Little Green Footballs

Friday, October 07, 2005

Terrorists and the Right rejoice, Bush defends torture

Al-Qaeda and the pro-torture right could be breathing a collective sigh of relief. It seems that the White House is ready to veto a curb on torture despite scant support for the White House argument. It would mean that Al-Qaeda and come to think of it any terrorist group would have the chance of bumper propaganda if the US get caught on camera. Also it would mean that the pro-torture right-wings, especially the online community can get their kicks/dismiss it as hi-jinx/celebrate demeaning foreigners. You know who they are.

The White House repeated an earlier veto threat Thursday after the Senate voted by an overwhelming bipartisan margin for a measure to prevent mistreatment of prisoners held by the U.S. military.

The 90-to-9 vote to ban "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in U.S. government custody was one of the sharpest political rebukes in Washington of a system under which abuses occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan and at the Guant�namo naval base in Cuba.

The abuses, documented in photographs of the humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by their U.S. jailers, provoked furious reactions in the Muslim world, brought angry condemnations around the world and reportedly fueled acts of violence in Iraq.

The vote late Wednesday came on an amendment to a $440 billion defense budget bill. Forty-six Republicans, including the majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, joined 43 Democrats and an independent, reflecting unusually scant Senate support for the White House argument that the measure would unduly constrict Americans who are leading the difficult fight against terrorism.

The Senate passed the measure by a margin well beyond the two-thirds required to override a presidential veto. But the White House, while reiterating the veto threat Thursday, appeared sanguine about the matter.

"The House legislation doesn't include that language," noted Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman. Suggesting that such a provision seemed unlikely to survive the conferences in which the Senate and House iron out legislative differences, McClellan said, "We will continue working with Congress to address this issue."

The amendment would require troops conducting interrogations to li">Bush repeats threat to veto torture curb - Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune: "The White House repeated an earlier veto threat Thursday after the Senate voted by an overwhelming bipartisan margin for a measure to prevent mistreatment of prisoners held by the U.S. military.

The 90-to-9 vote to ban 'cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment' of anyone in U.S. government custody was one of the sharpest political rebukes in Washington of a system under which abuses occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan and at the Guant�namo naval base in Cuba.

The abuses, documented in photographs of the humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by their U.S. jailers, provoked furious reactions in the Muslim world, brought angry condemnations around the world and reportedly fueled acts of violence in Iraq.

The vote late Wednesday came on an amendment to a $440 billion defense budget bill. Forty-six Republicans, including the majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, joined 43 Democrats and an independent, reflecting unusually scant Senate support for the White House argument that the measure would unduly constrict Americans who are leading the difficult fight against terrorism.

The Senate passed the measure by a margin well beyond the two-thirds required to override a presidential veto. But the White House, while reiterating the veto threat Thursday, appeared sanguine about the matter.

'The House legislation doesn't include that language,' noted Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman. Suggesting that such a provision seemed unlikely to survive the conferences in which the Senate and House iron out legislative differences, McClellan said, 'We will continue working with Congress to address this issue.'

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