The new proposed detainees law is supposed to allow for "tough" interrogation and revamping article 3 of the Geneva convention. In his characteristic stay the course style, Bush has posed this as "his way", the way of patriotism, of course or we will not be able to continue, what a crock. They have probably been torturing people to get information before 9/11 and saying it will stop unless Bush gets his way is absurd. Anyone who questions this is a traitor and anti-American, of course. I am looking for one of the less well-known provisions of the bill which would give immunity to anyone who committed torture during the Bush administration. I know some will say the after 9/11 that we need to do whatever we have to, maybe we should start beheading as a means of retribution, that will teach them a lesson!
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/08/detainees.legislation.ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/08/detainees.legislation.ap/index.html
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| WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate leaders are throwing their weight behind a White House plan to prosecute terrorism detainees despite dissent among some Republicans and the military's top lawyers.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, has placed on the Senate calendar the administration's legislation establishing military commissions, a move that would allow debate to begin as early as Tuesday. It also puts pressure on Sen. John Warner and others with serious concerns about the bill to produce by then an alternative that would satisfy leadership and the White House. Warner, R-Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Thursday night that he hopes to generate consensus by Tuesday so his panel can review the bill and send a bipartisan proposal to the floor. (Watch why key senators and top military lawyers oppose Bush's tribunals plan --2:40 ) "I have to represent to my leader that the Republican side ... can come up with a viable option as to how we should proceed," Warner said in an interview. Also sounding alarms on Bush's legislation were the Pentagon's top uniformed lawyers. Testifying before a House panel, the service's judge advocates general said the plan could violate treaty obligations and make U.S. troops vulnerable. "While we seek that balance" of fairness and security, "we also must remember the concept of reciprocity," said Brig. Gen. James Walker, staff judge advocate for the Marine Corps. "What we do and how we treat these individuals can, in the future, have a direct impact on our service men and women overseas." Their objections echoed criticism military lawyers levied in July, when they publicly challenged earlier Bush administration proposals to limit the rights accused terrorists would have during trials. In the past, some military officials have expressed concerns that if the U.S. adopts such standards, captured American troops might be treated the same way. The president's legislation would authorize the defense secretary to convene military tribunals to prosecute terrorism suspects and omit rights common in military and civil courts, such as the defendant's right to access all evidence and a ban on coerced testimony. Bush has said the plan is both fair and tough enough to ensure dangerous terrorists can be brought to justice. |
