal law or immigration law of the United States.
(c) CONSTRUCTION.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights under the United States Constitution of any person in the custody or under the physical jurisdiction of the United States.
SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT OF PERSONS UNDER CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
(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.
That text looks like the amendment as it was passed some time ago. THe announcement suggests that there will be a modification to the amendment. Is that the case, and if so have we seen the modification.
President Bush..... coward & capitulator (again) to John Warner & John McVain, two of the RINO RAT bastards that helped torpedo the constitutional option last May. The only ones that President Bush seems to delight in poking in the eyes, are his conservative backers. Otherwise to DimWits and RINO Repukes, he is as loving and gracious and forgiving as can be. Regardless of whether it helps or hurts the country (as in the case of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act fiasco).
The terrorists we confront are not insurgents, freedom fighters, or future prisoners of war. They are not armed forces, militias, or volunteer corps of any authority or country. These killers are not members of an organized resistance movement carrying arms openly. They have no distinctive identifier. They grind into a society the Wahhahi/Salafi heresy to forge despair and hate, and convert a disfigured people into shields for primordial actions. They fail to meet even minimum standards of a spy or saboteur for Protected Person status.
The President has prejudiced national security to accord these butchers treatment under the Geneva Conventions. In elevating terrorists to perceived High Contracting Party status he also compromised the ability of countries to exclude terrorists as they seek representative governments. In response the Senate further endangers our nation by proposing to extend full citizenship under the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to these amorphous groups dedicated to our extermination.
Apparently few are concerned we face a determined, creative enemy, who will use increasing skills in biological, nuclear and chemical technologies to sow catastrophes so damaging that 9/11 becomes a dimly remembered tragedy. We cannot treat the War on Terror as a political inconvenience juxtaposed against initiatives dependent upon a world of complacency, serenity, and belligerent self-absorption. Interrogators need the range of techniques applied to our own military in survival school. We cannot await the type of attack envisioned by our implacable enemy for supporters of the McCain amendment to become irrelevant.
ping
Is this as effective as the "Gang of 14" agreement McCain came up with?
I tried to find a more recent version(today) but have not... I too want to see the exact amendmant Bush agreed too.
He's either getting really bad advice (Card) or he's as tone deaf as his critics say. Go back to Crawford!.Your familiy has done enough to..er..for America.....(Frustrated).
I'm beginning to think he just doesn't know how to spell "veto".
The solution is to kill every suspected terrorist we find.
Republicans not republicans "in charge".
There is a huge difference these days.
Unfortunately.
Maybe he needs to put bj clintoon on a committee to hash it out.
John McCain is a horse's ass.
I doubt McCain will be going to Crawford. We can only hope he never gets close to the WH.
Has any president ever served 2 terms without a veto?
It's a good thing we have a grown up in charge, yes... I'd certainly not want one who would do something as self-destructive and irrational as vetoing such a measure.
No matter how big of a grandstand McCain built to make this issue news, this policy is the only acceptable policy for a civilized country to hold. End of story.
Works for me!
I doubt McCain will be going to Crawford. We can only hope he never gets close to the WH.
I am pretty sure that samadams2000 meant for "BUSH" to go back to Crawford, as his family (Bush 41, Bush 43) has done enough to....er....for America. My sentiments as well.
Of course if he can keep John McVain with him and take him to Crawford TX as well, and keep him out of the WH, that would be even better!
I think President GWB is one of our greatest presidents. He is the right man in the right position in our battle against the transnational Islamic terrorists. I'm happy to keep more of my money regarding taxes too. The judicial nominations are most excellent as well.
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