VOTE ON TERROR RULES DEFIES BUSH (GOP-led panel gives detainees more protections)

The Houston Chronicle via The NY Times ^ | 9/14/06 | KATE ZERNIKE

[demkicker]

WASHINGTON - On a frantic day of Republican infighting, the Senate Armed Services Committee defied President Bush on Thursday as four Republicans joined Democrats in approving a plan for the trial and interrogation of terror suspects that the White House has rejected.

The Republican rebellion was led by Sen. John Warner of Virginia, the committee chairman, with backing from Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine. The White House had warned that their legislation would leave the United States no option but to shut down a CIA program to interrogate high-level terror suspects.

The vote came despite an all-out effort by the White House to win support for its own approach, which provides far fewer protections for detainees. Bush himself traveled to Capitol Hill with Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday morning, and the administration released a brief letter in which the top lawyers for the military branches said they did not object to the White House proposal to redefine a key provision of the Geneva Conventions.

But former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell sided with the senators, saying in a letter that Bush's plan to redefine the Geneva Conventions would encourage the world to "doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism" and "put our own troops at risk."

Powell's statement amounted to a rare public breach with the White House he served, but reflected his opposition while in office to the administration's assertions that the war against al-Qaida should not be bound by the Geneva Conventions.... (continued at link)

[shield]

It's already done...and gives our President what he ask for.

[MNJohnnie]

John Kerry worn the uniform. It does not excuse him for his later miscondut. That nice feel good sound bite politics. It is absurd nonsense in the context of this debate. What is McCain/Warner/Graham's defenition of "torture"? That right. They do not give one. The Pros are asking for a strictly defind set of guidelines. The 3 Senate stoodges are mugging for the camera instead of giving them. This has NOTHING at all to do with principal. It has to do with playing to the Cameras. The Pros say "We need this" The Senator Stoodges are saying "You cannot have it". You want to trust the PR whore Senators. That is silly. IF they were concerned about principal they would of done this behind the scenes. They choose to mug for the cameras in a transperent effort to prevent ANY thing getting done.

This really has NOTHING at all to do with moral principals. It just the usual desperate need for certain knee jerk Bush haters to find ANY exucse to stand against the President. This is merely the usual old boy Washington ego and Media politics. It has utterly NOTHING at all to do with "principals". Nothing.

[ballplayer]

Just read Richard Miniters column in the New York Post today to see what torture is at guantanamo.Probably when the terrorists have to wait for their dental appointments or their Colonoscopies

[shield]

Bush Rose Garden Smack Down

[MNJohnnie]

Well said Steel Wolf. If Congress is the legislative branch, it is rightfully their job to pass laws detailing wartime interrogation responsibilities. Especially since people like McCain think the President is incompetent to do so himself.

Which the Congress just refused to do. So the President went hat in hand to the Congress. Gave them the US Military professionals statements on what they needed, and instead of doing something, 3 Senator Stooges decided to mug for the Camera and kill the whole thing. Preen for the cameras mind you rather then go to the President, of what is supposedly their party, and work out their differences.

I know this comes as a surprise for some of you products of the US Public School system, but automatically taking the contrary position does not necessarily indicate a person is being "wise". It is not at all "Critical thinking" to assume the "Government BAD, Anyone against the Government GOOD". It IS after all Government OF, BY and FOR the people. IT is OUR Government, not some evil entity waiting out there to "get you". I know that runs contrary to the indoctrination you received from the US Education Establishment. What is put forward as "Critical Thinking" cirriculum; is in fact an example of ideological bigotry.

If the opposition position is to be automatically choose as correct without any of the evidence being weighted that prejudice, not thought.

[BobS]

"It has utterly NOTHING at all to do with "principals". Nothing."

It's even simpler than your impression.

McCain talks and performs his job like a liberal woman. And nobody give me any guff about him being a P.O.W. He has the Stockholm Syndrome. Did you hear him butter up the terrorists in the Senate?

[demkicker]

Wish I could see a clip of the hillarious retort Bush made to the NY Times reporterette. It was a classic smackdown!

[demkicker]

Just read Richard Miniters column in the New York Post today to see what torture is at guantanamo.Probably when the terrorists have to wait for their dental appointments or their Colonoscopies

ROTFL mixed with anger just thinking what all we do for these terrorist bastards!

[demkicker]

Gave them the US Military professionals statements on what they needed, and instead of doing something, 3 Senator Stooges decided to mug for the Camera and kill the whole thing.

FYI, there were 4 Senator Stooges: McCain, Graham, Warner & Collins. :-)

[MNJohnnie]

As too bad. 3 Senator Stooges has such a nice rhetorical ring to it. 4 Stooges does not quite work as well even though it too is a proper historical analogy :-)

[demkicker]

I agree. That 4th stooge really messes things up. That, and the fact that she's a woman who speaks like she's not "all there".

[RunningJoke]

"Which President presided over a doubling of the size of the Fedeal Goverment, 2 Tax INCREASESES, Ran away from an Islamic Terroist threat and signed a REAL Illegal Alien Amnesty."

This gentleman's lack of focus epitomizes the loss cause of smaller government from the republican party. My comment was about where have the republicans gone because they are acting just like LBJ democrats. This gentleman points out that my statement was ignorant and then goes on to prove me right. After reading this long rambling comment and reading between the lines, I think this poster thought I said the the morphing of the parties happened in the last 8 years, that would be a straw man argument.

BTW, I noticed your first paragraph was full of spelling errors, after the first paragraph none. I took about 12 random statements you made in the follow-on paragraphs and ran them through google. I noticed many hits. I don't think you are the author of these statements. A pretty obvious cut and paste job, why not share your source for your information or are you hiding something?

Who or what is responsible for your material?

[McGavin999]

I wonder how much it cost Al Qaeda to bribe these four?

[McGavin999]

This hasn't passed the senate yet has it? This is just committee work and should be sent back to them.

[cliff630]

Remeber the two soldiers who were kidnaped and two days later left by the side of a road.

Their bodies were so horribly mutilated they had to be sent to the states for the autopsies and identification.

Have the autopsy reports ever been made public? If not, they should be.

Those reports would put an end to this coddling of these prisoners.

Then let's see what the response of the public would be to these four senators.

[demkicker]

I wonder how much it cost Al Qaeda to bribe these four?

The only explanations I have is that these four are either deliberately trying to hurt the the Bush administration, our war efforts and the Republican party, or they are being blackmailed. Seriously.

[demkicker]

I remember. That's another ace up Bush's sleeve if these four senators refuse to cooperate.

[Prime Choice]

And yet we still have drones running around here insisting that we should all support these RINOs.

With "Republicans" like them, we'll never need enemies.

[demkicker]

I'm inviting any supporters of these 4 senators to come on this thread and explain themselves.